Exhaustive tests demonstrate Telensa’s central management system’s (CMS) suitability in tropical climates where humidity, lightning and salt spray pose a problem
Telensa’s PLANet system commended for long range yet low transmission power
CAMBRIDGE, England, December 17, 2013: Telensa’s market-leading wireless street lighting central management system (CMS) has passed stringent approval tests at one of the largest electric utility companys’ in the US.
The utility, Florida Power and Light (FPL), has been testing Telensa’s PLANet (Public Lighting Active Network) control system since May to ensure that it is able to withstand the tropical weather conditions in the region – in particular its resistance to lightning, high humidity and salt spray.
The utility exposes all new control equipment to exhaustive tests for resistance to lightning (surge protection test) and the local weather conditions (accelerated salt spray test) as well as testing the long-term robustness of the internal electrical switching or relay (cycle test).
A spokesman , said: “Telensa’s equipment has been performing well in the field since May and passed all our accelerated performance tests, and also demonstrated remarkable communications range given its low transmission power.
Telensa’s patented ultra-narrow band (UNB) wireless CMS system accurately controls switching and dimming of street lights. It also measures energy and detects faulty street lights and helps smart grid operators deliver improved maintenance and significant savings on energy bills.
Paul Dunn, sales & marketing director, Telensa, said: “Getting the thumbs up from this utility is great news for Telensa as it demonstrates that our equipment is robust enough to withstand extreme tropical and sub-tropical climates with one of the tests suggesting a product life of over 100 years when the test was stopped. Our PLANet system was developed to meet stringent European standards so uses far lower transmission power than US competitor systems yet has far greater range due to our UNB technology.”
Telensa’s PLANet system comprises control and monitoring nodes (telecells) fitted to street lights which then connect wirelessly to a base station and onto a central system server. Each base station can accommodate up to 10,000 telecells over a range of 1-2 miles or 2-3km (urban) and 3-5 miles or 5-8km (rural). Wide area coverage is then achieved by linking these base stations in a cellular architecture creating networks of several hundred thousand lights across hundreds of square miles.
The PLANet system is already used by scores of public authorities on hundreds of thousands of lights because of its long range, low power wireless technology, ease of deployment, reliability and cost-effectiveness. It can also be applied to all types of lighting fixtures, retro or new build deployments and works with a wide range of lamp types including LEDs.