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Media Release

March 19, 2004

New generation solar lights part of Mawson Lakes’ sustainable vision

University of South Australia researchers and designers have teamed with Mawson Lakes Development to create innovative solar lighting that saves almost enough energy to light eight average houses for an entire year.

The 28 new generation solar lights, which were recently installed around the Sir Douglas Mawson Lake at Mawson Lakes, reduce electricity use by 4,000 kWh and carbon dioxide emissions by four tonnes each year.

Mawson Lakes Project Director Chris Branford said the design process was unique because the solar panel was specifically designed to suit the lighting design.

“Normally the design of the light is determined by the shape of the solar panels, which are usually large flat pre-made panels to maximise the amount of sunlight captured by the panels,” Mr Branford said.

Unlike conventional solar lights, the new lights feature a curved solar panel, which is integrated in the reflector design using technologies developed for solar cars by researchers from UniSA’s Sustainable Energy Centre (SEC).

Apart from their smart appearance, the lights are designed to make full use of the electricity generated from the sun, with special features that allow them to give illumination throughout the night, even after several cloudy winter days, according to Associate Professor Wasim Saman, Director of the SEC.

“They can be programmed to turn on automatically 30 minutes after sunset. Once on, they limit themselves to five hours of full brightness, and then dim in the early morning hours.”

The solar lights were developed by a multidisciplinary team from UniSA including an industrial design graduate, a mathematician, and mechanical and electrical engineers in collaboration with Mawson Lakes Development.

“We evaluated a number of designs for their technical as well as aesthetic properties before choosing a smart solar light that looked good and worked effectively. UniSA’s Dr Peter Pudney and Mr Peter Murphy were the main contributors to the solar light design, which was manufactured by a local Adelaide business, Street and Park Furniture,” Professor Saman said.

Professor Saman said that UniSA has been collaborating with the Mawson Lakes Development project team over several years on energy matters including innovative ways of using alternative energy and reducing conventional energy use.

“The new solar lighting fits perfectly with our strategy to create a truly sustainable community and our commitment to actively reduce domestic energy use by 50 per cent when compared with the Adelaide average,” Mr Branford said.

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