TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND

TRAINING INSTITUTE

Department – Electronics and Communication Technology

Course title - Electronics System Design
Course Code – VPED 503
Program: - MSC
Project Title: - Automatic Street Light Control System Using LDR
and IC555 Timer

PREPARED BY: -
Tariku Mehdi ---------------- (MTR/247/11)

Dec, 31, 2018

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I wish to thank all my respected teachers and friends for their excellent
contribution and support for the completion of this mini project. Specially very
much thankful to Dr. Sandeep Singh Sengar Electronics System Design teacher for
their efforts to facilitate and provide us most suitable environment for this mini
project development.
 Abstract
This project Automatic Street Light Control System aims at designing and executing the
advanced development in embedded systems for energy saving of street lights by using light
dependent resistor (LDR). Nowadays, human has become too busy and he is unable to find time
even to switch the lights on or off. This can be seen more effectively in the case of street lights.
The present system is like, the street lights will be switched on in the evening before the sun sets
and they are switched off the next day morning after there is sufficient light on the roads. But
the actual timing for these street lights to be switched on are when there is absolute darkness on
the roads. This project gives the best solution for electrical power wastage. Also the manual
operation of lighting system is completely eliminated. In my project using LDR, which varies
according to the amount of light falling on its surface; this gives an indication for me whether it
is a day/night time. This project can be configured by using transistors, IC 555.
Here, I implement this project by using IC 555. The 555 timer IC is an integrated circuit (chip)
used in a variety of timer, pulse generation, and oscillator applications. The 555 can be used to
provide time delays, as an oscillator, and as a flip flop element. Derivative provide up to four
timing circuits in one package. Also I have using relay. A relay is an electrically controllable switch
widely used in industrial controls, automobiles and appliances. The relay allows the isolation of
two separate sections of a system with two different voltage sources i.e., a small amount of
voltage/current on one side can handle a large amount of voltage/current on the other side but
there is no chance that these two voltages mix up. I can be using Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in
this project instead of a bulb. Light-emitting diodes are elements for light signalization in
electronics. By using this project as the basic principle I can design centralized intelligent system
for the perfect usage of streetlights in any place.
 I. INTRODUCTION

Street lighting provides a safe night time environment for all road users including pedestrians.
Research indicates that night-time vehicular accidents are significantly reduced by provision of
street lighting. It also helps to reduce the fear of crime, and encourages social inclusion by
providing an environment in which people feel they can walk in hours of darkness. Providing
street lighting is one of the most important and expensive responsibilities of a city. Lighting can
account for 10-38% of the total energy bill in typical cities worldwide. Street lighting is a
particularly critical concern for public authorities in developing countries because of its strategic
importance for economic and social stability. Inefficient lighting wastes significant financial
resources each year, and poor lighting creates unsafe conditions. Energy efficient technologies
and design can cut street lighting costs dramatically (often by 25-60%).
The main consideration in the present field technologies are Automation, Power
consumption and cost effectiveness. Automation is intended to reduce man power with the help
of intelligent systems. Power saving is the main consideration forever as the sources of the power
are getting diminished due to various reasons.
The main aim of this project is Automatic Street power saving system with LDR this is to save
the power. I want to save power automatically instead of doing manual. So it’s easy to cost
effectiveness. This saved power can be used in some other cases. So in villages, towns etc. we
can design intelligent systems for the usage of street lights.
This project Automatic Street Light Control System can be implemented by four different ways:
by using transistors, using IC555 timer [1]. Here, we will implement this project by using 555
timers IC. Other basic components which we used are power supply, Light Dependent Resistor
(LDR), Relay and Light emitting diodes (LEDs) which we are using in place of a light bulb.

A. 555 Timer IC
The 555 timer IC is an integrated circuit (chip) used in a variety of timer, pulse generation, and
oscillator applications. The 555 can be used to provide time delays, as an oscillator, and as a flip-
flop element. Derivatives provide up to four timing circuits in one package. The IC was designed
in 1971 by Hans R. Camenzind under contract to Signetics, which was later acquired by Philips.
Depending on the manufacturer, the standard 555 package includes 25 transistors, 2 diodes and
15 resistors on a silicon chip installed in an 8-pin mini dual-in-line package. Variants available
include the 556 (a 14-pin DIP combining two 555s on one chip), and the two 558 & 559s (both a
16-pin DIP combining four slightly modified 555s with Discharge & Threshold connected
internally, Trigger is falling edge sensitive instead of level sensitive). It has been hypothesized
that the 555 got its name from the three 5 kΩ resistors used within, but Hans Camenzind has
stated that the number was arbitrary.
 Figure 1. Functional Diagram of 555 timer IC
The connection of the pins for a DIP package is as follows: Pin no. Purpose
1. Ground reference voltage, low level (0V)
2. The OUT pin goes high and a timing interval starts when this input falls below ½ of CTRL
voltage.
3. This output is driven to approximately 1.7V below +VCC, or GND.
4. A timing interval may be reset by driving this input to GND, but the timing does not
begin again until RESET rises above approximately 0.7 volts. Overrides TRIG which
overrides THR.
5. Provides “control” access to the internal voltage divider (by default, 2/3 VCC).
6. The timing (OUT high) interval ends when the voltage at THR is greater than that at
CTRL.
7. Open collector output which may discharge a capacitor between intervals. In phase with
output.
8. Positive supply voltage, which is usually between 3 and 15 V depending on the variation.
Pin 5 is also sometimes called the CONTROL VOLTAGE pin. By applying a voltage to the CONTROL
VOLTAGE input one can alter the timing characteristics of the device. The CONTROL VOLTAGE
input can be used to build a stable with a frequency modulated output [2].

The 555 has three operating modes:

 Monostable mode: in this mode, the 555 functions as a “one-shot” pulse generator.
Applications include timers, missing pulse detection, bounce free switches, touch
switches, frequency divider, capacitance measurement, pulse width modulation (PWM)
and so on.
 Astable mode: free running mode: the 555 can operate as an oscillator. Uses include
LED and lamp flashers, pulse generation, logic clocks, tone generation, security alarms,
pulse position modulation and so on.
 Bistable mode: in this mode, the 555 can operate as a flip-flop, if the DIS pin is not
connected and no capacitor is used. Uses include bounce-free latched switches.
 555 timers are very easy to use in the circuits. Now, it has been used in everything from toys to
spacecraft. Due to its versatility, availability, and low cost it remains a hobbyist favorite. One of
the secret to its success is it a true black box, its symbolized schematic is simple and accurate
enough that designs using this simplification as a reference tend to work first time. You don’t
need to understand every transistor in the base schematic to make it work [3].

B. Power Supply
The input to the circuit is applied from the regulated power supply. The A.C input i.e., 230V
from the main supply is step down by the transformer to 12V and is fed to a rectifier. The output
obtained from the rectifier is a pulsating D.C voltage. So in order to get a pure D.C voltage, the
output voltage from the rectifier is fed to a filter to remove any A.C components present even
after rectification. Now, this voltage is given to a voltage regulator to obtain a pure constant D.C
voltage [4].
In this project, we are using bridge rectifier, capacitive filter and potentiometer as a regulator.

C. Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)

A Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) is a device which has a resistance which varies according to
the amount of light falling on its surface. There are two basic circuits using LDR the first is
activated by darkness, and the second is activated by light. The two circuits are similar and just
require an LDR, some standard resistors, a variable resistor and any small signal transistor. Light
Dependent Resistor contains cadmium sulphide track [5].

Figure 3: Light Dependent Resistor

D. Relay
A Relay is a kind of automatic switching components with isolation function, which is widely
used in remote control, remote measuring, telecom automatic control, integration of machinery
and electrification, electric and electronic equipment’s. It’s one of the most important controlling
components [6].

Figure 4: SPDT RELAY

On the basis of the magnetic system and operation, the different types of relays are:
Mechanical Relays, Solid State Relays, Neutral Relays, Biased Relays, Polarized Relays, Magnetic
Stick Relays or Perm Polarized Relays, Slow Release Relays and Relay for AC. Choosing of suitable
relay for specific purposes depends on the physical size and pin arrangement, coil voltage and
resistance, switch rating (voltage and current) and switch contact arrangement [7].

The following designations are commonly encountered for switch contact arrangement:
 SPST – Single Pole Single Throw. These have two terminals which can be connected or disconnected.
Including two for the coil, such a relay has four terminals in total.
 SPDT- Single Pole Double Throw. A common terminal connects to either of two others. Including two for
the coil, such a relay has five terminals in total.
 DPST – Double Pole Single Throw. These have two pairs of terminals. Equivalent to two SPST switches or
relays actuated by a single coil. Including two for the coil, such a relay has six terminals in total.
 DPDT – Double Pole Double Throw. These have two rows of change-over terminals. Equivalent to two
SPDT switches or relays actuated by a single coil. Such a relay has eight terminals, including the coil.

Figure 5: Circuit Symbols of relays

 In this mini project, I am using SPDT relay which have a common terminal connects to either of two others. Including
two for the coil, such a relay has five terminals in total.

II. CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

Automatic Street Light Control System can be implemented by using four different methods. The first diagram
shows how the circuit can be configured using transistors, this project can be implemented by using the 555 timer
IC. so I will explain here the circuit implemented by using 555 timer IC.

Figure 6: Circuit Diagram by using Transistors

The first circuit diagram shows the use of a couple of transistors in association with a few other components like
resistors for the construction of proposed design.

Figure 7: Circuit Diagram by using 555 timers IC

I explain the circuit diagram implemented by using 555 timers IC. First, I can give AC power 220 or 230V to a
transformer which gives us 12V because we are using a step down transformer, after that this AC voltage pass
through a full-wave bridge rectifier which convert AC voltage to DC voltage. We used rectifier because we need DC
voltage not AC to run this project. The output of the full-wave rectifier will be a rippled DC voltage. In order to obtain
a constant DC output voltage, a capacitor is connected across the output of the full-wave rectifier.
 In this mini project, I am going to switch off the street lights automatically as the day starts. The
duration of the day differs from season to season, accordingly our module works based upon the
light intensity so as to when to start or stop. For this I am using Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)
as the light sensor, which communicates with the required information to the 555 timer IC.
Here I am using 555 timer IC, LDR and relay. By using the LDR I can operate the lights, so when
the light is available then it will be in the OFF state and when it is dark then the light will be in ON
state, it means LDR is inversely proportional to light. When the light falls on the LDR its resistance
is very high, so it remains in an OFF state and when the darkness appears its resistance is
immediately falls and its work in an ON state and communicates with the required information
to the 555 timer IC. When the LDR is in the ON state then its output pass to 555 times IC. In
between this we are using a potentiometer which adjusts the light intensity on which lights ON
or OFF. When the timer is in the quiescent state, the internal transistor is conducting and
represents a short circuit across timing capacitor C. The level of the output terminal in this state
is low. In practical circuits voltage at pin-2 is kept above the trigger point by a resistor connected
to VCC. When a negative going trigger pulse on pin-2 is applied, it causes the potential at this
point to fall below 1/3VCC and thus the trigger comparator RESETs the flip-flop. Now, internal
transistor is cut-off and thus the output level of the IC goes high. Due to this external transistor
work and output goes to relay which is in the normally open state but when the output goes to
relay it triggers and switch changes to normally closed and LEDs which we are using as load glows
and show the output. When darkness appears then reverse process occurs.

III. FINAL RESULTS

The main objective of this project was to reduce the power consumption of street lights by
avoiding inefficient lighting which wastes significant financial resources each year. This is done
by using Automatic Street Light Control System. So, the ambiance of light is checked and lights
are turned ON when it is dark and turned OFF during the day. This project is implemented by
using 555 timers IC, LDR and relay. So when light is present LDR detects and circuit is in the OFF
state. LEDs which we are used as load don’t show any output. But in reverse when darkness
appears LDR works in ON state and complete circuit work. LEDs shows output which are attached
with the relay.

IV. CONCLUSIONS
This mini project is aimed at designing and implementation of an automatic system in the
streets. This project can be implemented on large scale. It requires the initial cost only for
designing and installation and not for utilization. Hence, such systems are very useful for the
government to reduce the utilization of electric power. Therefore, such systems are once
implemented on a large scale can bring significant reduction of the power consumption caused
by street lights. This initiative will help the government to save this energy and meet the domestic
and industrial needs.
V. REFERENCES
1. http://homemadecircuitsandschematics.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-make-light-activated-day-night.html
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_timer_IC
3. http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_6/chpt_8/1.html
4. http://www.scribd.com/doc/115004345/Qa-00177-Automatic-Street-Light-Control
5. http://www.reuk.co.uk/Light-Dependent-Resistor.html
6. http://www.tianbo-relay.com/relaysInfo.asp
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relay
 Electronics System Design

Light Detector On delay with 555 timer PCB Design

Designed by: - TARIKU MEHDI

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