Our success story with VAISALA GmbH

The topic of “Smart City” is becoming increasingly important in many municipalities. The digitalization of the infrastructure aims to gain new insights and continuously improve the quality of life of citizens. In this context, air quality measurement and monitoring plays an important role because it is an integral part of the “Smart City” concept. The primary goal is to accurately collect air quality data and store it long-term. As a result, the ongoing evaluation of this data enables future measures to further optimize the urban environment.

The AQT530 air quality transmitter from Vaisala is used here, a modern and cost-efficient sensor that is specially optimized for measuring the most important particles and pollutants. It offers high accuracy, exceptional durability even under extreme conditions and exceptionally high data availability throughout its entire service life.



As a rule, the AQT530 is mounted on poles together with the appropriate gateway for data communication and supplied with local power. But one particular application presented a particular challenge: the system had to be mounted on street lamp poles that only carry electricity at night. This means that a reliable solution had to be found to power the system during the day when street lights are turned off.

Find out in this success story how Vaisala and Bicker Elektronik have worked closely together to develop a reliable solution for taking measurements and securely transmitting measurement data around the clock, 365 days a year. Thanks to Bicker Elektronik's uninterruptible power supply, Vaisala's advanced environmental sensor technology can continuously collect valuable air quality data, driving a sustainable improvement in the quality of life in cities and the move towards the smart city..

Project description

Air quality measurement and monitoring is part of the “Smart City” concept for digitalizing the infrastructure – here using Darmstadt as an example. In order to achieve the most comprehensive monitoring of air quality, around 40 measuring locations were defined. In order to save costs for laying new cables, the VAISALA AQT530 sensor system, including the gateway for data communication, should be installed on-site at the street lights and supplied with 24 VDC via their 230 VAC power connection. Since the lighting only carries electricity in the dark, a continuous power supply was not guaranteed. That's why, in close collaboration with Bicker Elektronik, a buffered 24/7 power supply with night charging was created for safe operation around the clock.

The challenge

The challenge was to develop a UPS solution for harsh outdoor use that ensures an uninterrupted 24V power supply for sensors and gateway, as there is no permanent power supply available on site. These locations only have street lights that are powered by 230VAC during lighting times. The buffer storage must be optimally charged at night in order to have sufficient energy available throughout the day to supply the sensors and gateway.

Further challenges arose from the climatic and seasonal changes.

In summer, the UPS and battery technology must withstand high temperatures and enable a longer supply time for sensors and gateway as the lanterns are switched on later and switched off earlier. It was crucial that the energy storage could be sufficiently recharged even with the shorter lighting time and that the capacity was dimensioned accordingly.

In winter the opposite situation occurs. The UPS has to cope with extremely low temperatures. While the lanterns shine for longer and thereby shorten the bridging time required to supply the sensors and the gateway, battery storage systems generally cannot be charged as efficiently or quickly at low temperatures.

The aim was to find a solution that would reliably supply the sensors and the gateway with 24VDC at all times under all conceivable conditions. The battery technology in particular had to meet the high requirements in terms of thermal properties as well as safety and longevity.

The solution

With the tailor-made UPS solution UPSI-2406IP-38AC , the engineers at Bicker Elektronik were able to optimally meet the requirements profile. The robust and weatherproof IP65 aluminum housing protects the highly efficient AC/DC converter with wide range input, the UPS control and charging technology and the newly developed LiFePO4 high-performance battery. This battery technology and the integrated battery management system (BMS) with cell balancing guarantee maximum safety, a particularly long service life and excellent performance at temperatures from -20 to +50°C. This means that a particularly reliable and uninterrupted power supply is guaranteed at all times, even under demanding operating conditions.

The UPSI-2406IP-38AC converts the input AC supply voltage (90-264VAC) into 24VDC during the night and forwards this directly to the connected environmental sensors via the UPS output, charges the connected energy storage in parallel and monitors all relevant parameters and currents and tensions. In the event of a voltage dip or power failure - in this case due to the street lighting being switched off in the morning - a MOSFET disconnects the input within a few microseconds and the sensor with gateway is supplied uninterrupted from the LiFePO4 energy storage throughout the entire day. The UPSI-2406IP-38AC provides a constantly regulated 24VDC output voltage.

The integrated LiFePO4 energy storage of the UPSI-2406IP-38AC impresses with particularly stable battery chemistry, a long service life of at least 10 years and more than 6000 full charge and discharge cycles. Bicker Elektronik deliberately uses particularly safe lithium iron phosphate chemistry for all high-performance battery packs, which makes thermal runaway almost impossible.

In contrast to supposedly cheap lead-gel batteries, high-quality lithium iron phosphate cells have a service life and cycle stability that are approximately 15-20 times longer. When calculating the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) over the entire period of use of at least 10 years, there is a significant cost advantage compared to lead-acid batteries, especially since the effort for maintenance and battery replacement with LiFePO4 is eliminated during this period.

The sealed housing elements and connections of the high-quality aluminum housing are resistant to water, ice, oil and dust in accordance with protection class IP65. An integrated pressure compensation element with a membrane prevents condensation inside the device. The mounting holes on the housing enable flexible wall or pole mounting. The optionally available pole mounting set PSZ-1100 is used for lamp post installation.

Advantages & customer benefits

By using the UPSI-2406IP-38-AC, the complex and costly laying of new power lines for the permanent power supply of the environmental sensors could be avoided. Thanks to the intelligent and powerful outdoor UPS solution with LiFePO4 buffering, the time between the lighting intervals of the street lights can be safely bridged - even in the summer months with short charging times at night. The UPS system also offers reliable protection as an emergency power supply in the event of a power failure, flicker or voltage dips.

We are working on innovations to better understand and predict weather and environmental phenomena. Thanks to the cooperation with Bicker Elektronik, completely new possibilities have opened up for using our measuring systems autonomously in 24/7 continuous operation. Jens Dickau, Sales Manager Road Weather Systems Vaisala GmbH

Vaisala is a global leader in measurement and monitoring solutions, enabling customers in over 150 countries to measure the invisible, whether on land or at sea. With offices in 17 countries, Vaisala provides innovative technologies and services to diverse sectors such as weather, environmental, energy and industrial. Through continuous research and development, Vaisala helps improve the accuracy, reliability and efficiency of measurements worldwide.

Fields of application include road condition monitoring, traffic environmental controls, intelligent traffic signals, air quality monitoring, winter service systems, water level monitoring, route control, visibility systems, precipitation measurement, heat monitoring and weather monitoring.

Detailed information about Vaisala's company and products can be found here:

Vaisala GmbH
https://www.vaisala.com