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Case Study on Economic Return on Investments for Safety and Emergency Lighting in Road Tunnels

Author

Listed:
  • Ferdinando Salata

    (DIAEE—Area Fisica Tecnica, Università degli Studi di Roma "Sapienza", Via Eudossiana, 18, 00184 Rome, Italy)

  • Iacopo Golasi

    (DIAEE—Area Fisica Tecnica, Università degli Studi di Roma "Sapienza", Via Eudossiana, 18, 00184 Rome, Italy)

  • Emiliano Bombelli

    (DIAEE—Area Fisica Tecnica, Università degli Studi di Roma "Sapienza", Via Eudossiana, 18, 00184 Rome, Italy)

  • Emanuele De Lieto Vollaro

    (DIMI—Università degli Studi "Roma TRE", Via Vito Volterra, 62, 00146 Rome, Italy)

  • Fabio Nardecchia

    (DIAEE—Area Fisica Tecnica, Università degli Studi di Roma "Sapienza", Via Eudossiana, 18, 00184 Rome, Italy)

  • Francesca Pagliaro

    (DIAEE—Area Fisica Tecnica, Università degli Studi di Roma "Sapienza", Via Eudossiana, 18, 00184 Rome, Italy)

  • Franco Gugliermetti

    (DIAEE—Area Fisica Tecnica, Università degli Studi di Roma "Sapienza", Via Eudossiana, 18, 00184 Rome, Italy)

  • Andrea De Lieto Vollaro

    (DIAEE—Area Fisica Tecnica, Università degli Studi di Roma "Sapienza", Via Eudossiana, 18, 00184 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

While planning a double-hole road tunnel with a length higher than one km, it is important to pay attention to the safety factor if an accident occurs. If there is a power outage, in order to avoid critical situations that could jeopardize the safety of the people present (facilitating the stream coming out from the tunnel and the arrival of the emergency personnel), it is really important to guarantee uninterrupted lighting of roadways, mandatory emergency lay-bys, and ways of escape. Uninterrupted service of the lighting systems supply must be guaranteed, in accordance with the current regulations, through the exertion of UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) and power units. During tunnel construction, such devices represent a cost that must be amortized. In this case study, which takes into consideration a section of a road tunnel characterized by emergency lay-bys and ways of escape, emergency and security lighting were planned and installation and management costs were evaluated. The goal of this research was the creation of a cash flow thanks to the energy generated by photovoltaic panels, in a way that the service life of the system (25 years) coincided with the amortization of the costs of the backup electrical equipment installation (complying with the regulations). The possibility of over-dimensioning the UPS and providing it with a proper photovoltaic panel surface (235 kW p ) to generate and exchange electric energy with the grid was taken into consideration.

Suggested Citation

  • Ferdinando Salata & Iacopo Golasi & Emiliano Bombelli & Emanuele De Lieto Vollaro & Fabio Nardecchia & Francesca Pagliaro & Franco Gugliermetti & Andrea De Lieto Vollaro, 2015. "Case Study on Economic Return on Investments for Safety and Emergency Lighting in Road Tunnels," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:8:p:9809-9822:d:53065
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Asdrubali, Francesco & Baldinelli, Giorgio & D’Alessandro, Francesco & Scrucca, Flavio, 2015. "Life cycle assessment of electricity production from renewable energies: Review and results harmonization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1113-1122.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lucian-Ionel Cioca & Larisa Ivascu, 2017. "Risk Indicators and Road Accident Analysis for the Period 2012–2016," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-15, August.
    2. Antonio Bracale & Pierluigi Caramia & Pietro Varilone & Paola Verde, 2019. "Probabilistic Estimation of the Energy Consumption and Performance of the Lighting Systems of Road Tunnels for Investment Decision Making," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-21, April.
    3. Ferdinando Salata & Iacopo Golasi & Alessandro Poliziani & Antonio Futia & Emanuele De Lieto Vollaro & Massimo Coppi & Andrea De Lieto Vollaro, 2016. "Management Optimization of the Luminous Flux Regulation of a Lighting System in Road Tunnels. A First Approach to the Exertion of Predictive Control Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-17, October.
    4. Annika K. Jägerbrand, 2016. "LED (Light-Emitting Diode) Road Lighting in Practice: An Evaluation of Compliance with Regulations and Improvements for Further Energy Savings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-15, May.
    5. Wahyudi Sutopo & Ika Shinta Mardikaningsih & Roni Zakaria & Ahad Ali, 2020. "A Model to Improve the Implementation Standards of Street Lighting Based on Solar Energy: A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, February.
    6. Salata, Ferdinando & Golasi, Iacopo & di Salvatore, Maicol & de Lieto Vollaro, Andrea, 2016. "Energy and reliability optimization of a system that combines daylighting and artificial sources. A case study carried out in academic buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 250-266.

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