Researchers in the U.S. are transforming streetlights into electric car chargers, offering a low-cost, accessible, and sustainable solution for urban mobility.
Streetlight charging begins in Kansas City
Charging your electric car through a streetlight instead of a public station could soon become a reality. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have installed 23 charging units inside Kansas City’s streetlights, testing a solution that addresses one of the biggest challenges of electric mobility in the U.S. and Europe alike: the difficulty of accessing public charging, especially for people living in large cities or apartment buildings.
A cheaper alternative to public chargers
This approach could be more convenient in terms of both cost and time, while also offering environmental benefits since streetlights are already installed regardless of vehicle type. “Light poles are already powered and usually owned by municipalities, which makes them relatively easy to manage. Their location, often near street parking and high-traffic areas, makes them ideal for serving both local residents and visitors,” explained the U.S. researchers. Their findings were published in the Journal of Urban Planning and Development, a journal supervised by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Streetlights to charge electric cars: AI models to scale up the project
The main challenge for this field study is scalability: creating a model that works not just in one city but can be replicated by other communities to boost the use of electric vehicles. To do so, the team used artificial intelligence models capable of forecasting demand based on land use, traffic volume, points of interest, and charging station density.
The results led them to select 23 streetlights across different areas of Kansas City and install electric vehicle charging units, collecting data over one year. Compared to traditional charging stations, these setups proved far more affordable to install since the infrastructure already existed. Moreover, the streetlight-based chargers offered significantly faster charging speeds, drawing power directly from municipal electric lines and experiencing less competition from multiple vehicles charging at once.
Fewer emissions and lower fuel use
Streetlight chargers also showed environmental benefits, helping reduce gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by taking advantage of existing parking spots. “We found that using streetlights for electric vehicle charging offers an innovative and equitable approach to expanding charging infrastructure and promoting sustainable electrification,” said one of the study’s authors.
Following these promising results, the researchers now plan to expand their AI models to include socioeconomic data and more detailed weather information. Socioeconomic factors will help identify communities with limited access to electric vehicles, ensuring a fairer distribution of infrastructure. Weather data, on the other hand, are crucial since extreme temperatures can affect battery performance, driving frequency, and overall energy demand.
