SERDP & ESTCP Webinar Series
SERDP and ESTCP have launched a webinar series to promote the transfer of innovative, cost-effective and sustainable solutions developed through projects funded in five program areas. The webinar series targets Department of Defense and Department of Energy practitioners, the regulatory community and environmental researchers with the goal of providing cutting edge and practical information that is easily accessible at no cost.
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LED-ing the Way: Sophisticated and Energy Efficient Exterior Lighting Systems for DoD Installations
Dr. Saifur Rahman, Advanced Research Institute, Virginia Tech
Dr. Satyen Mukherjee, Retired from Phillips Research, North America
Presented October 15, 2015 – Webinar Slides
Webinar Topics
Bi-Level Demand Sensitive LED Street Lighting Systems by Dr. Saifur Rahman
This presentation will cover detailed engineering design and implementation of a demand-sensitive LED street lighting system deployed as a retrofit to an existing system at the NAVFAC Washington (NFW) facility in Carderock, Maryland. The technology is based on a solid state lighting technology where light-emitting diode (LED) luminaires were substituted for existing High Pressure Sodium (HPS) street lighting units, and where an intelligent lighting control system was deployed. This allowed power consumption monitoring, as well as control and failure identification of each light fixture. Field measurements indicated an average annual electricity savings and carbon footprint reduction of 75% as compared to the existing streetlight systems. The new LED-based system is expected to pay back its investment within 6 years using an electricity cost of US $0.1183/kWh. This gives a savings-to-investment (SIR) ratio of 2.15 and an adjusted internal rate of return (AIRR) of 9.77%. Overall, the project has successfully demonstrated how existing street lighting installations can be made more efficient using current state-of-the-art technologies in the design and operation of the lighting control systems. This presentation will also discuss implementation issues and field experience that can help with the similar installations throughout the United States.
Dynamic Exterior Lighting for Energy and Cost Savings by Dr. Satyen Mukherjee
The objective of this ESTCP-funded project was to quantify the energy, environmental, and economic benefits of advanced exterior lighting control technologies at a U.S. Army installation in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Three complementary systems based on scalable control and communication technologies were demonstrated, each targeting different exterior lighting applications (e.g., street lighting, parking lots, and vehicle maintenance areas) and offering different levels of functionality, energy, and maintenance cost savings.
Dynadimmer for parking lots is a stand-alone solution that allows sites to control the amount of light delivered based on customized time schedules. Starsense/CityTouch for roadways is a fully networked system supporting remote management, monitoring, diagnostics and adaptive light level control. Each Starsense luminaire has a radio frequency (RF) module and controller, and is linked to a segment controller that provides wireless connectivity to a remote management station. Light on Demand (LOD), for area lighting, consists of sensing and RF modules that can be integrated with exterior luminaires to sense movement local to the luminaire, as well as adjust light levels in order to provide light when and where needed.
The system solutions were selected to suit the unique characteristics of the target DoD applications and provided energy and cost savings of 60 to 90% while improving the illuminance levels and uniformity compared to the pre-retrofit HPS systems.
Speaker Biographies

Dr. Saifur Rahman is the founding director of the Advanced Research Institute at Virginia Tech where he is the Joseph R. Loring Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He also directs the Center for Energy and the Global Environment. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and an IEEE Millennium Medal winner. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the IEEE Electrification Magazine and the IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy Journal. He served as a vice president of the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) from 2009 to 2013, and is currently serving as a member of the Board of Governors of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology. In 2006, Dr. Rahman served on the IEEE Board of Directors as Vice President for publications. He also served as the chair of the U.S. National Science Foundation Advisory Committee for International Science and Engineering from 2010 to 2013. Dr. Rahman is a Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE PES on topics such as smart grid, energy efficiency, renewable energy, demand response, distributed generation and critical infrastructure protection in over 30 countries on all six continents.

Dr. Satyen Mukherjee was Chief Scientist, Research Fellow, and Senior Director at Philips Research North America, after serving as the managing director of Philips Research North America and research department head of Microelectronic Devices, Circuits and Systems. Dr. Mukherjee’s current areas of interest include lighting controls systems and building-wide energy management systems, including HVAC and appliances. He has delivered numerous presentations in these areas at national and international conferences. He has published extensively in journals, written book chapters, and edited a book on ambient intelligence. He holds numerous patents including the original patent on flash memory cell. He has initiated research collaborations with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories to address challenges in integrated controls and energy simulation in buildings. Dr. Mukherjee has served as the Principal Investigator for two DoD-funded demonstration projects on indoor and outdoor lighting systems. He was the chairman of the board of directors for the Continental Automated Building Association (CABA) from 2010 until 2015.
Dr. Mukherjee obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India, in 1976, where he won the President of India Gold Medal for excellence in engineering. In 1981, Dr. Mukherjee obtained his Ph.D. from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
Past Webinars
- Installation Energy and Water (14)
- 08/08/2019 - Building Energy and Water Efficiency Solutions
- 02/21/2019 - Utilization of Advanced Conservation Voltage Reduction for Energy Reduction on DoD Installations
- 07/12/2018 - Innovative Low-Cost Building Automation Sensors and Controls
- 03/22/2018 - Cloud Computing Services for DoD - We Are Going to The Cloud!
- 11/16/2017 - Building Envelope Technologies
- 06/15/2017 - Coupling Geothermal Heat Pumps with Underground Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage
- 04/20/2017 - Solutions for Installations' Participation in Energy Markets
- 01/12/2017 - Award Winning Projects: Energy and Water
- 10/06/2016 - Cyber Security and its Impacts on Installation Energy Management
- 07/14/2016 - Remote Methods for Water Conservation
- 05/05/2016 - Cost Effective and Resilient Building-Scale Microgrid Solutions for Increased Energy Security
- 10/15/2015 - LED-ing the Way: Sophisticated and Energy Efficient Exterior Lighting Systems for DoD Installations
- 02/19/2015 - Raise the Roof: Increased Rooftop Solar Efficiency Beyond Flat Panel PV
- 12/18/2014 - Energy Audits: From Clipboard to Cloud
- Environmental Restoration (37)
- 12/12/2019 - Advances in Remediating Groundwater Contaminated with Chlorinated Solvents
- 11/07/2019 - Status of SERDP and ESTCP Efforts on PFAS and Innovative Approaches for Treatment of Waste Derived from PFAS Subsurface Investigations
- 10/24/2019 - Advances in Managing Contaminated Groundwater Using High Resolution Site Characterization and Contaminant Mass Flux Reduction
- 10/17/2019 - Managing AFFF Impacts to Subsurface Environments and Assessment of Commercially Available Fluorine-Free Foams
- 09/05/2019 - The Use of Advanced Molecular Biological Tools in Groundwater Contaminated with Chlorinated Solvents
- 06/20/2019 - Vapor Intrusion: Modeling Tools and Cost Effective Mitigation
- 05/23/2019 - Treatment Options for the Emerging Contaminants 1,2,3-Trichloropropane and 1,2-Dibromoethane
- 04/11/2019 - Managing Contaminated Sediments: Passive Sampling Methods and In Situ Treatment
- 02/07/2019 - The REMChlor-MD Groundwater Transport and Remediation Model for Sites with Matrix Diffusion
- 11/15/2018 - Stormwater Impacts on Sediment Recontamination
- 10/18/2018 - Restoration of Chlorinated Solvent Contaminated Groundwater Sites: The Value of Information Challenge
- 10/04/2018 - Managing Groundwater Impacts at Chlorinated Solvent Sites
- 08/09/2018 - Energy Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Systems for Forward Operating DoD Installations
- 06/28/2018 - Managing Sites Impacted by 1,4-Dioxane: New Developments in Molecular Tools and Conceptual Site Models
- 09/07/2017 - Research and Development Needs for Management of DoD's PFAS Contaminated Sites
- 07/27/2017 - Management of Energetic and Propellant Material Releases on Testing and Training Ranges
- 05/18/2017 - High-Resolution Site Characterization at Chlorinated Solvents Sites
- 04/06/2017 - 1,4-Dioxane Impacts and Innovative Cleanup Technologies at DoD Contaminated Sites
- 03/09/2017 - Award Winning Projects: Environmental Restoration
- 02/23/2017 - Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Environmental Risks Posed by Munitions Constituents in Aquatic Systems
- 12/15/2016 - Advances in the Assessment and In Situ Treatment of Contaminated Sediments
- 11/03/2016 - Bioavailability of Contaminants of Concern in Soils at DoD-Impacted Sites
- 09/08/2016 - Practical Assessment and Optimization of Redox-Based Groundwater Remediation Technologies
- 07/28/2016 - Geophysics 101 – Realistic expectations for geophysics when used for site characterization and remediation monitoring - Part 2
- 06/30/2016 - Geophysics 101 – Realistic expectations for geophysics when used for site characterization and remediation monitoring - Part 1
- 06/02/2016 - Insensitive Munitions: Environmental Health Criteria, Fate and Transport
- 04/21/2016 - Long Term Monitoring Issues at Chlorinated Solvent Sites
- 01/28/2016 - Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs): Analytical and Characterization Frontiers
- 01/14/2016 - Vapor Intrusion: Regulatory Update and Advances in Assessment Tools
- 12/03/2015 - Emerging Contaminants: DoD Overview and State of Knowledge on Fluorochemicals and 1,4-Dioxane
- 10/29/2015 - Assessment and Treatment of Contaminated Sediments
- 08/20/2015 - Characterization and Remediation in Fractured Rock Environments
- 05/28/2015 - New Tools for Characterizing and Remediating Munitions and Energetics at Military Ranges
- 03/19/2015 - Quantitative Framework and Management Expectation Tool for the Selection of Bioremediation Approaches at Chlorinated Solvent Sites
- 01/08/2015 - DNAPL Source Zone Management Approaches
- 11/20/2014 - New Tools for Improving the Management of Contaminated Sediment Sites
- 10/30/2014 - Key Advances in Vapor Intrusion Assessments at Contaminated Sites
- Munitions Response (12)
- 07/25/2019 - Understanding Underwater Munitions Mobility and Behavior on the Beach Face and in Shallow Muddy Environments
- 08/23/2018 - Sediment Volume Search Sonar Development
- 11/02/2017 - Platforms for Underwater and Near-Shore Munitions Surveys
- 06/01/2017 - Classification of Military Munitions using Electromagnetic Induction Data
- 02/09/2017 - Award Winning Projects: Munitions Response
- 06/16/2016 - Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for Advanced Geophysical Classification Investigations – Part 2
- 05/19/2016 - Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for Advanced Geophysical Classification Investigations – Part 1
- 02/25/2016 - Recent Advances in the Classification of Underwater Munitions near a Water-Sediment Boundary
- 11/12/2015 - Munitions Response: Land Based Program Closeout
- 09/17/2015 - Munitions Response: Underwater Geophysical Sensors
- 05/07/2015 - Factors Affecting Munitions Mobility Underwater and In Situ Measurements
- 02/05/2015 - Acoustic Methods for Underwater Munitions
- Resource Conservation and Resiliency (21)
- 10/03/2019 - Variation in Phenological Shifts: How do Annual Cycles and Genetic Diversity Constrain or Enable Responses to Climate Change?
- 08/22/2019 - Pacific Island Ecology and Management: Recovery of Native Plant Communities Following Removal of Non-Native Species
- 06/20/2019 - Developing Adaptation Strategies to Address Climate Change and Uncertainty
- 05/09/2019 - Roles of Soil Microbial Communities in Ecosystem Restoration
- 03/14/2019 - Determining the Temporal and Spatial Scales of Non-Stationarity in Temperature and Precipitation across the Continental United States
- 11/01/2018 - Plant Diversity and Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Longleaf Pine Ecosystems at Military Installations
- 09/20/2018 - Plant Diversity and Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Longleaf Pine Ecosystems at Military Installations
- 09/06/2018 - Informing Restoration Programs for Threatened and Endangered Plant Species
- 06/14/2018 - Approaches to Managing Threatened, Endangered and At-Risk Bird Species
- 05/03/2018 - Overview of the Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP)
- 03/08/2018 - Quantifying and Modeling Fugitive Dust Emissions from DoD Activities
- 12/07/2017 - Management of Novel Hawaiian Ecosystems
- 10/05/2017 - New Resource Conservation Insights to Desert Environments
- 06/29/2017 - Future Vulnerabilities to Alaskan Ecosystems and Tools for Permafrost Assessment
- 02/23/2017 - Award Winning Projects: Resource Conservation and Resiliency
- 10/20/2016 - DoD Decision Making and Climate Change
- 09/22/2016 - Managing the Brown Treesnake Headache: Assessment of the Aerial Acetaminophen Bait Drop on Guam
- 04/07/2016 - Use of Climate Information for Decision Making and Impacts Research
- 12/17/2015 - Watershed Assessment and Stormwater Management Optimization Tools
- 03/26/2015 - Innovative Tools for Species Inventory, Monitoring, and Management
- 11/06/2014 - New Tools for Advancing Our Understanding of Marine Mammal Behavioral Ecology
- Weapons Systems and Platforms (20)
- 10/31/2019 - Developing and Demonstrating Non-Toxic and Sustainable Coating Systems for Military Platforms
- 09/19/2019 - Life Cycle Assessment and Developmental Environment Safety and Occupational Health Evaluation: Tools for Sustainment and Health
- 06/06/2019 - Developing and Demonstrating Non-Toxic and Sustainable Coating Systems for Military Platforms
- 04/25/2019 - Accelerated Corrosion and Ageing Studies
- 05/31/2018 - Resonant Acoustic Mixing of Energetic Material Formulations
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- 02/08/2018 - Improved Methods to Evaluate Aerial Emissions and Develop Pollutant Emission Factors
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- 01/26/2017 - Award Winning Projects: Weapons Systems and Platforms
- 08/11/2016 - An Environmentally Acceptable Alternative for Fast Cook-Off Testing, Demonstration, Validation and Implementation Efforts
- 03/24/2016 - Cadmium and Chromate Elimination Efforts: Implementation Plans and Strategic Roadmaps for Three DoD Depots
- 02/11/2016 - Chromate/Hazardous Material Free Coating Systems for Military Aircraft and Ground Support Equipment
- 10/01/2015 - Hexavalent Chrome Elimination from Hard Chrome Surface Finishing
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- 03/05/2015 - Understanding and Mitigating the Risks Associated with Lead-Free Electronics
- 01/22/2015 - Bio-Based Methodologies for the Production of Environmentally Sustainable Materials
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