NATIONAL REPORT—There are many benefits of solar lights. For one, they require very little maintenance and no external sources of electricity once they are installed. However, if you are planning to install these devices on your property, there are some things you need to consider before you go ahead with the project.
If you are interested in the details of projecting, installing and operating solar street lights, you can find a lot of interesting facts in this article. However, you still do need to pay attention to these things to ensure that your project is viable.
Shade
The area you want to illuminate with solar street lights needs to have access to direct sunlight; that much you should know about solar energy. However, the shade changes during the day. Before you install solar lights, you need to calculate the amount of light which reaches that spot during the day. Solar panels will only need a certain amount of sunlight to generate enough electricity to be able to run all night.
Professionals have tools which can calculate insolation, so you should work in tandem with them on this. If the spot doesn’t fit your needs, you can either move it to a more optimal location or remove the source of shade—trimming trees, for example.
How Busy Is the Area
Modern solar lights operate using adaptive lighting techniques, meaning that they go off at certain times to conserve even more energy. However, if the area is active all through the night, it is not ideal to turn the lights off. That is why you need to research the amount of traffic in the area and modify your solar lights accordingly.
If, however, you can use the adaptive lighting techniques, the overall cost of the project can be significantly lower. By using smaller battery packages, the size and weight of the street lights can be reduced. Typically, main roads cannot use this technology, whereas secondary roads and rural areas can benefit greatly from it.
Lighting Requirement
Depending on the size of the area, you may need to use stronger or less potent LED lights and accompanying solar fixtures. A proposal may need to include more fixtures which ultimately raises the price of the entire project.
It’s not only the size of the area that can have an impact on your project. Any kind of obstructions also play an important role in determining the spacing of your light fixtures. Typically, they need to be spaced at around 100 feet apart. However, if there are buildings or trees or any other kind of obstruction, you may need to increase the density. Once again, solar lighting professionals are trained in calculating these distances accurately and efficiently.
Height Requirements
Finally, default height of a lighting pole may not be suitable for all purposes. This is another thing which needs to be included in the proposal if you have any special requirements. For instance, if you have a lovely tree line you do not want to disrupt, you can arrange for your solar panel to be raised above it without the need to cut any trees.
Similarly, particularly windy areas need specialized poles which can withstand the force of the wind. If you have any such restrictions, make sure that you are upfront about it, so that it doesn’t come as a nasty surprise when it comes time to foot the bill.
If you are able to overcome all of these challenges, you will end up with an amazing and cost- effective lighting method which is fully customized to your requirements.
For more information, call Irvine, Calif.-based Greenshine New Energy at (949) 609-9636.
