How Do Solar Street Lights Work?

How Do Solar Street Lights Work?

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To reiterate the point we made in the introduction, street-lighting is important. Arguably, it’s much more important than porch lighting or the lights you install in your garden, since keeping streets well-lit is also the best way to keep them safe. As such, we’d understand if you were sceptical as to the effectiveness of solar-powered street lighting. Not many people are aware of just how solar power works, for a start, let alone whether it can be trusted to carry out such a sensitive job.

Thankfully, we’re here to tell you that solar power can be trusted. Solar and other renewable power technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, and is now not only more affordable than ever, but more reliable than ever, too. There exist few better examples of this than solar street lights.

Solar street lights consist of a frame of many high-lumen LEDs, contained within a weatherproof housing. To the backside of the streetlight is attached a solar panel (of varying types and strengths, depending on the model), which is wired directly into a battery contained inside the main unit. The solar panel itself will be comprised of either polycrystalline or monocrystalline photovoltaic cells. These cells contain a chemical which, when exposed to sunlight, reacts to produce volts of electricity. The volts, produced during sunlight hours, are transferred into the battery where they are stored until night falls, and the electricity can be used to power the lights.

This simple, efficient system is regulated in most solar street lights by sensors which detect the loss of light, and automatically trigger the ON switch of the lights. In other words, these units are built to automatically switch on (and use their stored electricity) come dusk, and to switch off (and begin generating electricity again) come dawn. Many solar street lights also come with a remote control, so that you can override this automatic mechanism should you choose to, or set up manual timers to control its operation.

You might be surprised to learn that a single solar panel can generate enough power to keep the street lamp working all throughout the night, but they really can! The best solar street lamps will be powered by monocrystalline panels, which can generate electricity even in low light conditions, and will automatically reduce the brightness of their lights in small increments as power reserved deplete, to ensure that – no matter what – they keep the streets well-lit all night long.

Pros and Cons of Solar Street Lights

We’re here to provide you with all the information you need to make an informed decision; as such, we want to lay out not only the pros, but the cons of solar street lighting, too.

Pros:

1. No electricity bills. Whilst the environmentally-friendly aspect of solar power is inarguably more important than its cost, we know that for most of us the budget-friendly aspect is what really gets us excited. Since solar street lights require no power from the grid to function, you’ll never pay another cent toward street lighting on your energy bills!
2. Saving the environment. The planet’s in a rough way, right now, and we all know that whatever we can do to help mend it, we should do. Solar street lighting is a total win-win for both the consumer and the planet, since it performs a super important function in society, without draining the planet of its finite energy resources.
3. No power outages. As we’ve said before, street lighting equals street safety; and with solar street lighting, you can be sure that the streets will be kept safe and well-lit even in the event of a blackout or loss of grid power!
4. Urban planning. Most solar street lights are affixed to brackets which can be attached directly to walls or any other vertical surface. What this means for urban planners is the freeing up of so much space! No more gaudy, obtrusive, space-hogging lampposts taking up the pavement or sidewalk; just reliable, out-of-the-way lighting.

Cons:

1. Reliance on light. As with all solar power, it goes without saying that in order to function properly, solar street lights require reliable and regular exposure to sunlight. Whilst some monocrystalline solar cells do continue generating electricity in low light, most (if not all) solar street lights will still require several hours every day of fairly direct sunlight in order to achieve their maximum potential.
2. Expensive purchase. Whilst solar energy products tend to save you money in the long run, they can often require an expensive initial investment. This is true for solar street lights, which may cost between $100-$150 each. However, we still think that the long term savings to your energy bills far outweigh the burden of this initial cost.