Source: Bluesmart
Solar energy is a renewable energy that is safe for the environment. Photovoltaics and solar lighting system contributed to the advanced and innovative way of generating electricity. The solar street light is a device that collects the sunlight and turns it into power that produces illumination via solar lamps. The trapping of the sun’s heat energy is made possible through the photovoltaic cells in solar panels. They enable the solar units to stay powered through the night by holding a battery charge.
As you install the solar lights to your garden, space, or street, you don’t just leave your devices alone afterward. You monitor their performance and make sure they don’t just work, but work properly. In this way, you can easily determine whether there is a problem going on and resolve it right away. Also, you did not invest in a solar-powered street lighting system to get poor results.
Here are some factors that you need to focus on in order to become certain that your solar street lights are functioning efficiently.
1. Vastness of the Area
How expansive is the area that you aim to illuminate with these solar street lights? What is the intensity of light needed in providing luminosity so the place would become more visible to the naked eye? Figure out the right radius of light that your area demands. The solar street lights will not be able to do their work effectively if the space they need to illuminate is larger than what they can accommodate. Read a solar street light guide that explains the capacity of the solar lamps.
2. Rechargeable Batteries
Concerning the batteries of the solar street lights, you should understand that they are what store the sunlight. Necessarily, they are rechargeable. Not just that, once they complete their life cycle, they can no longer be used; these rechargeable batteries must be replaced with new ones. Again, that is to ensure that the solar lighting units are in the best condition. In relation to battery consumption, you can also learn how to calculate the solar street lighting system.
3. Photovoltaic Cells
As briefly discussed in the introduction, solar lights are mainly comprised of photovoltaic panels that contain PV cells. These cells are the ones responsible for trapping the sunlight and converting it into electrical energy. Solar arrays are generally implanted into the light fixture, but some solar street lights have separate solar arrays (consisting of solar modules) fixed externally to the lamp post. Take note of the total number of cells in the solar array of each lighting unit.
4. Light Pole or Lamp Post
It’s important to pay attention to the strength of the pole or post that holds the solar lights including the panels. It should be strong enough to withstand extreme winds and bad weather conditions. It should hold the lights properly and tightly, so it would not become loose and make the lights fall or get damaged.
5. Charge Controller
Solar charge controllers prevent the rechargeable batteries of the solar street lights from becoming overcharged. How does it work? This device enables the light-emitting diode to go on or off. It is literally a controller that powers on and shuts down the light. Charge controllers are necessary as they reduce the voltage of the solar panel. They serve as a regulator of the charging process.
In addition to that, using remote management software will allow you to keep track of the solar lights’ performance online, even when you’re away from the lights’ vicinity. You can manage them there, and proactively preserve the condition of the devices. Also, you can modify lighting profiles via dimming and motion detection in real-time. It monitors the off-grid system of the street lights through day and night.
6. Activity in the Area
How busy is the place where the solar street lights will be mounted? Modern solar lamps adapt to their environment. Meaning to say, when there is enough light around, the devices would automatically turn off in order to conserve energy. Yet, if the space being illuminated is busy and too active at night, then there is no reason to turn the lights off. Observe and figure out the amount of traffic and circulation in the area so you could alter the specifications of your solar lights.
Applying the adaptive lighting techniques would significantly lower the overall cost of the lighting project. The dimensions including the weight of the solar units can be reduced by using smaller battery packages. Although the main roads cannot use this kind of system, rural places and secondary roads can find a huge number of advantages from it.
Conclusion
There is a myriad of ways to ensure that your solar lights work efficiently and are giving you the best results in street lighting. Most of them are simple ways that we often neglect about. While some are too technical, we only need to exert effort and extend our patience in order to leverage our use of solar street lights. Nonetheless, they are a product of further research, development, and innovation and we should be grateful that we have this kind of technology that works well with our environment.
