LIGHTING DESIGN
& APPLICATION
Why are we not seeing solar street lights in our streets today? The answer
is simple: some stand-alone solar street lights cause more problems than
they solve. In some cases they don’t solve any problems at all.
Stand-alone versus centralised
solar street lights
With the discovery that the sun’s rays by Edward Rae, Current Automation
could be transformed into electricity,
the solar industry has evolved into a
viable alternative to power generation.
The real question is still whether this maintenance costs on the lights should Problems
technology is economically feasible be minimal.
Structural design
right now or whether we should wait So why do we not see this exciting
for technology to evolve further before development in our streets today? The The poles that are used on street lights
we take the inevitable plunge. answer lies with a combination of quality are designed to carry the weight of a
and longevity and with an understanding standard street light fitting. By adding
The question of feasibility has reared
of the products. more weight to the top of the pole in
its head due to bad decisions on the
implementation of inadequate solar
components combined with “quick fix”
solutions versus sustainable, long-term
solutions.
The solar street light is a prime example
of this. How many solar street lights
have you seen that are not in working
order? If you haven’t seen any solar
street lights at all, it may be that
the local municipality has not been
convinced of the feasibility of these
systems because so many systems have
failed to date.
The solar street light is mostly sold as
an LED street light with a battery box
and a solar panel mounted on top of
a 6 – 9 m pole. This is known as a
“stand-alone” solar street light.
The theory is that the solar panel will
charge the battery during the day and,
at night, the light will use the power
stored in the battery to provide light.
This idea should be considered a match
made in heaven and a solution to
many problems: streets lights use a lot
of electricity and eliminating even only
half of this consumption would lighten
the strain burden on the grid. LED
has a much longer life expectancy, so
July 2013 - Vector - Page 48
the form a solar panel, combined with box. Although the metal battery box lies The batteries will be housed in an
the added wind resistance, it would in the shade of the panel, it will absorb IP65, well-ventilated battery cabinet
only take a gust of wind or even a the heat generated by the panel, which is which can be insulated to provide
passing truck for the pole to tumble too much heat for the battery to tolerate. maximum protection against heat.
to the ground. In some cases, the size The system can easily be equipped
Shade
of the panel is reduced to reduce the with a monitoring device to alert
strain on the pole. This brings us to the Street lights are often situated in streets authorities of any tampering or
second issue. with shady trees which cause shadow to removal of equipment. This will
fall on the panel. not eliminate the threat of theft but
Under-sizing of the solar design
Maintenance will reduce the response time so
For the system to be viable, it must the culprits could be caught red-
provide enough power for the lights to The batteries on each pole must be handed.
burn for at least eight to ten hours. To checked regularly to ensure the system The monitoring device can keep
cut costs and weight, a smaller solar will function correctly. This task could control on one or many systems.
panel is used with a smaller battery. The be daunting and costly when there are Most large inverters are equipped
result is that the system may only work many solar lights. to facilitate monitoring software
adequately for a few weeks, after which Theft which will not only alert the relevant
the degree of illumination and hours of people of any maintenance issues,
light produced dwindle and fade. The cost of constantly monitoring but also to send alerts if the system
individual systems is too high to justify, is over-heating or if moisture is
Understanding the relationship between which results in many systems being
the battery and the solar panel is vital: detected in the system. This will
stolen. assist the municipalities to better
the power provided by the panel must
be enough for the battery to charge Centralised solar systems understand the system and to avoid
fully within the sunlight hours of one major replacement of equipment.
In centralised solar systems, the solar
day. Failing this would simply result in The maintenance will be done at
system is separated from each street light
the battery draining more power than to provide power to a cluster of street one point for several lights and
it receives. The battery should also combined with the monitoring
lights. Although this system has problems
store enough power to compensate for system; maintenance could simply
of its own, it is considered a more viable
overcast days. be done on the system from a central
option for converting existing street lights
computer.
The batteries to solar power for the following reasons:
The main drawback of the centralised
The existing infrastructure such as
The batteries are the heart of the solar solar system is that cables must be
poles and wiring does not have to be
system and they must be well-protected. laid to each pole where a stand-alone
replaced to accommodate the solar
They are exposed to high temperatures system. system does not require cabling. It is
and depth of discharge (DOD) (the the author’s opinion that the additional
The system does not have the
percentage of power drained from the cost related to stand-alone systems
same limitations as the stand-alone
battery): the less power is drained from such as stronger poles, battery boxes,
system. The result is that the solar
the battery, the more cycles it will provide system can be designed to be as big solar panels and the risk of additional
and the longer it will last. as required with enough batteries maintenance will outweigh the cost of
The batteries are grossly undersized and panels to provide enough power installing a centralised system.
to combat the weight issue. Most to the lights. Contact Edward Rae,
stand-alone solar street lights have the The solar panels can be placed away Current Automation,
batteries situated on the top of the pole, from any shade to optimise power Tel: 010 591-1713,
just below the panel, enclosed in a metal generation.
[email protected] July 2013 - Vector - Page 50
