Solar street lights are a green alternative that helps the environment thrive. Before making the switch to solar street lights, there are a lot of factors to consider. These include the costs, lifespan, luminance, effect on the environment, durability, etc. In a wide variety of solar light options, which one should you choose? An all in one street light is a promising solar product that uses smart technology in producing light. It can be used in streets, parkways, and open spaces.
Read on to know more about this popular solar street lamp.
What is an all in one street light?
An all in one street light is one of the types of integrated solar street lights. It consists of four primary components of a solar street light: Solar panel, lighting fixture, lithium batteries, and a charging controller.
Solar Panel
Solar panels are divided into two major types: monocrystalline and polycrystalline. Monocrystalline is known for performing better than the latter one because it has higher conversion rates of energy which can be very useful especially during the cold weather or the rainy season. A monocrystalline solar panel attains a conversion rate of as much as 24.1%.
An all in one street light design includes a compact monocrystalline solar panel. It collects energy and converts it in the daytime to provide brighter illumination at night.
LED Light
LED or light-emitting diode is a lighting solution that’s most popular in the market due to its high performance and power-saving feature. LED lights still dissipate a significant amount of heat, that is why they always come with an aluminum heatsink at the back.
Aluminum heatsinks protect LED lights from high temperatures, particularly above 70 Celcius. Constant heat exceeding 70 Celcius will damage the light source and reduce its lifespan.
Lithium Batteries
Lithium or lithium-ion batteries are essential in renewable energy industries. These batteries unload large amounts of energy in just a matter of time. Lithium batteries are deep cycle. They are designed to endure power supply and have a number of cycles that are twice or thrice greater than conventional batteries.
Charging Controller
In the market, charging controllers can be classified into two types: PWM and MPPT. People need the energy-saving type of charging controller. Fortunately, an all in one solar street light utilizes MPPT, which makes the most of conversion from solar into chemical energy.
Solar controllers monitor electricity voltage that passes through the solar panel. They also control the power and illumination depending on a time schedule assigned to the all in one solar street light. They have motion sensors that increase the amount of light being produced. If a movement is detected, the solar light will shine brighter.
Charging controllers are also utilized to avoid the overcharging of the batteries and prevent LVD or low voltage disconnect.
How does an all in one street light work?
An all in one street light works on a cycle day by day. When dawn approaches and the solar panel is detecting a 5v-rise in voltage, the solar controller turns off the light source. As the sun rises and reaches its peak in a day, the solar panel and charging controller team up in collecting solar energy. Normally, 18v the solar panel’s voltage reaches 18v as it also charges the 12v-battery bank. To avoid overcharging, the solar controller protects the batteries.
When the evening comes and there is no enough sunlight streaming, the LED light automatically turns on. During the night, smart technology becomes activated and time control mode works alongside motion sensor mode.
This means whenever the all in one solar street light detects any movement approaching, the light’s luminance increases to 100%. It then goes back to idle mode level when someone draws away from the solar pole.
Why should people make the switch?
Due to some reasons, people refuse to make the switch from traditional to solar-powered lights. They think LED lights consume more energy than CFLs and the like. They assume that new solar technology is very much expensive for them, or maybe those lithium-ion batteries are not yet fully developed.
Let me tell you why all in one solar street lights are switch-worthy in almost all aspects.
The technology involving lithium batteries, solar controllers, and LED lighting is pretty amazing. This makes the solar industry thrive and serve people well. The compact battery allows you to have larger storage of energy at the equivalent volume.
LED lights also take up less space in the street light. These solar lamps are very much easy to install and can function even without being wired to the national electricity grid. They are automated and they consume 60% less energy than conventional lights do. All in one solar street lights are also weather-resistant, not easily knocked down by any typhoon, and provide better performance.
Conclusion
All in one solar street lights can illuminate everything brightly. If you are still curious about this solar product, do your research and discover that solar street lights are nothing but efficient and power-saving. Luminous parkways, pathways, gardens, streets, etc. can promote a better quality of life.