Solar Outdoor Lighting, all the benefits of grid power with none of the downside

Mention solar outdoor lighting and most people think of the arrays of photovoltaic cells mounted on the roofs of homes and other structures, solar panels that produce electrical energy for heating water and running lights and appliances inside the buildings. It is a little-known fact that the main strides in solar technology over the past few years have been made in the area of solar lighting applications. Because most such applications are in public spaces such as streets, parking lots, parks, harbors, airports, hospital complexes and college campuses, mainly managers and developers are in the know about this incredible form of lighting. With the huge increases in the costs of grid power and fossil fuels, the demand for these sun-powered outdoor lights is increasing and even spreading to the hotel and resort market. Once visitors see these solar lights in hotel gardens, you can be sure the trend will spread to domestic outdoor lighting.

Solar outdoor lighting is a robust form of low-maintenance, low-cost illumination powered entirely by the sun. Each light has its own “sun factory”, a set of photovoltaic cells mounted on the light itself and adequate to keep the light burning at night. The exact times the light draws upon the saved solar energy, which has been converted to solar energy by an inversion mechanism and stored in batteries, can be determined on a computerized panel applying to the light. You are probably asking what the catch is. The answer is that there is no catch unless you include the doubt that still hangs round in the back of peoples’ minds when they think of solar power. A cursory examination of the facts, however, proves that there are only benefits accruing to solar outdoor lighting, with zero downside.

First, no trenching, metering or wiring is required for the installation of solar outdoor lighting systems. This in itself is a massive cost saving. The other point about this is that each light operates independently from the others. In the unlikely event that there was a problem with one light, the rest would carry on operating. In addition, this means that the location of the light is not limited to where power lines run. A solar light can operate in the middle of a parking lot, in the middle or a harbor or on top of a mountain. The sky is the limit. Second, installation involves merely attaching the solar light to the roof, wall or other surface. Third, no maintenance is required. The solar light operates indefinitely without attention. Fourth, solar energy from the sun is free, so no electricity bills are in the mail. Fifth, solar energy gets collected even on cloudy days, even if it is raining, so electricity is continually being gathered. Sixth, blackouts become a thing of past with solar outdoor lighting, guaranteeing illumination for convenience and security. Seventh, and finally, the energy powering a solar outdoor light is completely clean. Using solar power means leaving no ecological footprint, and that is good news in an eco- conscious world.