A GUIDE TO SOLAR LIGHTING DESIGN
Solar lighting has become a revelation for advocates of using green, renewable energy sources for the past few decades. While the concept of harnessing energy from our Sun may be quite simple, there’s a fair bit of thought that goes into designing a solar lighting system for your home, commercial space, or even public roads.
Here, we’ll break it down to five steps for you to have a better idea about what to consider when switching to solar power.
I. SELECTING A FIXTURE STYLE
Solar lighting fixtures come in various forms, each with their own appropriate application. These range from soft to bright light levels, small to large area coverage, as well as decorative applications depending on the nature of the project.
Overhead fixtures provide lighting levels and area coverage that are perfect for public roads, parking lots, public parks, walkways, and the like.
Meanwhile, Decorative fixtures provide similar lighting levels but operate on a smaller scale. These are commonly found in residential areas and other areas with architectural requirements. Decorative fixtures also come with several options for customization such as coloring and decorative pole bases, among other things.
Floodlight fixtures are versatile fixtures with a variety of applications such as flags and signs as well as stages and sports fields, to name a few. They have a broad range of wattages depending on the project and provide a wide, intense beam.
Wall and Ceiling fixtures are commonly used for smaller, roofed, open areas such as bus stops, pavilions, pagodas, grottos, and some kiosks.
Finally, we have the Landscape and Pathway fixtures such as lamps or lights integrated into a walkway to illuminate them at night.
Every fixture operates via a solar power assembly and every assembly can have one or multiple fixtures connected to it, depending on the application. Once you’ve decided on what fixture works best for the project, you’re ready to determine wattage and lumen requirements.
II. UNDERSTANDING WATTAGE AND LUMEN REQUIREMENTS
Wattage and Lumen Requirements are two very important factors that you should consider when deciding on your solar lighting system. They can determine how cost-efficient and energy-efficient your project can be. While solar power is definitely renewable, being able to maximize that power is very important in making sure none of it goes to waste.
Wattage refers to how much energy it would take to produce a certain amount of light. Higher wattages produce brighter lights, but at higher energy costs. Advancements in technology have allowed us to use more efficient lights such as compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that pair well with solar power.
A Lumen is the amount of light that gets produced by a light source such as a CFL or an LED. Every area that needs to be lit up has a certain lumen requirement to provide ample visibility during the night. The lower the wattage that you can use to meet the lumen requirements, the more efficient your solar battery can become.
Learning about the types of light distribution can also increase your efficiency greatly. Coordinating with a solar lighting specialist like Quicklight Solar and Lighting Solutions is a great way to determine the best way to maximize the amount of light you can get from your solar lighting system and will also help you in making more informed decisions about finalizing the fixtures you want to use.
III. OPERATION PROFILES
The next thing on your agenda should be determining your operation profile. While most systems are dusk activated and operate from dusk until dawn like highway lights and park lights, you may be met with a situation where the lights may not need to run the whole 12 or so hours.
An example of such is a dusk activated solar light that remains turned on for a set number of hours. One application of this is an establishment that closes at a certain time like 11 PM and is vacated by personnel by 12 MN. You can set your solar-powered lights to turn off at midnight when most of the lights will not be needed anymore. You may also choose to leave some on for security purposes. They can also be set to turn on before dawn if any of the establishment’s personnel needs arrive before sunrise.
Some large operations require planning that can cover a full calendar year. Here, electronic time computers can come in handy as they can be programmed to cover a large amount of time and can be left on their own to carry out the programming.
There are also motion-activated lights that use either infrared detection or occupancy sensors so that they can turn on or increase in intensity if someone is within the vicinity, and turn back off or dim down when vacated. These may be of use in areas with regular security patrols.
You may also need lights that can be activated via a remotely actuated switch or a spring-loaded timer for when the lighting is only used for a very short period of time.
Understanding your operation profile is vital to making your solar lighting system as refined as it can be. As always, the expertise of a solar lighting specialist will go a long way into pushing your project in the right direction.
IV. PREPARING YOUR MOUNTING HARDWARE
Now that you’ve determined the best fixture, wattage, lumen requirement, and operation profile for your project, you’re ready to mount your solar lighting system and get your operation rolling. Using the proper mounting hardware is crucial, and there are several factors to consider. Having a solar lighting expert like Quicklight Solar and Lighting Solutions can help you make the right decisions.
The first thing you need to look at is the pole that needs to be used. Factors such as height, placement, type, material, and strength requirements are to be considered, and all of these must be relative and specific to the project, and in accordance with what is regulated and required by city or national ordinances.
The same must be said about the mounting bracket or mast arm that’s used to hold the fixture in place to provide the necessary illumination.
The foundations and pads that are needed to support the mounting hardware must also meet the standards set by the authorities that handle the installation of solar lighting in your area. Work with your solar specialist to make sure everything is in order.
Once all of these have satisfactorily met the proper requirements, your project is ready to move into the next phase which tackles the solar power assembly that will determine the overall scheme of how your setup will use the green energy that it’s able to harness.
V. DETERMINING YOUR SOLAR POWER ASSEMBLY
Once your mounting hardware has been taken care of, it’s time to address the size of your solar power assembly. There are some lengthy but simple calculations that you need to do to determine this.
Step 1: Take the wattage of your fixture and divide it by 12 to determine the amps (a) required to operate the fixture for 1 hour.
Step 2: Multiply the amps (a) by the number of hours of operation per night (n) to get the total amps required for power consumption per night (t).
If the system is running from dusk to dawn, (n) will be the length of the longest night of the year. For operations not running continuously, (n) is the length of total operating hours as specified in the project. When dealing with motion-activated lights, (n) is the average hours of operation.
Step 3: Multiply the total amps (t) required by the total number of fixtures (f) that need to be powered by a single solar power assembly to get your subtotal (s). You may skip this step if there is only one fixture. However, some applications like signs, bollards or landscape lighting use multiple fixtures for a single solar power assembly.
Step 4: Add 20% to the subtotal you get from step 3 to get your final figure. This is to add some overage to account for any loss of power over time. As solar power ages, the energy it produces can slowly degrade. After bout 25 years, the power may diminish by about 20% from its original performance numbers.
Step 5: Using the final figure from step 4, you should be able to determine how many watts your power assembly needs to have for your solar lighting system to operate smoothly on any given night.
Evidently, a lot of careful consideration goes into perfect the design for your solar power project. Each project should be designed with specific requirements in mind. But these considerations go a long way in ensuring that your system can function efficiently and reliably for a very long time.
Once your design is nearing completion, you can iron out the kinks and finalize it with the solar lighting specialists at Quicklight Solar and Lighting Solutions.
