Solar-powered LED lights are becoming more popular because of their capacity to light larger areas without consuming massive amounts of energy.
Taking into account the increasing energy costs, battery prices, and rising installation costs, it’s no surprise why lots of residential, commercial, and industrial users prefer solar solutions over traditional electrical lighting options.
Especially, when it comes to street lights, the introduction of innovative renewable technologies make Solar LED Street Lights more dependable and cost-effective.
In this post, we’re going to compare traditional Electric Street Lights and Solar LED Lights so that you can make an informed decision.
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Solar LED Street Lights VS. Electric Street Lights
Today, one of the biggest concerns for project managers and municipalities is finding new ways to reduce electricity costs.
Also, they want to install solutions that require minimum replacement and maintenance costs. Solar LED Street Lights could be an amazing option to achieve those objectives. Not only Solar LED Lights provide bright and instant light, but they’re also a source of clean energy production.
Solar LED Street Lights
Solar LED Lights provide lighting without using electricity from the main grid.
As Solar LED Street Lights can produce their own energy, they’re energy-independent and are not linked to the electrical grid.
Solar LED Lights work when solar panels harvest the solar light during the day and transform it into energy which is then stored in the battery for later use.
The solar charge controller is the heart and soul of the solar lighting system and administers the battery storage capacity and guarantees a greater product lifespan.
The stored energy is then being used during the night to light Solar LED Lights fixed on the streets.
Traditional Electric Street Lights
Conventional street lights make use of electrical power from the grid which produces electricity using non-renewable sources.
Electric Street Lights generate carbon emission and have a very high environmental impact compared to energy-efficient solar LED Lights that produce light from sunlight every day.
Read on to know the key differences between old-dated Electric Street Lights and solar-powered LED Street Lights.
Environmental Impact
As mentioned above, solar LED Street Lights depend on sunlight to produce electricity. Traditional lights, on the other hand, need non-renewable resources to produce energy. Therefore, the use of LED solar lights to drive street lights is both safe and non-toxic.
Apart from that, the use of non-renewable sources also gives rise to carbon emission which disturbs the overall ecological balance.
Brightness and Visibility
As solar LED lights include LEDs as a major component, they produce better and brighter quality of light. Also, LEDs can be modified to attain the required CRI, making them look as bright and visible as sunlight. Electric Street Lights, on the other hand, comes with metal halide lamps that significantly loses its power and capacity with time.
Lifespan
Unlike Electrical Street Lights that can last not more than 5000 hours, the solar-powered LED lights come with up to 100,000 hours lifespan depending upon your use.
Reliability
Since solar-powered LED Street Lights brighten up the streets all through the night, they’re far more reliable than Electrical Street Light options.
Solar LED Street Lights VS Electrical Street Lights – Detailed Cost Comparison
The Price Factor
The purchase price of a Solar LED Street Lights may initially be a disincentive for potential buyers, but considering the maintenance, installation, and electricity costs of traditional Electrical Street Lights, LED lights are definitely worth the price.
Cost of Installation
Electrical Street Lights are connected to a grid that needs underground wiring. Plus, labor costs are also included in the process. So, the entire installation would cost you around $4500 or more for traditional lighting.
Solar LED lights are autonomous in nature and there’s no need for any sort of trenching or underground wiring.
As a result, the installation price significantly drops down to $1500 which is incredibly affordable considering the benefits you get with the product.
Cost of Maintenance
As far as the cost of maintenance is concerned, solar lights are more productive when you use them with LED technology.
The general misconception about Solar LED Street Lights is that you have to pay hefty in terms of maintenance and replacement, but the fact is that the Solar LED Lights require less maintenance and occasional replacement compared to Electrical Street Lights.
Unlike Electrical Street Lights that come with 5000-8000 hours lifespan on average, Solar LED Street Lights can last up to 7-8 years depending upon your use.
LEDs are built to last. They do not include a filament or any other fragile or expensive part like CFLs or other light sources that quickly degrade over time. Because of the long lifespan, Solar LED Street Lights infrequently need repair.
Energy Costs
Solar LED Street Lights are not dependent on the standard grid. They generate their own energy using a natural light source that is sunlight.
Conventional lighting sources, on the other hand, run by using energy from the main power grid. In fact, a single Electrical Street Light can accumulate over $1500 in terms of energy costs over 10 years.
Solar Energy Incentives
Since solar lighting systems are subsidized to promote eco-friendly production of light, it can definitely be more worthy if you choose Solar LED Lights over Electrical Street Lights.
Wrap Up
In conclusion, the cost of solar power has reduced substantially and is expected to reduce even more in the coming years.
Also, integration of smart hardware including motion sensors, smart adjustment features like dimming, and inclusion of cloud-based software will enhance functionality and reduce maintenance cost.
These smart additions will also improve battery life and overall performance.
When correlating the total cost of Electrical Street Lights and Solar LED Lights, Solar Street Lights are definite winners.
All in all, Solar LED Lights cost not more than $5,000 on average per 10 years, while conventional lighting solutions cost a massive $8,000 on average over 10 years taking into account the trenching and underground wiring costs.
In short, the Remote management feature of Solar LED Lights opens up doors of opportunities for colossal solar deployment.
