Under the global trend of practicing energy saving and emission reduction and promoting sustainable development, solar energy, as a representative of clean and renewable energy, has been widely used in various fields. Among them, solar street lights have risen to prominence in the field of lighting by virtue of their outstanding performance and significant economic benefits, not only dispelling the darkness for us, but also reshaping the economic and living patterns in multiple dimensions. Next, this article will be from a number of dimensions, in-depth analysis of solar street lights in cutting costs, promote economic development and other aspects of the outstanding advantages.
solar street light
Solar street lights collect solar radiation through solar panels, convert it into electricity, and store it in batteries for nighttime lighting. Solar radiation is a free and continuous source of energy, which enables solar street lights to significantly reduce, or even completely get rid of, their dependence on grid electricity in the process of use, reducing energy costs from the source. Take a city as an example, in the past, the city’s road lighting mainly relies on traditional street lamps, and need to pay a high annual electricity bill. Later, the city piloted the installation of solar-powered street lights in some areas, and the results showed that the electricity bill for lighting in these areas went straight to zero. The savings were used to improve the city’s public transportation facilities, greatly enhancing the travel experience for residents.
Traditional street lights rely on grid power and incur a constant electricity bill. By comparing the specific data below, the advantages of solar street lights in saving electricity costs are clear at a glance:
| Type | Monthly Electricity Cost per Light | 10-Year Monthly Electricity Cost for 20 Lights | Global Annual Outdoor Lighting Electricity Cost |
| Traditional Street Light | ~$20 | $48,000 | ~$10 Billion |
| Solar Street Light | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Solar street light not only does not need to pay for electricity, but its energy utilization efficiency is also very high. It adopts advanced LED lighting technology, combined with intelligent control system, which can automatically adjust the brightness according to the ambient light. In the case of achieving the same lighting effect, the power consumption of solar street lights is much lower than that of traditional street lights.For example, in a large logistics park, the traditional high-pressure sodium lamps with a power of 150 watts were used in the past. Later, the park replaced all street lights with 60-watt solar LED street lights, and the lighting effect not only did not decline, but improved, while energy consumption was significantly reduced.
The installation process of solar street lights is relatively simple, without the need to lay a complex network of wires. Traditional street light installation requires a lot of time and manpower for wiring, not only to plan the line direction, but also for the laying of underground pipes. Solar street lights only need to fix the pole, connect the solar panels and batteries to complete the installation, greatly saving the installation time and labor costs.
Take a new commercial plaza for example, the plaza plans to install 150 street lights. If traditional street lights were used, the installation team would need to spend 15 days on wiring and installation; but with solar street lights, the installation team completed all the installation tasks in just 3 days, greatly shortening the project cycle and enabling the commercial plaza to open and operate ahead of schedule.
solar led street light
When installing traditional street lights, the trenching and wiring process is extremely complex and costly. Pre-construction, you need to rent an excavator, according to road planning for ground excavation, open cable laying channel, only the excavator rental, the daily cost can reach thousands of dollars. At the same time, the cable laying machine is also necessary equipment, used to accurately lay the cable, which will also generate a considerable rental costs. In addition, the entire construction process requires professional technicians to manipulate the equipment, the cost of manpower should not be underestimated.
After the completion of paving, also need to backfill operations to restore the original state of the road surface, will also generate additional costs. According to statistics, in urban street lighting projects, the cost of trenching and wiring usually accounts for 30% – 40% of the total installation cost. Solar street lights do not need to connect to the grid, which fundamentally avoids this series of complex processes, directly saving the high cost of trenching and wiring, significantly reducing the project’s initial investment costs.
According to the different needs of the project, the use of solar street light lighting project from the offer to put into use, on average, can save 20% of the cost, part of the project’s savings ratio can even reach 45%. In addition, the solar street light is well-designed and equipped with energy storage batteries to ensure that it can still work normally under cloudy conditions for 5 consecutive days, providing users with stable lighting services.
solar led street light
Solar street lights have no external power supply and complex wiring system, which greatly reduces the probability of electrical failure. As traditional street lights are exposed for a long time, the wires are easily affected by wind and rain erosion, human damage and other factors, resulting in short circuit, circuit breakage and other failures. While solar street light adopts modular design, each component is relatively independent, even if there is a failure, it can be quickly located and replaced, reducing the difficulty and cost of maintenance.
The solar street light adopts a durable design that can withstand all kinds of harsh weather conditions, such as torrential rain, gusty winds, snowstorms, and so on. Its pole is made of high-strength steel with anti-corrosion treatment on the surface, and the solar panel is encapsulated with tempered glass with high light transmittance, which has good weather resistance. This makes the service life of the solar street light longer, reduces the need for frequent repairs and replacements, and lowers maintenance costs.
Take a border area as an example, the region has harsh climatic conditions and high winds and sands all year round. The locally installed solar street lights still work normally after years of sandstorms, while some of the traditional street lights around the area are damaged by sandstorms and require frequent repairs and replacements.
The savings in electricity and maintenance costs from the use of solar street lights can be re-invested in renewable energy projects, environmental protection activities and community development programs. For example, the funds can be utilized to build more solar power facilities, promote energy-saving technologies, and improve the community environment.
solar led street light
Through this redistribution of funds, a virtuous cycle of sustainable development can be formed, promoting the development of society in a greener and more environmentally friendly direction. Taking a county-level city as an example, after replacing solar street lights, the city used the saved funds to build a waste separation and treatment center, which improved the local ecological environment and upgraded the quality of life of residents.
Investments in solar streetlight infrastructure by municipalities and businesses drive demand for skilled labor, manufacturing and installation services, fueling rapid growth in the sustainable energy sector. From the production of solar panels to the installation and maintenance of street lights, a large number of jobs are created.In the case of a solar streetlight manufacturer, for example, with growing market demand, the company has expanded its production scale and created more than 300 new jobs, providing stable employment opportunities for local residents and promoting the development of related supporting industries.
The money saved from solar street lights can be used for other economic development projects, such as supporting local entrepreneurial enterprises and promoting infrastructure construction, which further promotes the prosperity of the local economy. After replacing the solar street lights in a village, the funds saved can be used for the construction of rural e-commerce service station, which drives the sales of local specialty agricultural products, increases the income of farmers and promotes the development of rural economy.
Solar street light with its incomparable economic benefits, for us to bring real benefits. Whether it is to reduce costs, promote sustainable development, or promote economic growth, solar street lights have shown great potential. Looking to the future, we should further promote and apply solar street lights, so that it lights up the night at the same time, for the sustainable development of the economy and the protection of the environment, to make a more excellent contribution to create a better future together.
