Solar powered street lighting
Solar powered street lighting
(OP)
Im investigating the possibility of using PV arrays to feed some lighting columns all the name of sustainability, I was just wondering if anybody off the top of there heads may indentify some issues that may arise that i may miss further down the line.Or to reinforce any points that should be considered.
Many Thanks.
Many Thanks.






RE: Solar powered street lighting
The ballasts associated with HP and LP sodium lighting, among others, are awkward high-inrush loads with heavily distorted current draw which will make things hard for the device you want to power it from. Not an insurmountable problem, but you may find yourself designing ballasts as well as the PV system.
You will find no customers in my locale, as the sun doesn't shine here very often!
Hope this helps,
Scotty.
-----------------------------------
Do it right, or don't do it at all.
RE: Solar powered street lighting
RE: Solar powered street lighting
http://www.alphasolar.com/alpha_solar_050.htm
BUT, street lights can run 2 to 3 times the power of the bulbs in the aforementioned system, which would put that kind of system at a negative power flow.
The initial investment is pretty high, but might be worth it to not have to dig trenches to run power.
TTFN
RE: Solar powered street lighting
RE: Solar powered street lighting
Regards,
Eng-Tips.com : Solving your problems before you get them.
RE: Solar powered street lighting
I'd really be concerned that the streets would be dark all night after cloudy days. As far as sustainability goes, I'd be interested to see if the energy saved during the lifetime of a solar powered streetlight is more or less than the energy it takes to produce the thing in the first place.
RE: Solar powered street lighting
-----------------------------------
Start each new day with a smile.
Get it over with.
RE: Solar powered street lighting
RE: Solar powered street lighting
I agree with the gist of what you are saying, but the replacement cost of the storage battery needs to be factored in over the battery service life of, say, 10 years when calculating the energy saving from the 'free' power.
Do PV cells have a finite sevrice life? What sort of period do they operate for before requiring replacement?
-----------------------------------
Start each new day with a smile.
Get it over with.
RE: Solar powered street lighting
RE: Solar powered street lighting
RE: Solar powered street lighting
assumptions:
>> 4 continuous overcast days ~10^3 lx available (10^5 max with direct sunlight)-- equates to about 11 W/m^2 total available irradiance.
>> average of 66 W-hr/m^2 -- assumes triangular function over 12 hrs
>> approximately 67% in-band for PV array -- results in about 44 W-hr/m^2
>> 50% efficiency -- 22 W-hr/m^2
>> therefore, sunny day -- 2200 W-hr/m^2
>> 4/1 distribution -- 2288 W-hr/m^2 supply
>> 12 hrs operation with 300 W bulb -- 3600 W-hr needed per day -- 18000 W-hr demand
Final answer -- ~8 m^2 of PV to support above scenario.
>> Not to mention a 1500 A-hr 12V deep discharge battery to store all the energy
TTFN
RE: Solar powered street lighting
RE: Solar powered street lighting
Aside — Some shoreline xenon(?) beacons on the Columbia River {OR/WA} are powered with close-by PV cells prominently labeled “US Coast Guard”.
RE: Solar powered street lighting