An introduction to Solar Street Lights
Solar Street lights are being widely used to light up street, lawns, parks, etc. These solar street lights consume no power from the grid and work solely on the solar power. They also eliminate the need for underground cabling and multiple switching points.
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Working Principle
The solar energy is absorbed in the daytime and is stored in the battery to power the light in the night. The light is set to be switched on once the input voltage from the solar energy falls below a threshold limit. The light is set to be switched off automatically, once the input voltage from the solar energy raises above a threshold limit. This makes the light to glow once it becomes dark and light to switch off in the dawn.
Types of Solar Street Lights
Solar Street Lights are of two types.
- Traditional Solar Street Lights
- All in One Solar Street Lights
Traditional Solar Street Lights
The components of the solar street light are distinct and are placed at different positions.
All in One Solar Street Lights
In all in one solar street lights, all the components of the solar street light is inbuilt in a single body.
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Components of a Solar Street Light
Solar Panel
Solar panel is the source of power for the solar street light. It collects the solar energy from the sun and converts it into DC power. The power of the solar panel depends on the luminary capacity and the required autonomy days.
Luminary
The luminary is the light that provides the requisite lighting. Earlier, CFL luminaries were quite prevalent. However, for the past 8 years, LED luminaries have become more prevalent. Based on the lighting requirements, the size of the luminary has to be chosen.
Charge Controller
Charge Controllers regulate the charging and discharging of the battery They regulate the incoming voltage to charge the battery and prevents the deep discharge of the battery. In a solar street light, the circuit to switch on and off the luminary is enclosed along with the charge controller. The charge control is either provided as a separate device or enclosed inside the luminary.
Battery
Battery stores the power generated by the solar panel. The type of battery used is C 10 Tubular battery. In some cases SMF batteries are also used as they are maintenance free and economical. The all in one street lights use Lithium Ion batteries.In terms of longer life, C 10 rated tubular batteries are the best.
Pole
The all in one street light can be fitted either on a pole or on a wall. In the traditional solar street, the luminary alone can be fitted either in a pole or a wall. The pole is either MS or GI and is anti corrosive. The pole has provisions to mount the solar panels and the battery. The pole has a luminary mounting arm and solar panel mounting arm.
Battery Box
The battery box is either a MS box or UV protected polymer box.
Installation
All in Solar Street Lights are ready to fix. Traditional street lights has to be assembled at the site location.
Step by Step installation Procedure for Traditional solar street lights
- The Solar Panel mounting structure has to be mounted on the pole.
- The Light arm to fix the luminary has to be fixed along with the pole.
- The Solar panel has to be mounted on the solar panel mounting structure.
- The LED luminary has to be fixed on the luminary.
- The wiring from the solar panel to the LED luminary with inbuilt charge controller has to be done. The wiring has to be concealed inside the pole. In case of an external charge controller, the wiring has to be done from the solar panel and the luminary to the charge controller. In either case, the wiring from the luminary to battery has to made. However the battery has to be fixed only after the erection.
- The pole is erected on the ground pit. The pit has to be covered with concrete mix.
- After the pole can stand on its own, the battery can be kept inside the battery box and the connections can be completed by connecting the wire from the luminary / charge controller with the battery.
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