In today’s world of sustainable development, solar lights are favoured as an environmentally friendly and efficient lighting solution. However, how to ensure that solar lights provide consistent brightness throughout the night has always been a concern for users. In this blog, we will share some tips to help your solar lights shine night after night.
Charging efficiency is critical
The performance of your solar lights is directly related to their charging efficiency during the day. Ensure that the installation location receives plenty of sunlight and that the solar panels are cleaned regularly to maximise the absorption of light energy. This will ensure that the batteries provide sufficient power reserves at night.
High-efficiency LED technology
Choose to use high efficiency LED lighting technology to ensure higher brightness at lower power consumption. Advanced LED technology not only provides a longer lasting light source, but also effectively reduces energy waste.
Solar LED Lighting System Sizing
When determining how to size a solar lighting system, some data needs to be collected. These include:
Project Installation Location – This information not only provides information on available sunlight (daylight) and night length, but also provides a visual understanding of the installation location.
Operating Requirements – Operating requirements explain how long the light needs to be on at full output each night, whether it can be reduced or turned off after a set period of time, and any other requirements for the operation of the light.
Lighting Area – This enables the manufacturer or designer to understand how large an area needs to be illuminated and whether a single lamp or multiple lamps are required.
Light Level Requirements – This explains how much light is required to illuminate the area. The continuous light level requirement enables the engineer to show the fixtures and how many fixtures are required to meet this requirement.
Any Other Requirements – If there are any other requirements, such as dark skies or height restrictions, this could change the fixtures used and how the setup is configured.
Once this data has been collected, sizing the solar unit is very simple. The amount of available sunlight, load requirements, and night length and/or operational requirements are then calculated to determine how much solar and batteries are needed.
Smart Sensing Technology
Integrated smart sensing technologies, such as PIR (Physical Infrared Sensor), can provide higher brightness when activity is detected, resulting in brighter illumination when someone passes by, effectively extending the duration of lighting at night.
Location and Installation
The orientation and angle of the solar panels is a key factor in ensuring that the most sunlight is captured. In the northern hemisphere, it is usually recommended to install the system facing south at a 45 degree angle. This angle is chosen to maximise sunlight absorption, unless you are geographically closer to the equator, then a smaller angle can be chosen.
Whilst there are sometimes requests for flat mounting, we recommend avoiding this in the northern hemisphere unless there is little or no snow in your area. Snow is less likely to accumulate when solar panels are at a 45 degree angle, and the snow that does accumulate actually melts quickly after sunrise, warming the panels. Flat surface mounting does not allow this process to happen quickly enough and may result in degraded performance.
It is critical to ensure that the installation location is not obstructed by sunlight. Tall buildings, trees, and other obstacles should all be far enough away from the solar mounting location to avoid casting shadows at certain times of the day. Even just a small angle of being shaded can affect the power generated by the system, which may result in the batteries not charging properly.
In solar lighting projects, proper location and installation is a guarantee of long-term project success. By carefully selecting the mounting points, we can maximise the effectiveness of the solar panels and ensure that the system operates in a stable and efficient manner, giving your project long term and consistent lighting.
Intelligent Power Backup for Solar Lamps
However, in some places, especially in regions such as Europe and the UK, it is rainy all year round and sunlight is scarce. In such climates, the role of reserve batteries becomes increasingly important, and they become the key to keeping solar lights lit all night long. These highly efficient storage systems provide continuous power support in the event of low light levels, ensuring that your solar lights will continue to light up your night, even in cloudy and rainy weather.
Additionally, to cope with extreme weather conditions, users have the option of accessing an AC adapter additionally. This smart design ensures that the solar light can still reliably provide stable lighting in extreme weather conditions, such as persistent rain or winter cold. With this double safeguard mechanism, we ensure that the solar light will keep working reliably in all weather conditions, bringing long-lasting light to the city.
I highly recommend our Alpha Solar Street Light, an innovatively designed lighting solution with unique features. Its universal socket is compatible with three input methods: USB, solar panel and AC adapter, providing users with greater flexibility and convenience. Particularly in areas with low winter sunlight, the Alpha Solar Street Light can be recharged via AC adapter or USB, ensuring continuous illumination in extreme climatic conditions.
The universal socket design of this street light not only increases the number of usage scenarios, but also provides a backup power option in special climatic conditions. If you are interested in this innovative product, please feel free to contact our sales team who will provide you with more detailed product information and personalised advice. We look forward to providing you with customised solutions for your lighting needs and brightening up your projects!
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