7 Useful Tips from Experts in Solar Area Lights

The solar area lights are a popular source of lighting in the construction and real estate industry. Their application varies depending on commercial or residential needs. For residential use, they illuminate small areas mostly at the entrances or exits of buildings. Industrial or commercial solar area lights illuminate open spaces that are too far away to the wire.

You will mostly find solar area lights in places where people congregate for business, social and recreational activities such as market spaces, parking lots (malls, buildings or airports), industrial and commercial sites, parks and other open spaces. In both cases, you will need to get enough lighting to realize the benefits of Solar area lights.

The benefits of solar area lights are apparent as they enhance visibility, provide safe access, and expose criminal activities. They are the best alternatives for mains-powered lighting due to their low installation costs, negligible running cost, and can be customized to suit all your illumination needs.

In this article, you will learn 7 Useful Tips from Experts in Solar Area Lights. These tips should help you understand the process of buying solar lighting fixtures and how to reduce your overall cost. In the end, you will get the light where you need it. Now let’s get started with the first tip!

1. Determine The Area And Analyze The Location

Before you even think about solar area lights, you should first consider the situation and environment of the area you wish to illuminate. This is the first step in maximizing the energy efficiency of the lighting equipment. You should ask yourself; Does the area receive the right amount of sunlight? Here you will be looking at

Solar area lights provide many benefits over conventional mains-powered lighting. It eliminates the need for digging up the cement you already had to run more wires to the area you wish to light up. With this type of lighting, you only need to calculate the surface area of where you want to illuminate and match with available light fixtures that offer the recommended qualities. The area measurement can be in feet squared or meters squared.

2. Identify The Illumination Levels

First, you need to evaluate the desired illumination levels required for the area that needs visibility. The area of illumination directly affects the cost of solar area lights. Experts use lux, the level of brightness at a particular distance from the light source, to determine the number of lumens, the total amount of visible light required to cover a known surface area.

After selecting the lux you want, you can multiply the number with the surface area to get the total recommended lumen output. The LED and CFL are popular where lower illumination levels are required, while high-pressure sodium and metal halide are preferred where high levels of illumination are needed.

3. Decide The Type Of Bulbs To Use

The second tip is the power requirements of the lamps. In lighting, rule of thumb is the higher the wattage, the more electric power you consume. Your cost of solar area lights can be reduced with the use of light-emitting diode (LED) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) that draw less current. LED is the best choice if you need a dimmable light.

Experts used efficacy, total light output in lumens per watt of power consumed, to determine the efficiency of different light types.  As you lower the energy consumption, you get the advantage of spending less on the cost of buying and repairing. This information can be used to determine the battery capacity and solar panel size.

4. Understand The Nature Of The Light Pole And Fixture

The height of the light pole depends on the lighting fixture. Most of the solar area lights are sold together with a light pole of a specified height. Also, look out for the IP rating to determine if the level of protection the light fixture has against moisture and physical contact. The material used for these components must be able to withstand harsh conditions like strong winds, hence giving more extended service.

5. Provide For The Adjustment Of Light Levels

The fifth tip deals with the modification of light levels to minimize maintenance cost. You can achieve this by purchasing solar area lights that come with motion detectors or sensors. This technology can automatically switch off or dim the lights when there is less activity in the area and switch to full power when it detects movement within the area.

Similarly, dusk to dawn lights automatically come on at dusk and go off at dawn. Others will automatically illuminate when the ambient brightness is low. You can take advantage of solar area lights that come with custom features such as switches, clock timers, and others.

6. Size Your Battery And Solar Panel

The sixth tip in solar area lights is about sizing the battery. The battery used should be able to provide adequate power to sustain the lighting levels for the period required. Also, the solar panel should be able to charge the battery at all times to full capacity. As you size your battery and solar panels, it is crucial if you put into consideration the winter and cloudy weather that reduce the effectiveness of solar charging.

7. Embrace Integration For Easy Installation

Lastly, the recent innovations in solar area lights have taken the full integration approach that aims to slash into half the installation labor costs. Fully integrated light fixtures can be easily fastened on a pole without further assistance. This means, most of the labor will shift to the foundation of the pole.

Solar Area Lights: Conclusion

Therefore, the selection of solar area lights is based on the location of the area, required illumination level, the type of bulb, height of the light fixture, size of power source and storage, and the period the lamp must be lit. Technology and design are essential when you wish to reduce the cost of your investment.

With solar area lights, you may not need to trench underground for wiring. You only have the Maintenance of the lamps and the battery to think about. Despite the price of a complete solar area light module being high, you incur low costs in installation and negligible costs in operation. The best lighting fixture should offer you long periods of visibility.