LED Street Light With Solar Panel

 
LED solar street lights are slowly becoming more and more common as governments are realizing these small steps create big ripples towards creating a more environmentally conscious public. If more and more public goods are powered by solar energy it can cause major savings in utility bills and that money can be put towards something more beneficial for the public. It goes without saying that LED solar street light installation is expensive but it pays dividends with time.
 

The Structure Of The Solar Panel

The solar panel is essentially a collection of photovoltaic cells which are in turn made up of semiconductors which convert sunlight into power. Two types of electrons are created in this process; the n-type and the p-type. It is a rookie mistake to assume that the solar panels catches every last ray of sunlight as this is not possible.

For maximum efficiency however it is only important that the panels keep a certain number of photons to create energy and convert into electrons. The rest will inevitably be wasted depending on what the weather is like, if there is shade there and so on.

The negative electrons are absorbed into the panel and moved along to a storage battery which retains that charge till the street light gets the automatic signal from the controller that there is no external natural light and the switch is turned on. It should be borne in mind that hundreds if not thousands of solar cells are needed to create a significant amount of energy though the needs of a street light are rather limited in comparison. One solar cell creates roughly 2 watts at any given time.
 

Choosing A Solar Panel

It goes without saying that in the case of street lights hundreds of solar panels will need to be bought even if the smallest possible housing colony is to be covered. In such cases the overlooking authority tends to opt for the cheapest materials on the market even if this means less power turnover and lack of longevity regarding the unit.

The more expensive panels tend to be wider in width and made with monocrystalline solar cells. The cheaper option is polycrystalline which is less transparent and produces less power output. Conversion efficiency is the concept which comes into play here because monocrystalline cells are better at this even if the day is overcast. For areas which receive less sunlight these cells are optimal because they make the best of the situation. Rest assured, they are not the first choice for street lights.
 

Power Output

There is no consistent level of power output that can be expected as this varies with weather, climate, time of year, external factors such as overshadowing buildings or trees as well as the functioning power of the battery along with the type of solar cells that were used. On a general note street lights have more resilient solar panels since they are built to withstand wind and rain and can also hold a charge for up to three days so that the street light keeps operating.