Solar energy products have gathered immense popularity in the past few years, so much that they have almost curtailed the dominance of some types of traditional lighting.
One of the prominent changes we can witness in the lighting industry is the use of solar street lighting over conventional luminaires.
In fact, in some cities, solar street lighting has completely sidelined traditional lighting solutions. There can be numerous reasons behind this adaptation. The most potential one can be an energy-saving feature.
However, there are numerous other benefits of solar energy products which make it a prime choice to illuminate paths efficiently. Read on to explore some amazing characteristics of solar lighting over traditional luminaires to know the difference and make the right choice.
Solar street lighting Vs Traditional street lighting
Illumination and visibility
Modern solar lighting has built-in Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). And, LEDs are known to be brighter and clearer than traditional light sources. Also, they can be coloured accordingly to reach the desired CRI. One can get the sunlight resemblance as closely as possible during the dark to enhance the feel of natural lighting with better visibility. Furthermore, conventional street lighting solutions come with metal halide lamps which are nowhere close to beating the visibility offered by solar-powered LED lighting.
Impact on the environment
Solar is a renewable energy source that has no pernicious impact on the environment. This makes the use of solar street lighting far better than traditional luminaires. The whole system in solar lighting runs on replenishable sources. Whereas, conventional bulbs and street lights use non-replenishable products emitting a lot of carbondioxide as a by-product which is harmful to the environment.
Hence, it is clear that solar LED lights are better to maintain a perfect ecological balance.
Cost of solar street lights and traditional light sources
When talking about price, traditional street lights are cheaper than solar-powered luminaires. But, solar street lighting solutions turn out to be a good investment in terms of total operating costs incurred in the set-up. This will include everything from installation charges to the maintenance of the lamps and light replacements. Moreover, unlike standard street lights, they do not require electric poles to be planned explicitly, which can be a tedious and expensive procedure to accomplish.
Longevity
It is a fact that conventional luminaires can last for about 5000 years. On the other hand, the total life expectancy of a solar street lighting system using an LED can last around ten times of traditional street luminaires.
Dependability factor
Solar street lights can ensure bright illumination and proper working even when there is a power cut in the area or during grid failures. Whereas, traditional street lights can go off during such events. Hence, dependability is more in the case of solar-driven lighting as compared to conventional luminaires.
Safety concerns
There is less safety in traditional street lighting solutions as there are many wires and cables incorporated in the whole process. However, solar lighting does not include wires since they have batteries attached. Hence, they are much safer than conventional light sources to light up the streets with fewer chances of accidents.
A brief summarization of solar street lighting and traditional street lights
The above comparison includes main pointers to know briefly about both types of lighting. To summarize, solar street lights are a new and better source of illumination to improve sustainability, reduce costs and save more energy. These are the reasons why there is an increasing demand for solar-driven street lighting in various cities. To meet the market demand, many lighting manufacturers like Wipro Lighting offer solar LED street lights like SolaRise. One can check the product’s features by exploring the website.
