A number of solar application products have become increasingly popular over the last several years, including solar street lights, which are commonly found on country roads and main roads.  Compared to traditional sources of light, solar lights are more environmentally friendly and save energy.  For these reasons, under the promotion of the government, lots of people are switching to this advanced lighting way.   You would end to pay high electric bills once switched to solar lights that are powered by the sun. 

Here, we compare the advantages and disadvantages of solar and Traditional lighting.

Power source

Solar Street lights powered by solar energy provide illumination without using electricity from the grid. Daytime solar energy is harvested by solar panels and converted into electrical energy by batteries. There is a solar charge controller that regulates the current and voltage flow in a solar lighting system. At night, the energy stored is used to power LED lighting. This process was repeated on the second day.

Traditional Street lights operate on an electrical grid, which generates energy largely from non-renewable resources such as coal and gas. They are carefully planned and interconnected in a series. Traditional street lamps require the main power supply and must be connected to the high-voltage AC mains. Traditional street lights are commonly used on the urban street or the main road in town.

Cost-effectiveness Ratio

Solar street lights installation no need for digging holes, trenching wires, or laying cables. The cost is extremely low compared with traditional street lights. Solar street lamps have a one-time investment and long-term benefits. Because of the simple wiring, no maintenance costs are incurred and no expensive electricity bills are incurred. The installation is rather simple and the maintenance cost is cheaper.

Traditional street light construction includes a complicated operating procedure. First of all, significant infrastructure construction is involved digging and laying pipes, threading them in, and backfilling, which expends a huge amount of manpower, construction material, and financial funding.  Usually, it’s required to make debugging before operation. If any problem appeared, it would cause a lot of consumption for reconstruction. In general, the installation cost of Traditional street lights is very high and their maintenance is complex and expensive. 

Safety & Reliability

Solar street lights never occur in any cable-related accidents since they are off-grid and independent systems without any electricity cable connection. Each solar lighting system work at a safe voltage range of DC 12-24V, there is no risk of overheating.

In most street lights, a lot of wires are connected to electricity, and the cables are directly connected to the power. A short circuit is always a possibility and there is always a risk of electrocution. A strangulation hazard also exists during the installation process.

Durability

Solar street lights are featured water-proof and with excellent weather resistance. Even on continuous rainy or cloudy days, they do not receive sunlight to generate electricity, they can utilize the rest power stored in batteries to operate the street lights working.

In contrast, Traditional street lights are not designed to withstand extreme weather conditions. Even though some products can withstand varying types of weather, others can be easily damaged by constant typhoons. Traditional street lights would stop working due to the wiring trouble that’s commonly occurred in extreme weather.

Installation 

Solar street lights are module designed and the installation process is very simple. The solar street light system consists of independent and integrated components, which only need plug-and-play connections. All the installations can be achieved with less manpower who are not required to be qualified electricians and no need for special tools during the whole installation process.  

Traditional street light installation demands professionals as there is an enormous amount of trenching and cable laying that is required to connect to grid lines. The work of wiring is complicated and must be finished by professional electricians.  All the installation process is laborious and time-consuming, hence you need to hire a large number of workers.  Except for these basic construction work, you need to install the transformer, distribution cabinet, switchboard, etc, which is also costly.  

Lighting Efficiency

Solar street lights typically implement LED lamps as a source of light, which deliver brighter light and save more energy.  LED lights are well known for their high efficiency(>150lm/W) and longer lifespan(>50000hours).  Led lights feature stable working situations and long working hours compared to other types of street light bulbs such as candescent lamps, fluorescent lamps, High-Press Sodium lamps, etc.

Traditional street lights typically use high-pressure sodium lamps(HPS) due to they are relatively efficient and require less maintenance during their service time. Besides, The metal halide light(MH) is also used in many countries for street, stadium, and parking lot lighting due to it delivering a pure white light that’s very bright. Compared to LED street lights, these traditional street light bulbs are more affordable and still used in many countries. With the price of led street lights falling down, these traditional street lights are also gradually being replaced with LED. 

Environmental-impacts

The use of solar street lights relies on unlimited renewable energy, which is both economical and environmentally friendly. Solar energy has the benefit of reducing carbon footprints. Solar energy can be achieved in abundance and is free for all. There is no pollution to the environment during the energy-using process. 

Traditional Street lights are powered by grid electricity that is mainly made from non-renewable fossil energy. The use of fossil energy generates toxic carbon dioxide which is harmful to the environment. Moreover, the Traditional light source such as HPS and metal halide lamps contain mercury which is a toxic substance and harmful to the environment.  

Initial investment and operation cost

Solar street lights are equipped with solar panels and batteries that make the initial investment at a high level.   But in view the solar street lights only use free solar energy, in the long run, they are more cost-effective. It doesn’t require too much manpower and tools during the simple installation. After installation, the operation of solar street lights rarely demands further interference, so to save money in terms of operation and maintenance.

Traditional street lights expend more on installation, maintenance, and electricity consumption over the long run. For the new project, traditional street lights need wiring and trenching to connect to grid power.  This makes a big amount of costs and maintenance cost is also not ignored. Take the Sodium lamps as an example, their regular life span is only 5 years and there will be a replacement cost in the future.  

Maintenance

Solar street lights rarely need maintenance after installation, there is no extra intervention required to maintain the system.   For better light output, only need to clean the fixture cover once in a while.   Most of the dust or dirt on the tilted solar panels can be washed away by the rainwater. The solar panels with much longer life span and the batteries are free maintenance and only need to be replaced after out of period.

Traditional street lighting requires periodic maintenance and constant monitoring. You need to replace the defective lamps and accessories and aged wires which are dangerous. It’s important to rectify the cable faults at an early time. It’s also necessary to do regular maintenance on the fuse box and service cabinet, and check if the cables are connected properly. 

Conclusion

Solar and conventional street lighting systems have considerable differences, and once you realize why many individuals and countries are turning to solar-powered lighting, you will be in a better position to compare options and choose the one that suits your needs.

Considering that solar energy is an easily available energy source, solar-powered LED street lights to offer an advantage over traditional street lights. You may choose the type of street light based on the project’s budget and requirements.