Could Solar Lighting Light Up Interest?

Green. Environmentally-friendly. Energy-efficiency. Reduced maintenance. Sustainable. Renewable. Solar.

Any key “buzzwords” missing?

Solar lighting is emerging as a viable outdoor lighting alternative. Recently our friend, David Shiller from Lighting Solution Development shared insights into the solar lighting market on behalf of his client, SOLTECH Solar Lighting and it generated interest, perhaps because it is “different” and is the type of product that distributors could show to contractors, and more importantly, market in their local community, to generate demand.

Distributors, contractors, and specifiers have to keep up with many changes in lighting technology.  One of the growing outdoor lighting categories is solar area lights.  The global solar lighting market is projected to more than double to $10.8 Billion USD by 2024, up from $5.2 Billion USD in 2019, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.6%, according to the research firm Markets and Markets. 

Here are six trends in solar area luminaires to be aware of:

1. Independently aim-able solar panels and LED modules.  This allows optimization of solar collection as well as directing light where it is most needed.  Placing the solar panel on an angle, equal to the local latitude, will maximize solar energy collection, year-round.  Angling the solar panel also allows rain, wind, and gravity to naturally clean the solar panel surface.
2. Increased light output.  LED fixture efficacy can now exceed 200 lpW, for some models.  This LED efficiency is combining with dramatically improving solar panel and battery power+efficiency, so that some solar area lights can now achieve 9,000+ lumens for a 50W floodlight fixture. 
3. Increased LED run times.  The same combination of dramatic efficiency improvements for the LEDs, solar panels, and battery technology is also allowing longer run times for solar area lights.  Some high-power fixtures are now able to operate the entire night (10-13 hours), while many lower power models can now operate for 2 to 3 nights, on a single charge. 
4. More automated control options.  Solar lights now come with a variety of pre-programmed timer options, built-in microwave motion sensor, daylight sensor, and automatic dimming of lights when the battery power gets low, to extend operating time throughout the night.
5. Strong ROI.  Solar lights are ideal in places where running grid power is difficult.  Solar lights avoid trenching, cabling, and electricity costs, providing a great ROI for these locations.  In addition, there is a federal solar tax credit worth 26% of the system costs.  There are many state solar rebates and incentives, as well. Low maintenance for solar area lights can also improve the financial analysis.  Some resulting ROIs for solar area lights versus grid-powered LED lights exceed 50%, with roughly a 2-year simple payback, including incentives. 
6. Increasing use in roadway, parking lots, bike paths, and parks.  Many municipalities and other government agencies construct and maintain roadways, parking lots, bike paths, and parks.  The more remote and difficult these sites are to run grid power, the more attractive a solar lighting installation will become.  Many of these municipalities also have environmental and sustainability goals that they can make progress towards, using solar lighting.  In the commercial sector, solar lights are increasing in use for bus stops, signage & billboard, pedestrian pathways, and perimeter security lighting.

Leo Liao, CEO at SOLTECH Solar Lighting stated, “The rapid improvements in LED, solar panel, and battery technologies have fundamentally improved solar lighting performance as well as ROI to the point that it is now a mainstream area lighting solution.”  Liao added, “Solar area lights are an environmentally-friendly solution that saves significant money both in installation costs and electricity costs.  We are seeing very strong growth in demand for all of these reasons.”  For more information about SOLTECH Solar Lighting’s LED products email SOLTECH or visit them at www.soltechlighting.com.

About SOLTECH – Smart Solar Lighting

SOLTECH Solar Lighting integrates efficient solar panels, dependable batteries, class-leading LEDs, & intelligent programming into industry-leading solar lighting.  Learn more at www.soltechlighting.com.

SOLTECH has a nationwide network of manufacturer reps / lighting agents around the country.

And it is an interesting conundrum. While solar is most effective / prevalent in the South, Southwest and West Coast, higher utility coasts are in northern states. But this “sell” can be targeted to those interested in environmentally friendly / green as well as those interested in energy efficiency.

According to Shiller, “As far as geographic areas of adoption:

• Sunny Southern locations have more solar potential than cloudy Northern locations, which helps performance.  That said, Soltech recently released an extreme cold version of one of their most popular solar lights, called SunLike Pro.  It’s designed for places like Alaska!  The main difference is a very cold-tolerant battery. 
• Locations that are difficult to run power are a bigger driver of solar lighting and significantly improves ROI, by avoiding trenching and running wiring.  The applications that are most common are listed later in the article (parks, bike paths, bus stops, parking lots, etc.)

In talking about the maturity of solar lighting, which is something that has been around, especially for landscape lighting, for a while, and the applicability of utility rebates, Shiller added “Solar lighting is becoming more interesting as all of the component technologies have matured, and especially a yet-to-arrive category of solar lighting that is grid-connected, known as hybrid solar lighting, is coming.  I think hybrid solar will be able to qualify for utility rebates, where off-grid typically cannot, in energy efficiency programs.  Hybrid solar also eliminates the liability concerns of municipalities with off-grid lighting if the battery dies, the lights go out, someone were to get hurt and sues.

So, if you’re looking for something different to talk to customers about, perhaps explore opportunities with solar lighting.