The short answer is to choose from any type of solar-powered street light. But because you can go wrong with type of fixture and waste a lot of cash, we’ve written this article to help you choose more accurately. Read on to find out more.
It’s not surprising that the demand for renewable energy solutions has driven a productive competition over street light manufacturers. Now, you can find tons of retrofit LED fixtures that can significantly lower your operating costs from existing lighting infrastructures.
When you choose to go solar for your outdoor lights, not only can you cancel out your electric bills, but also prolong your fixture life by 3 to 5 times. You can also reduce the frequency of light replacements and eliminate a large portion of maintenance costs each year.
This 2020, if you’re looking for cost-effective alternatives to run your outdoor lighting system, be it to retrofit or replace existing fixtures, you’ve landed on the right page.
As there’s no one-size-fits-all in street lighting, we’ll discuss the different options available for retrofits or replacements. We’ll also present some of the ways you can efficiently retrofit your street light system that can earn you potential savings in the future and lower carbon footprint.
Latest Solar LED Street Lights Best for Retrofits
Here are some of the modernized types of solar LED street lights you can choose from.
1. All-in-One/Integrated Solar Street Light
An All-in-One Solar Street Light is a compact and lightweight lighting fixture for environmentally-friendly outdoor lighting. This solar lighting solution has a modular design and mounts a battery, controller, LED lamp and solar panel in its housing.
Integrated street lights are generally easy to maintain, operate and install. These are the perfect outdoor lights for roadway lighting, line streets, parking lots, school and building perimeters and alleys.
All-in-one solar LED street lights typically come in 15W to 600W. Mounting height will vary depending on the application.
New models, especially the ones offered by HeiSolar, have remote management and control, auto dimming and brightness and online back-end solutions. These features make it easier to significantly reduce maintenance cost that is convenient for the street light owner.
Solar LED Parking Lot Fixtures and Retrofits
Here are some exterior lighting fixtures that can be replaced with smart integrated solar street lights:
|
Semi-high Mast |
Conventional Street lights |
Roadway Lights |
|
| Standard Height |
15m to 20m |
12m to 15m |
6m to 12m |
| Suggested Solar LED Fixture Replacement |
HeiSolar’s PH Series (Replaces Metal Halide/HPS 100W to 320W lighting fixture) |
||
Metal Halide/HPS/LPS Roadway Lights to Solar LED Roadway Light Conversion
|
Typical Street Light |
Recommended LED Lumens |
Retrofit LED Light Specs |
|
|
100 Watts MH/HPS |
65 Watts CFL | 4,500-6,000 |
30-40 Watts |
|
250 Watt MH/HPS |
150 Watts CFL | 11,250-12,000 lumens |
75-80 Watts |
|
400 Watt MH/HPS |
300 Watts CFL | 18,000-22,500 lumens |
120-150 Watts |
|
1000 Watt MH/HPS |
N/A | 45,000 lumens |
300 Watts |
2. Solar Powered Billboard Light
Solar LED billboard lights are the best alternative and replacement for uplights and existing billboard light fixtures. These are also the perfect lighting solution for areas where there’s no access to electricity. In many cases, existing metal halide/HPS billboard fixtures can range from 400W to 1000W.
Metal Halide/HPS Billboard Lights to Solar LED Billboard Light Conversion
|
Typical Billboard Signage Lamp
|
Recommended LED Lumens |
Retrofit LED Light Specs
|
|
250 Watt MH/HPS |
11,250-12,000 lumens |
75-80 Watts |
|
400 Watt MH/HPS |
18,000-22,500 lumens |
120-150 Watts |
|
1000 Watt MH/HPS |
45,000 lumens |
300 Watts |
3. Solar Flood Light/Wall Packs
Floor lights are used to illuminate its immediate perimeter like a facility, courtyard or around a factory. They are also great for advertising billboard, pathway lights or doorways.
Regular Street Lamps for Flood Lights
Regular flood lights usually have sodium vapor (LPS) for illumination. That is why they project yellow to orange lighting. Low pressure sodium vapor emits monochromatic colors that render vibrance quite poorly, but have an acceptable energy efficiency.
Rarely are regular incandescent bulbs seen for outdoor lighting. They are inexpensive upfront, but they waste a lot of energy and their lifespan is fairly short. You may also notice mercury vapor lights used for floodlights.
LED Retrofit for Flood Lights
Even though there are a lot of street light bulb options, there’s nothing more comparable to the capabilities of LED lighting for street lights. They are the most energy efficient compared with other types of light for solar flood lights, with less maintenance. Plus, they are environmentally-friendly and cost less in many years.
Mercury Vapor/LPS Flood Light to Solar LED Flood Light Conversion
Now let’s see your options for a solar LED flood light retrofit.
|
Typical Flood Light/Wall Pack Lamp
|
Recommended LED Lumens |
Retrofit LED Light Specs
|
|
25 Watts HPS/MH |
1,600 lumens |
10 Watts |
|
35 Watt HPS/MH |
2,400 lumens |
15 Watts |
4. Solar Garden Light
Garden lamps are usually only 2.5m to 5m. For lawns, lawn lamps are usually 0.6m to 0.8m tall. There are many types of outdoor light bulbs for gardens. The most common ones are usually mercury vapor or LPS, but some have incandescent bulbs.
If you are looking for budget-wise replacements for old garden light fixtures, an LED retrofit is the best option. Aside from rendering effective lighting and color hues, they also add style to your garden or backyard.
Solar powered garden lights and yard lights are also easy to install and set up compared with traditional lights. They do not need to connect to any electrical power source as they are powered by the sun. You can also enjoy less maintenance and less operation costs.
Incandescent/Halogen/Mercury Vapor/LPS Garden Light to Solar LED Garden/Lawn Light Conversion
|
Typical Garden Light
|
Recommended LED Lumens |
Retrofit Solar LED Light Specs
|
|
30 Watts Halogen |
600-720LM |
6 Watts |
|
50 Watt Halogen |
1220-1440LM |
9 Watts |
|
75 Watt Halogen |
1500-1800LM |
12 Watts |
5. Solar Bollard Lights
Bollards are usually only 0.6m to 1m in height. They decoratively line walkways and pathways and are effective for ground illumination with minimal visual clutter. Applications may range from pedestrian pathways, storefronts, schools, homes to public parks.
Solar LED bollards stand way better than the typical bollard light. You can effectively use them to replace your existing bollards as they also present cheaper operation and maintenance cost for the long run. There are also no electrical costs, carbon emissions and they are very easy to install.
Incandescent/Halogen/Mercury Vapor/LPS Bollard Light to Solar LED Bollard Light Conversion
Let’s take a look at your options for solar bollard lighting.
|
Typical Bollard Light
|
Recommended LED Lumens |
Retrofit LED Light Specs
|
|
25 Watts Incandescent |
215 lumens |
4 Watts |
3 Ways to Convert to Solar Street Light Retrofit Systems
If you really want to switch into greener alternatives for street lights, here are some of the specific ways you can retrofit your street light system
1. Turn Existing Street Light Systems Into Solar Grid-tied Lighting Systems
If you do not want to purchase new lighting fixtures to replace existing installations, you can opt for solar panel connections for your grid-tied street lights.
The solar panels will effectively feed energy to the grid during daytime and in return, you can monetize and earn from the power you contribute to the grid.
For the size of your solar panel, it will depend on the amount of power you want to generate and contribute to the grid. For the street light lamp, make sure you also opt for an LED fixture so you can further maximize your potential savings.
2. Completely Replace Your Existing Street Lights with Solar Street Lights
Another method of reducing costs through street light retrofit is to replace your existing fixture with solar-powered street lights.
The great thing about this is you get free energy as you do not need to connect to the grid. They are off-grid solutions and it would only require you to find a reliable solar street light manufacturer to supply your street lighting needs.
3. Intertie Existing Street Lights with Battery Backup Systems
It’s a win-win solution for you if you opt for a grid-tied solar street light with battery backup systems. At first, you need to choose which type of battery is best for your location, weather profile and application.
In many cases, those of lithium ion battery types are the best for solar street light systems, although there are other affordable options.
With a battery backup, you can save on electricity costs by utilizing it only at specific times in the night. It’s also the perfect solution if your area experiences frequent power outages. When the battery gets drained, the street light will automatically connect to the grid.
To Wrap Up
We hope that this article has given you tons of ideas on how you can effectively retrofit your street lighting system.
To reiterate, solar street lights are the best type of street lights for retrofits and replacements of existing fixtures. It only takes the right type of solar street light and the right lighting method or system to maximize your savings.
HeiSolar is a solar street light manufacturer with thousands of street lighting projects completed. We are happy to offer our assistance in your solar lighting needs. Please contact us if you have further questions or would want to request a quotation for your solar street light project.