From Big to Small: 5 Commercial Solar Lighting Options for Your Business
Marshall Schreiber Herskovitz, an American movie director and environmental proponent has been quoted saying, “Even those who don’t believe in climate change believe we should develop renewable energy. Americans get it, it’s time. This is not controversial. It’s actually right in the wheelhouse of American business.” This statement couldn’t be closer to the truth. The 21st century has been well overdue for the “green shift”. Not everyone in business, however, may be aware of the dual benefit green energy can provide. This is especially true when it comes to solar lighting.
A recent trend in green-energy efforts for businesses have been commercial solar lights. This is not just because they’re fantastic for the environment, but because they align with smart business decisions. Here are 5 commercial solar lighting options with a wealth of different applications:
Solar Lighting Applications for Businesses
Parking Lot
One of the most popular applications for solar lighting is actually for parking lots, especially when the lights are replacing older installations.
Pavement can be a nuisance for lighting. You’d need to break up the pavement in order to trench for the electrical wiring and infrastructure for each light. Then you’ll need to trench into the ground, wire for power, and repave the lot for installation. This isn’t wallet-friendly, nor is it a quick job.
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That’s why commercial solar lighting is so much more popular than traditional metal halide or sodium vapor lights. A solar lighting installation doesn’t require a trench in order to install. This typically saves the customer several thousands of dollars on day one. That doesn’t even factor in the cost-savings for using free energy. Best of all, using fewer fossil fuels to power public utility is a step in the right direction to reducing our overall carbon footprint.
Street Lighting
A recent study by Nature Energy demonstrates the release of overall carbon emissions from solar, even including emissions during the manufacturing process, are significantly lower than use of fossil fuels. With that in mind, consider all of the lights in all the streets and roadways in the entire United States sapping energy for the time they’re on—the energy use every night must be astronomically high!
That’s certainly not the case with solar lighting. A solar panel’s lifespan is about 25 years on average. That’s a quarter of a century of carbon-and-cost-free energy from the sun. Imagine the energy and money saved if every street in the US was equipped with commercial solar lighting.
Solar is a fantastic option for HOAs, residential areas, and similarly-zoned places where you’d need lighting for high visibility and a safe commute. Much like lighting for parking lots, solar street lighting doesn’t need labor to remove concrete or trenching to connect to an electrical infrastructure. Once the concrete pedestal has dried in place, a solar light can be assembled and hoisted onto the pedestal for round-the-clock operation—battery charging during the day and bright-white LED light at night. If you own and operate an HOA, see the energy and money savings solar lighting can bring to you—and your tenants.
Pathway Lighting
Pathway lighting combines two worlds—aesthetics and functionality. A lot of pathway lights use interesting fixtures to beautify the pole and create a pleasing aura of illumination. Pathways are common in parks and city promenades where trenching may not be the most viable option for power, especially in areas where there is high foot traffic and (typically) expensive shops or restaurants. Solar is perfect for pathway lighting since it avoids costly and noisy construction.
Sign Lighting
Ever pass a billboard or sign that isn’t lit at night? That’s likely because whomever owns it doesn’t have power pulled to it. Sometimes signs require easements, or right to cross, in order to dig and trench for power. That can be extremely costly for business, and is why so many companies opt for solar-powered sign lighting.
The concept is the same—a solar panel charges the system battery for the day, and when the system’s controller detects a drop in solar energy, it transfers power from the battery to the light fixture. No easement needed!
Security Lighting
Sometimes you only need light at specific times. Solar security lighting is fantastic since it’s self-powered from solar energy and operates in conjunction with motion detectors. The instant-on LED light fixtures operate the moment someone or something triggers motion detection. These lights are perfect for remote areas and rural environments where environmentalism and cost are both key factors in purchase decisions.
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Commercial Solar Lighting in a Nutshell
Solar is one of the key paths to the future in environmentally-friendly, cost-savings options. Swanson’s law is projecting photovoltaic technology will drop in price even further over the next several years. So, the cost-benefit and environmental impact are increasing hand-in-hand as time goes on. The next step is for your investment. If you’re interested in solar lighting for your business, take a look at what’s available. You might be pleasantly surprised at what you find.
Author bio: Jeffery Wright is a digital marketing professional. He joined Greenshine New Energy in January of 2019 and has taken a strong interest in solar energy and its impact on the world. He plans on buying his own photovoltaic kit to gather energy and see how he can utilize it to reduce energy costs.
NOTE: Images included in this article are the property of Greenshine New Energy and have been used with its permission.
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Currently, the use of solar street lights to illuminate the system of roads and urban roads is receiving the most attention thanks to its convenience and higher economic efficiency than traditional street lights.