The zero-deposit, save as you go concept for home solar power systems has been extended to street lighting by a UK company.
Many councils and local governments throughout the world would probably be open to switching to solar street lights. According to the Australian Government’s EnergyRating web site, here in Australia there are approximately 2.28 million street lighting lamps in service, racking up an annual average electricity cost exceeding $125 million.
In addition to the financial cost, there’s also the carbon impact to consider.
“Street lighting is the single largest source of carbon emissions from local government, typically accounting for 30–60% of their total emissions,” states the web site.
One of the barriers to switching to a greener solution such as solar street lights is the outlay. This barrier has been tackled by the aptly-named firm, Solar Street Lighting.
The company is offering an interest-free, save as you go type of arrangement, whereby their lights are installed at no upfront cost and repayments are made over 3 – 5 years. The firm says repayments are structured so the savings considerably exceed the payment level.
The funding for the initiative is being made available through the the European Green Fund and is accessible to companies and governments worldwide.
The fully-off grid light model offered by the company is powered by a 65W solar panel that charges a 12V 30AH lithium ion battery with a service life of five years. The LED in the light fitting is rated at 4700-5000LM and has a claimed 50,000 hour life.
However, if the battery life is only 5 years, then the replacement battery cost and any other maintenance costs compared to those associated with conventional street lighting need to be weighed up.
Regardless, it’s an interesting concept that will no doubt generate a lot of interest in the UK and perhaps from councils here in Australia as well.
According to a recent report from Global Market Insights, the solar street lighting market is expected to exceed USD 15 billion by 2024 globally, with India alone forecast to reach over USD 3 billion by that year.
