Cost Comparison of Solar Street Lights vs Traditional Street Lights

In recent years, the market share of solar street lights has been gradually increasing. When it comes to the choice of lighting equipment, people prefer energy-saving and environmentally friendly solar led street lights, but many people are hesitant because the initial purchase cost of solar street lights is much higher than that of traditional street lights. This is also an important reason why some governments and companies insist on choosing traditional street lights.

However, can we tell from the purchase funds that the cost of solar street lights outdoor must be higher than traditional street lights? In the following article, we will analyze the cost comparison between solar street lights and traditional street lights from three aspects: installation cost, maintenance cost, and energy cost. I hope it will provide some help for you when choosing street lights in the future.

Solar street lights do not need to lay cables or connect to the power grid, saving the cost of distribution boxes and transformers. You only need to fix the light poles and adjust the angle of the solar panels to put them into use. The construction period is short, and the labor cost is low. In places where the power grid is not well covered, such as rural or mountainous areas, the construction difficulty of solar street lights outdoor is greatly reduced.

Traditional street lights rely on the power grid, which requires digging trenches for wiring, laying power grids, and building substation facilities. For remote areas, this part of the cost will be very high. The construction time of traditional street lights is long, the engineering is complex, and the labor cost is also high.

Although the initial equipment investment and battery replacement costs of solar street lights are high, the free electricity bills, low maintenance frequency, and environmental protection advantages make the maintenance cost during the life cycle significantly lower than that of traditional street lights, especially suitable for off-grid areas and areas with high environmental protection requirements.

The initial maintenance cost of traditional street lights is low, but they need to bear long-term electricity bills and higher maintenance costs for bulbs and lines, which are more suitable for areas with a complete power grid in the city.

The energy source of solar street lights outdoor is free solar energy, which is inexhaustible and does not require any cost during use, so the energy cost of solar street lights is almost zero.

Traditional street lights must rely on traditional power grids, so they need to continue to pay high electricity bills during use. This amount is inevitable during the use of traditional street lights, and the cost is relatively expensive.

Through the above comparison, we can see that, in general, in addition to the initial purchase cost, the maintenance cost and energy cost of solar powered street lights are lower than those of traditional street lights during the entire operation period. Therefore, the economic benefits of solar street lights are higher than those of traditional street lights. In fact, in addition to the cost, what other advantages do solar street lights have compared with traditional street lights?

Solar powered street lights do not have any cable connections. Each solar lighting system operates within the safe voltage range of DC 12-24V, and there is no risk of overheating.

Most traditional street lights have many wires connected to the power supply, and the cables are directly connected to the power supply. There is a risk of a short circuit at any time, and there is a risk of electric shock at any time.

Solar street lights have the characteristics of waterproofing and good weather resistance. Even if it is rainy or cloudy for consecutive days and cannot receive sunlight to generate electricity, the remaining power stored in the battery can still be used to drive the street lights to work.

In contrast, the design of traditional street lights cannot withstand extreme weather conditions and will stop working due to line failures that often occur in extreme weather.

Solar led street lights usually use LED lights as light sources, which can provide brighter light and save more energy. LED lights are known for their high efficiency (>150 lm/W) and longer service life (>50000 hours).

Traditional street lights usually use high-pressure sodium lamps (HPS) because they are more efficient and require less maintenance during use. In addition, metal halide lamps (MH) are also used in many countries for street, stadium, and parking lot lighting because they emit very bright pure white light. Compared with LED street lights, these traditional street light bulbs are more affordable.

The use of solar street lights relies on free renewable energy, which is both economical and environmentally friendly. There is no pollution to the environment during the use of solar powered street lights, which is in line with the concept of sustainable development.

Traditional street lights are powered by the grid, and the grid electricity mainly comes from non-renewable fossil energy. The use of fossil energy produces toxic carbon dioxide, which is harmful to the environment.

From the cost point of view, during the entire operation period of the street light, the cost of solar street lights is lower than that of traditional street lights. This is mainly due to its independent power supply system and free energy source. Not only that, the use of solar led street lights also has high environmental benefits and will not pollute the environment. It meets the needs of the human pursuit of energy conservation, emission reduction, and sustainable development. Therefore, solar street lights have been replaced by more municipal authorities as a lighting solution for traditional street lights.