What Has To Happen Before Solar Street Lights Are Adopted?

If solar street lights are so great, then what’s the hold up?

Cities are generally wary about adopting new technology, especially when it concerns something as important as providing lighting for residents. A few things will need to be in place before we start seeing solar street lights on every corner.

1) More LED Use

Out of habit, many cities still require street lights to use old halogen bulbs. While these provide great illumination, they are energy vampires. More cities will need to adopt LED lighting before solar lights become viable.

2) Accurate Energy Consumption Measurements

Cities and utilities will need to measure how every light pole is consuming energy from a centralized location. Without this level of accuracy and precision, it will be difficult to measure how much energy is being consumed from the grid and how much is being drawn from the batteries. High-tech measurement systems have this capability, but it will require more widespread adoption before solar street lights are common.

3) Intelligent Street Lighting

In order to further save energy and reduce the odds of nighttime blackouts, cities will also need intelligent street lights. These are lights that include sensors and dimmers that provide the optimal amount of light to help citizens navigate their street at night — but not a single lumen more.