Solar power is getting increasing popularity as a dependable source for street lighting all over the world. Some of the benefits associated with solar street lights include reduced dependence on conventional energy, conservation of energy and less reliance on the national grid. In countries experiencing abundance of sunlight, solar lights are the best option to illuminate the streets, garden, parks and other public spaces.
Solar-powered lights are a perfect eco-friendly green lighting solution
Nowadays, solar street lights are powered by PV panels, in-built battery, LED lights and smart sensors, all integrated into a single compact unit. Solar LED street lights have emerged as a cost-effective and environment-friendly to light up roads and public spaces. LED lights are widely acknowledged for energy conservation, are long-lasting and good-looking, and are maintenance-free. These characteristics make LED-based solar street lights well-suited for commercial as well as domestic lighting applications.
Key Features
A modern solar street light has embedded solar panel, inbuilt lithium-ion batteries, battery management system, night and motion sensors as well as automatic controls. The fully automatic device comes with LEDs, inbuilt and replaceable Lithium-ion battery and passive infrared (PIR) sensors. A typical solar street light is weather-proof and water-resistant, has low insect attraction rate and low glare and has a longer life.
The embedded solar panel converts solar power into electrical energy which is stored in the inbuilt battery, and used for dusk-to-dawn lighting operations. The main innovation of modern solar street lights is the battery management system which is facilitated by the presence of night and motion sensors.
During the first 5 hours of night, the system works at average lumens brightness. Subsequently, the intensity of the light reduces till dawn or until PIR sensor is activated by human movement. When people are within a certain radius away from the light, it automatically turns to its full brightness. This smart feature makes solar street lights device a perfect combination of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Solar powered lights have been tried and successfully tested in a wide variety of domestic and commercial applications. The device is well-suited for lighting up streets, courtyards, gardens, parks, compounds, boundary walls, car parks etc. in an eco-friendly and cost-effective manner.
Unending Benefits
Due to off-grid nature of solar street lights, solar street lights incur minimal operational costs. Such lights are wireless in nature and are independent of the utility company. Compared to conventional street lights, solar street lights require almost zero maintenance.
Due to the absence of external wires, these lights do not pose any threat of accidents like electrocution, strangulation and overheating. Infact, solar lights illuminate the streets throughout the night irrespective of power cuts and grid failures.
Solar street lights are a delight for environmentalists around the world as it can provide significant lowering of carbon footprint of individuals, homes and businesses. In other words, solar-powered lights are a perfect green lighting solution. In terms of cost, solar street lights are a better investment than conventional street lights if the capital as well as O&M costs are considered.
Landscape designing has been an independent profession for a long time. It revolves around analysing, designing and planning exterior living spaces. Building an eco-friendly landscape design helps to combine nature and culture while designing the exterior living places.
Eco-friendly landscape designs not only provide a conducive living environment but also can influence the social, aesthetic and environmental qualities of the overall housing areas. It also helps you manage your time, money and efforts. Eco friendly landscape design helps to nurture the ecosystem, reduce pollution and also maintain healthy surroundings.
Best sustainable landscaping design ideas
Xeriscaping your landscape
Xeriscaping is a method of landscaping which eliminates the need for irrigation. In simpler words, it is using drought plants and grass to design your exterior living areas. In this, you use agriculture which needs little or no water other than what is provided by the climate of the place.edru9
Adopting this method does not mean turning your landscape into the barren land, it is merely the use of Drought-tolerant plants, Sand, Permeable hardscapes, Mulch etc. this method helps you conserve water that would otherwise be used up in maintaining huge green lands with grass. People have been using this method since 1981.
Despite Earth being 71% water only 2.5% of it is freshwater that is fit for usage. Since converting saltwater to freshwater is possible but it is not a viable solution as too many resources are needed. Thus, we need to conserve water and use it carefully.
2. Install Solar Lights on your Lawn
Installing solar lights lower your electricity bill to a great extent. Moreover, it will let you show off the beauty of your landscapes even at night at a very minimal cost. Instead of connecting the lights in your lawn to a power source, you must install solar panels that convert and store the solar energy into electricity during the day and use the same energy to light up your lawn at night.
Solar lights, unlike regular garden lights do not require to be wired. This makes them highly portable and less messy. Solar lights use batteries instead, eliminating the need of sockets, wires and other electrical components.
Solar panels are a one-time investment with a great resale value. It is environmentally beneficial and needs very less to no maintenance. It is an energy-independent source which will help you add beauty to your lawn and at the same time not be harmful to the environment.
3. Rock Garden for landscape
Rock gardens are a unique way to design a landscape. Carefully and creatively arranging rocks in a certain pattern will help you get a very beautiful and unusual landscape. The best part of having a rock garden is that you hardly need to do any work to maintain it. They are visually very appealing and need little or no water.
Rock gardens are very long-lasting as they can withstand harsh and extreme weather conditions and thus look great all year long. It also increases the value of your property as it gives an illusion of free space as they don’t need much greenery and plants
4. Wildlife Garden
A wildlife garden is a garden that is sustainable and habitable for wildlife and domesticated animals. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, mammals and so on.
Building a wildlife garden is also better as it helps you reduce your cost for fertilizers and get access to natural chemical-free fertilizers. Wildlife gardening also allows us to connect to nature and provide a sense of peacefulness. It also gives you a sense of well-being and improved mental resilience.
5. Adding a Compost Station
Compost is a waste management facility where solid waste is managed and processed using composting technologies. This processed waste can be reintroduced into the environment. Waste like autumn leaves, grass clipping and yard trimmings can be dumped into the composting pit.
People misjudge the compost station as they think it would look like a pile of garbage on their lawn, but that is not the case. In fact, it is one of the most thoughtful ways to reduce waste in your home. You can make a homemade compost station and manage it pretty well using attractive wooden bins, beautiful flowers and other garden ornaments.
6. Vertical Garden
This method is the best way to make your lawn look beautiful even in a small space. All you need to build this is a vertical wall, it can even be built on a fence.
A vertical garden is a garden in which the plants are supported to grow along vertical, often tiered surfaces, especially fences, posts, trellises, and walls, rather than along the ground. these gardens help save space and also cleans the air we breathe.
It can be made very attractive with the use of gardening ornaments like plant pots etc. since they take up lesser space than traditional vegetable or herb gardens, they use significantly less amount of water. There are some vegetables that work better with vertical gardening than others too. Vertical gardening has become very popular in overpopulated cities due to the lack of space to have an on-ground garden or a lawn.
7. Permeable Hardscapes on Landscape
Permeable hardscapes are an attractive way to improve the sustainability of your property. In case of storms and floods, it decreases stormwater runoff and prevents soil erosion.
Due to its permeability, it helps the rainwater to enter the ground and recharge the groundwater reserves, which in turn can be beneficial for the plants in your lawn.
8. Native plants
Native plants are plants that have been growing in a particular area or habitat for a long time. Planting native plants can always be easier as they have been growing there naturally without any human interference while non-native plants have been introduced by humans.
Thus, native plants can thrive naturally and won’t need as much care as non-native plants. The native plants won’t even require chemicals to maintain and preserve them. The usage of lesser pesticides and fertilisers in turn helps in maintaining the quality of the soil and the plants.
Native plants have a deeper root system which also helps us to save water as they can extract water from the earth’s crust. Native plants are sustainable for your wallet too as you’ll save cash by spending less on chemicals. You also save more if you plant perennial natives because they bloom year after year.
9. Green Wall
Green walls are intentionally created vertical green structures, that have different types of plants or other greenery attached to them. The greenery is often planted in a growth medium consisting of soil, stone, or water. Because the walls have living plants in them, they usually feature built-in irrigation systems.
Both interior and exterior living green walls function to cool the air in the warmer summer months Exterior living green walls can reduce wall surface temperatures resulting in significant energy savings and air conditioning costs.
You can easily grow herbs and flowers here using containers and planters. Apart from serving as an area for more plants, it also improves the appearance of your yard.
Conclusion
An eco-friendly and sustainable landscape is a way by which we can repay society. Having an eco-friendly landscape will make the surrounding a better place for future generations.
With the growing urbanisation and population, we must not forget to take care of our planet, adopting the above methods will help us to be around nature and keep it from being exploited. Moreover, it is budget-friendly so instead of approaching fancy materialistic stuff to improve the visuals of your landscape, we must adopt eco-friendly landscaping ideas to quench our thirst for aesthetics.
Solar power is an appealing source of energy, considering that it is widely available and sustainable. However, only two percent of the world’s electricity is derived from solar as of 2018. In the past, the production of solar energy has been costly and fairly ineffective.
Good thing, new technological advancements over the past years have propelled this growing reliance on solar by lowering costs. Technological innovations also aim to expand the use of solar by further decreasing costs and improving the efficiency of solar panels.
The Importance of Solar Lights
Although there are many uses for solar power, solar lighting is one of the most prominent. Large electrical products need high energy levels to operate them. This means that it needs large solar panels to collect appropriate energy from the sun.
On the other hand, solar street lighting do not require large sources of energy and can thus be operated off much smaller panels. They provide a higher level of functionality and flexibility since the solar panels can be integrated into the lighting system.
The magnificence of solar lighting is that you can use it often and virtually any time without any cost except for the initial purchase. Direct sunlight is not even required to charge the batteries. With advanced technology, new models of solar lights can charge even on a cloudy day.
Solar lights are well designed for outdoor usage, removing the need for risky electrical wiring. Excellent placement means maximum charging and the light turns on as the sun sets. While more extensive circuitry is required, solar lighting can also be used for interior lighting.
The Future of Solar Lighting
It is always difficult to predict the future. But by observing current trends in energy usage, solar energy industry, and prospective scientific research, we can catch a peek of what solar lighting could mean for the future:
Materials
Most likely, the materials that go into solar panels will change. Cell phone manufacturers, smartphones, electric vehicles, and cordless power tools all rely on the same rare earth component array that solar panel makers do.
Worldwide stocks of these resources continue to decline. Due to this, scientists have warned companies producing high-tech gadgets to find alternatives (such as iron pyrite or zinc). Experts advise manufacturers to develop their metal recycling and recovery systems.
Cost
New designs will be developed to absorb more light and convert light energy more efficiently into electricity. Upcoming solar light models will also be less costly to build than existing designs to outperform current solar cells.
Electricity producers and consumers are more likely to embrace solar power if it is as costly or more affordable than others. Any changes to current designs of solar cells should reduce overall costs to be widely accepted.
Silicon solar cells are likely to persist to fall in price and be manufactured in large numbers in the near future. Additionally, research will continue on alternative models for solar cells that are more powerful and less costly.
With the bulk production of solar cells and emerging technologies, these developments will continue to be made possible.
Solar Power Usage
As the fight against climate change is escalating, so will the demand for renewable energy sources. Solar power will play a significant role in combating global climate change.
Solar could also spread to developing countries in the form of microgrids. Microgrids are distributed installations of electricity generation that provide energy to a limited area like a town, community, or a neighborhood.
Solar microgrids are an effective way to electrify remote communities in Africa or Southeast Asia. It is most effective for developing nations where it is too costly for electricity companies to connect far-flung towns to the power network.
Transparent Solar Cells
This advanced form of solar cells is adequately transparent for many new applications. Researchers developed a model that includes organic salts that absorb enough UV and infrared light to turn solar radiation into energy
Picture this sort of solar cell on the screen of a smartphone or a car’s windshield. Ultimately, transparent solar cells are more appealing than the conventional dark-colored panels and have a wider range of uses.
Final Thoughts
The use of solar lighting dates back to a thousand years ago when man first discovered fire. However, it is also very much the present and will be a significant part of the future. Solar lighting is here to stay until the sun shines its last beam, and as technology advances, the developments can grow over and over again.
Convinced yet of the bright future of solar lighting? If so, look no further than www.heisolar.com. HEI is a global leader in providing highly efficient solar lighting products. The company offers a range of outdoor solar lighting solutions for your home, business, or property.
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