There's been a lot of news lately about cities or states using solar lights for street, parking lot and park lighting.
The City of Boston, for one, just announced they will soon replace 600 gas lamps with solar lights, salvage the City roughly 0,000 a year in fuel bills and reducing carbon emissions. In a miniature over three years, the 0,000 facility cost will pretty much pay for itself.
Hybrid Bikes
What hasn't been talked about much are hybrid lights, those powered by solar panels and wind turbines. And they're a great solution, as few places are without wind or sun for any significant period of time.
Before discussing hybrid solar/wind devices, let's elucidate how they differ from what is generally know as "hybrid solar" technology. Hybrid solar lighting uses photovoltaic panels on rooftops to procure the sun's vigor and directs it into special interior lighting fixtures via fiber-optic cables, and it's often supplemented by former on-grid electricity.
Wind /Solar Hybrid is separate than "Hybrid Solar" Technology
Advanced "hybrid solar" technology is used by corporations, condition facilities, universities and communal structure for indoor electricity for lights, hot water and other necessities. A modern example is Boston's Thomas P. "Tip" Federal Building, which installed hybrid solar technology in 2011 with funding from the American salvage and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (aka the Stimulus Bill.)
While hybrid solar technology goes a long way toward salvage vigor costs and reducing pollution, it roughly always is supplemented by former electrical sources. And, current facility costs make it honestly economic feasible for large structure as opposed to the average homeowner.
Wind/Solar Hybrid Technology
Hybrid wind/solar technology combines solar panels and wind turbines to originate power. It's successfully been in use for years world-wide, particularly in Africa and Asia. Along with lighting, applications consist of powering the whole electrical needs of villages.
However, hybrid solar/wind technology only recently evolved into a truly viable frugal option for developed areas. Today, it has a strong foothold in more "modern" areas of Asia such as Hong Kong; Australia also uses it regularly. It's used for lighting, though technological improvements will honestly strengthen its viability for other uses.
The Prentiss Creek Subdivision in Downers Grove, Il, is the first residential subdivision in the United States with hybrid street lights. Completed in 2010, and the self-contained theory should last for up to 100,000 hours, compared to approved lighting systems that must be supplanted after 10,000 hours. Other benefits: salvage 500,000 kilowatts of electricity and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 350 tons over a 30-year period. (More facts is on Youtube )
Cost-effective and easy to install, hybrid wind/solar lights furnish dependable and fascinating illumination for:
- Street
- Sidewalks
- Jogging and bike paths
- Farm & ranch lighting
- Campus lighting
- Large parking lots such as those for shopping centers or corporate centers.
Solar panels for wind/hybrid solutions last up to 25 years; turbines have an operational life of about 20 years. Batteries for the theory last in the middle of five to seven years with a replacement cost of colse to 0 dollars.
Benefits of Wind/Solar Hybrid Solutions
Wind/solar hybrid solutions offer significant benefits over former grid-based electrical counterparts in terms of the environment, ease of facility and cost-efficiency. Many benefits are the same provided by ability solar lighting fixtures for the residential user, but on a larger scale.
For example, hybrid lights require no line voltage, trenching or metering. There are no costs to replace concrete, asphalt or landscape. And, just as a low-voltage electrical or gas lamp post can be retrofit for solar, wind/solar posts systems can be installed on existing street light poles.
Cost Comparison: former Electrical Grid Lights to Wind/Solar Hybrids
Along with environmental benefits, the costs of newer market grade and wind/solar hybrids make sense.
A former market or communal street light that's 26-feet high with 250 watts of light would cost colse to ,700 over five years including: cost to buy the pole and luminaire; trenching and metering; facility and maintenance; and electrical costs.
In comparison, the same solar or wind/solar hybrid light would cost only ,500 for a five-year savings of ,200 and a payback period of.7 years. In addition, there are discrete state and federal incentives ready to those who purchase, setup and operate these solar or wind/solar hybrid solutions.
All in all, wind/solar hybrid solutions are pretty super!
Copyright 2011, Am McElroy, Solar Flair Lighting
It's Wind! It's Solar! No, It's a Hybrid Wind/Solar clarification