Solar street lights represent a next-gen alternative for estates, with the opportunity to retrofit advanced, sustainable lighting on existing estates and compounds or select high-functioning, environmentally friendly models for estates under development.

One of the common queries around solar street lighting is how well these lighting units operate in comparison with conventional wired lights. The answer is that they outperform older models in every way, from streamlined installation to minimal maintenance and zero ongoing utility costs.

Let’s have a look at some of the many advantages of solar-powered street lights, how they work in busy commercial and residential estates, and the reasons an increasing proportion of estate managers are going green and seeing a corresponding drop in outages and overheads.

What Is the Benefit of a Solar Estate Lighting Solution?

For most estate owners, lighting is an integral safety requirement. Lights ensure walkways, parking bays, and play spaces are illuminated during overcast weather and early evenings, extend the hours of usage of communal facilities, and reduce the risks of slips, falls, or trips.

Estate lights are also essential to security, where a large proportion of property and vehicular thefts occur in dark shadows and settings where criminals are more likely to be able to commit thefts without being seen.

The standout advantage of solar estate lighting is that it operates completely autonomously, without any reliance on the national grid, and is invulnerable to power cuts and outages – a problem that persists across most parts of South Africa.

Rather than worrying that lights will fail during load shedding or that estates will be cloaked in darkness for extended periods during power outages, managers have the assurance that solar lights will continue to provide bright illuminations, using only clean solar energy to recharge the battery during the day.

How Does Solar Estate Lighting Cut Running Costs?

Another huge positive of solar lighting is that solar energy is free and abundant, and because estate lights with solar technology don’t require any form of cabling or wiring, they are cost-efficient from day one:

  • Fitting solar-powered street lights is quick and straightforward. Stable anchoring points ensure the lights are fixed and impervious to tampering, ideally with the solar panel facing south to absorb maximum sunlight.
  • There is no need to dig trenches, lay cables, or reroute electricity lines because these lights function independently and don’t require any fixed wiring.
  • Over time, solar estate lights can pay for themselves due to the lack of running costs – a significant aspect for larger estates whose electricity and utility bills can run into substantial amounts every month.

Given the increasing interest in low-carbon living and sustainability, some estate managers may also find that the use of green solar energy is a selling point. Tenants or buyers may find that an earth-friendly estate that advocates for solar power over fuelled alternatives is more appealing and ties in with the values and ethics that are a key priority in many areas and municipalities.

What Maintenance Do Solar Estate Lights Require?

The absence of live electricity is a major selling point, and solar street lights require little in the way of ongoing maintenance. Regular cleaning to remove dust and dirt from the solar panels is safe and quick, without safety considerations around electrocution risks.

Keeping the solar panel clean optimises the functionality and lifespan of a solar lighting unit because this enables the panel to convert more sunlight into electricity, which is stored in the battery unit for use during hours of darkness.

Solar batteries tend to require replacing before any other component, but Solight’s solar lighting models are engineered for longevity. They have an independently accredited waterproof status that guarantees the casings and outer materials are fully waterproof and keep the battery dry and protected inside the unit.

Innovative technologies also provide step-down and automated lighting, with sensors that detect a change in lighting conditions, adjust the illuminations emitted to preserve and prolong battery power, and switch off independently when weather conditions mean lighting is not required.

How Can Estate Developers Select the Best Street Lighting Models?

The right street lighting units might depend on several variables, such as the number of estate lights you require, access to uncovered placements without trees or branches that might obscure the solar panel, or the style and aesthetic you’d like to achieve.

Below, we’ve summarised a few details of our highest-demand estate lighting models. As always, we welcome you to contact the experienced Solight team if you’d like more tailored recommendations about the ideal units for your compound or estate.

Solight’s Trident Solar Area Light

Our Trident Solar Area Light is often selected for use around paths, car parking facilities, and residential estates. It has a curved, modern finish and is made from a strong, durable alloy body lamp incorporating patented ALS 2.4 technology.

With three variable lighting modes, this street light also has on-off light sensors and automated charging. Dual motion detectors can give each light a secondary purpose as a safety and security feature and as a way to add to the ambience and atmosphere of an estate setting.

The Onyx Solar Street Lighting Range

Our Onyx range has a sleek, sophisticated, and contemporary finish. Both the Onyx Solar Street Light and the Onyx Lite model are fitted with lithium-ion batteries, which have an expected lifetime of 1,500+ cycles, which is around 12 years.

The original Onyx estate light can be mounted between four and eight metres. It has an in-built fault alarm, cutting-edge ALS and TCS tech to safeguard and extend the battery capacity, and the ability to produce ten continuous days of lighting throughout cloudy and overcast conditions.

Its compact sister, the Onyx Lite, provides similar functionality in a slimline casing. Its anti-corrosion finish makes it suitable for installation even in coastal areas with high saline content in the air, which can cause other materials to tarnish or corrode.

Our Camps Bay Solar Street Light

Finally, the Camps Bay light is a discreet, small-profile street light that can be mounted up to five metres in height. It has remote control access to manage the lighting modes, automatic day and night switches, an IP65-rated waterproof casing, and a lifespan of 12+ years, as with our alternative models.

The battery temperature and control technology we are known for is built into each unit, ensuring each 30W solar street light functions seamlessly and provides ongoing lighting for years to come. It can emit continuous lighting for up to ten days, even in low-light conditions.

For more information about any of these solar estate lighting models, you can find full technical specifications on the Solight website or contact us with any questions you might have.