How does a Solar Outdoor Light work? In principle it is very simple: A solar panel is used as a generator which converts light to electricity. That makes it a "solar generator." The electricity is used to charge a battery while there is daylight--even under cloudy skies. The battery powers the light, at night, turning it on at dusk and turning it off at dawn, or some earlier time if chosen. It is similar to the generator charging your car battery when the motor is running, and then having enough "charge" in the battery for head lights all night when the engine is turned off. Worried about your car battery going dead? It will, because your car was not designed for all night lighting without having the engine running. That is why Solar Outdoor Lighting is not quite so simple in reality. The solar generator must have enough capacity to charge a big enough battery to power light all night, every night. And the battery must have enough capacity to run the light even after a string of cloudy days. And the charging and discharging of the battery must be very precisely controlled.

Why use Solar Outdoor Lights? Thousands of Commercial Grade Solar Outdoor Lights have been in everyday use since 1990, lighting residential streets, country roads, traffic and advertising signs, transit shelters, parking lots, national and municipal parks, recreation areas, military installations. These lights are so dependable that a utility has installed them at their own switching center to have light when "electric wired" power fails, and through hurricanes and earthquakes. Remember those giant black-outs?

Why are Solar Outdoor Lights so dependable? Because each light has its own power plant--a solar generator energized by the sun. The generator is guaranteed for twenty years-which keeps an ultra reliable battery charged to deliver lighting power whenever it is needed. There is some charging every day, even when it is cloudy. Solar Lights don't depend on faraway generating stations, high voltage transmission lines and switches, substations, transformers and wires or cables. Though these are very reliable on average, the failure of any one of these elements will extinguish hundreds and sometimes thousands of lights all at once--often at times when they are vital, like in hurricanes or snow storms, and communities are plunged into darkness. After Homestead Air Force Base near Miami was devastated by Hurricane Andrew, Solar Outdoor Lights lit up as usual when utility powered lights stayed dark for days on end. When Sumter Electrical Cooperative wanted the most reliable light for a critical electric power facility, on whose functioning thousands of subscribers depend, it chose Solar Outdoor Lighting in preference to its own electricity. Even in the unlikely case that an individual Solar Outdoor Light fails to light, other solar lights near it will not be affected.

Why does Solar Outdoor Lighting compete so well with "electric wired" lighting? Solar Outdoor Lights may seem expensive before the real costs of installing "electric wired" lights are added up for the years of service that are to be expected. Solar Outdoor Lights have no charge for running wires, or trenching, no charge for putting in transformers and meters, and no electric bill.

Can Solar Outdoor Lights be used outside the "Sun Belt"? As you travel North where there are more clouds and longer nights, larger size solar panels and batteries are required. Properly designed "Northern" systems are just as reliable as "Sun Belt" systems, but they cost more.

Why don't Solar Outdoor Lights go dead? Unlike automobile batteries, Solar Outdoor Lighting batteries provide enough electric storage capacity to keep the light on for many long nights even when the charging rate of solar generators is limited by a string of cloudy skies.

Is that all it takes? No. In addition to adequate solar generators and big batteries, Solar Outdoor Lights require controllers to regulate the charging process and to ensure that the light will be on when it is supposed to be on, not fooled by passing clouds, automobile headlights, the full moon, etc.

It still sounds simple; why can't anyone produce Solar Outdoor Lights? To produce a light that will last for years and years, that will shine during the longest nights after a string of short and cloudy days, after hurricanes and snow or sand storms, at the customer's location, a product that is safe to install and service, to insure flawless performance, requires meticulously matched customer lighting needs and locations on a "worst case" basis.

What is "worst case"? In general, you pick the worst possible combinations of conditions expected in customer service, and design the product to perform flawlessly nevertheless. That is often stated as designing the product to work as specified when solar generators provide least charge during short and cloudy days, while demands on the battery are at a maximum during long nights. There are other aspects--the product must work under all conditions of temperature, humidity, and wind load. Poorly designed solar lights that work fine during the 13 hour cloudless days and 11 hour nights, might not work at all in December when the days are short and the nights are long after a string of cloudy days.

Why is precision control essential? Remember that premium grade Solar Outdoor Lights use "service free" batteries. That is a big advantage to the customer, but the charge process of such batteries requires precision control. With poor control, the life of batteries decreases dramatically when they are overcharged (it kills them quickly), and declines relentlessly when they are undercharged (they will die before their warranty expires.) This is why Creative Action Solar Lighting uses a proprietary charge controller proven by years of field experience to extend the life of batteries far beyond their normal manufacturer's warranty. This controller also does its job with less waste of electrical energy typical of other controllers (which leaves more energy to run the light).

What about risk of shock in this appliance?Unlike automobile headlights which use 12 volt bulbs, Solar Outdoor Lights employ fluorescents or low pressure sodium bulbs which deliver much more light for the same wattage and are much longer lasting than 12 volt incandescent bulbs. These bulbs are lit with an AC voltage of 300 volts produced by a device called a ballast, which converts 12 volts DC to 300 volts AC. That voltage is the same lethal voltage required in "electric wired" fluorescents. This is one reason why Solar Outdoor Lights with fluorescent bulbs must have Underwriters' Listing.

Are there other reasons for having Underwriters' Listing? Definitely. Solar lights use batteries many times as powerful as automobile batteries. You have probably seen "the sparks fly" when automobile batteries are shorted. Accidental shorting of high capacity Solar Outdoor Lighting batteries can cause fires, explosion of the battery and vaporization of metal, (e.g. tools dropped on the connections) if proper protective devices are not installed. Another reason for Underwriters' Listing.

How do I know that a Solar Outdoor Light will do what the manufacturer promises? By reviewing product specifications carefully, and talking with customers who have experience with these products longer than the seller's warranty period.

How long is the warranty that I get from Creative Action's Solar Lighting.? The basic warranty for all components and workmanship is two years. At no charge, Creative Action's Solar Lighting offers an additional 18 year Original Manufacturer's Warranty for the solar panels (the most expensive system component), for a total of 20 years. Included in the basic warranty are also three additional years for the controller, for a total of 5 years. Extended warranties for the battery and other components are available at nominal cost.

Do all manufacturers offer warranties? Yes, but each manufacturer has his own schedule. And his own record. And his own fine print. And his own staying power.

Is this any different from other products? Solar Outdoor Lighting is a relatively recent development. Because it seems so easy to wire up store-bought components, solar lighting attracted a number of environmental enthusiasts with little business experience that do not have the engineering capabilities to produce a long life product. Their promises may sound the same as those of reputable companies, but they may not be around when customers need service.

Why should I be concerned about warranties? Savvy customers are not only concerned about the warranty itself, and the product history it is based on, but about the financial ability of the supplier to make good on his promises.

Why aren't light bulbs included in the warranty? No warranties of bulb life are available. The world's biggest bulb manufacturers (Philips and GE) do not guarantee the life of their bulbs, but they have decades of experience with billions of bulbs. Their predictions of bulb life are reliable and apply to bulbs used by Solar Outdoor Lighting. It is unlikely that bulbs furnished with Solar Outdoor Lighting, Inc. products will fail within the SOL® basic 2 year warranty period. But, just in case, SOL® delivers a spare bulb with each light.

How can I specify a Solar Outdoor Lighting product that will give me the light I need, year-round? Here is a simplified explanation. SOL® application engineers would use a more technical formula for more precise results. However, this simple approach will often get you close enough.

1) You choose the bulb wattage required to do your lighting job. Examples of typical applications are appended to this section. Assume you need a 24 watt bulb. For instance, in the case of street lighting, a Solar Outdoor Lighting application engineer would have determined the level and pattern of illumination needed at your site and he would have used "photometrics" to select your light fixture, the pole height, plus the spacing between lights. When you have a specific application, call Creative Action Solar Lighting on 44 - 020 8201 1752 to get a precise plan. (Photometrics referred to above is a graphic representation of light intensities delivered by a given light fixture at a fixed height above ground, with a bulb of specified shape and wattage). Well, for this example, assume you need a 24 watt bulb.

2) From the bulb wattage you determine the battery capacity needed to keep the bulb lit during the longest nights of the year. You need to know the length of night on December 21 (the longest night of the year) AT YOUR LOCATION. Assume you are in Las Vegas and the longest night is 14.5 hours. You then have to supply 24 watts for 14.5 hours, or (24 x 14.5) 348 watt hours. Batteries are rated in "Ampere hours." Solar Outdoor Lighting batteries supply 12 volts. Using the formula: Battery Ampere hours (required) =Lamp Watt Hours (to be consumed) 12 (battery volts) We see that we need 348/12, or 29 Ampere hours for the longest night. If we want to have a five day reserve, to protect against a string of five very dark days, we would pick a battery with at least (5 x 29) 145 Amp Hour capacity. Knowing that battery life is extended by never discharging batteries 100%, we would pick a somewhat larger battery Ampere hour rating, perhaps 160 Ampere hours.

3) Now comes the hard part: In order to pick the right size solar generator, you need to know how many "sun hours" to expect on this same December 21st at your location. (Sun hours are not the same as daylight hours, which would be 9.5 hours in our example. One sun hour is the equivalent of noon time sun at the location. Sun hours takes into account sunrise, sunset, and clouds normally expected.) Sun hours are listed as an expected average in government publications based on decades of experience at specific measuring locations. In Las Vegas, December sun hours equal 5.2.

4) You are now ready to figure the size of the solar generator: In 5.2 sun hours you must generate AT LEAST as much electricity as is taken out of the battery during 14.5 hours by a 24 watt bulb. As already calculated, that is 348 Watt hours. To generate 348 Watt hours in 5.2 hours you need at least 384/5.2 or 66 watts of solar generating capacity. You would probably pick 77 Watts capacity.

Doesn't this mean that all suppliers should offer similar size solar generators and batteries for a given application? Using conservative design standards and government "insolation" (i.e. sun hours) tables, and bulbs with the same wattage, there is only one formula for determining the minimum ratings of solar generators and battery capacities. When a supplier offers a product with lower specifications from the standard approach he should be made to explain his numbers. It is usually a sign that he is using inferior specs to quote a lower price.

What are some of the things to watch out for? The false impression that use of a higher wattage bulb will be brighter even if a smaller ballast is joined to it, in addition to skimping on solar generator and battery capacity already discussed. The use of bulbs with higher wattage ratings without corresponding increases in ballast, generator and battery ratings will impair lamp and ballast life. You will not get higher light output just by using a bigger bulb without providing the "juice" to run it. This is not like your bulb socket at home where your power company will supply any wattage you need. "Flooded batteries" require service.

Flooded batteries use liquid electrolytes which contain water which is converted to hydrogen and oxygen gases, which escape into the surrounding air as the battery is charged and discharged. As is well known, this creates an explosion hazard unless there is proper ventilation. However, in any case, the water has to be regularly replenished. The escaping gases also corrode the terminals. This is an important reason for keeping such batteries at ground level where they can be inspected, cleaned and serviced regularly.

Even with excellent service, such batteries cannot be deeply discharged without shortening their life appreciably. Flooded batteries also cannot be shipped in a "service ready" state because the electrolyte has to be added after installation and there are corresponding problems with disposal of exhausted batteries. "Service free" batteries use gel electrolytes in a totally enclosed battery which permits "service ready" shipping, and facilitates disposal of dead batteries--they are recyclable. There are no escaping gases, eliminating this hazard. Even more important, gel batteries can be discharged 100%, and unlike flooded batteries they will recover upon being charged once more.

Gel batteries which can be mounted out of harm's way anywhere, including on top of poles, are clearly preferred when a precision charge controller is used. There is convincing evidence that gel batteries when properly used in Solar Outdoor Lighting Service not only outlive the best serviced flooded batteries, but their own guarantees. In fact, Creative Action Solar Lighting offers guarantees exceeding three years at very modest extra cost for its gel batteries.

The Precision Controller. The controller is really two devices in one. It is a charge controller which regulates the charge during daylight hours, to keep the battery healthy for years. It measures the state of charge of the battery very precisely and allows just enough energy to reach the battery to charge it fully. That sounds simple but it is a very precise function because "fully" means not too much and not too little, both of which impair battery life. Our proprietary controller carries a five year warranty and is guaranteed to maximize battery life. "Under the same hood" the controller has another function: to turn the light on at dusk, and turn it off after dawn or at some predetermined shorter runtime. For this, much more is needed than the "knee jerk" reaction of a photocell which is easily fooled by passing clouds before it is dark, and by automobile headlights, lightning, and the full moon after dark. Again, computer intelligence incorporated in our proprietary controller takes care of these and other potential problems.

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