SEPCO was recently contacted by MDNR to provide lighting at the Maple Bay State Park for their boat launch and parking areas. The lights were needed to provide safety to boaters and park goers, but the cost of trenching standard electrical, putting in a meter and boring under the concrete to get the power where they needed it was cost prohibitive. This is where solar lighting was their perfect solution.

Our children are our future, so keeping them safe is number one priority. Since school is a requirement of being a child, making sure there are flashing beacons in school zones is important for children’s’ safety when walking or biking to school. It also keeps traffic at a much slower rate than normal and tries to warn drivers of children also being taxied by their parents.

I found this great infographic on Pinterest the other day and wanted to share it with you. What would it take for there to be sustainable energy for everyone in the world? The infographic goes over three main global goals that need to be implemented; Energy Access, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 

As with all technology, innovation and development coincide with popular interest. As more consumers and corporations look towards renewable energy methods, providers are working diligently to develop improved efficiency. As solar is getting a boost in technology, where does that leave coal? Supporters for coal go to great lengths to discredit solar use as being "premature" and "not cost effective." However, those arguments are seeing less traction than they did in the mid 2000s.

When it comes to the solar lighting industry, there are many different types to consider. There are large industrial lights that light up a huge area down to the smallest single LED light for around a home’s walkway or for accent lighting. Knowing exactly what your expectations are for the amount of light will help you best choose your perfect solar lighting solution.

Large Solar Lighting Solutions

Large industrial lights can be used for parking lots, security on perimeters, along streets and roadways and even on some of the largest billboards. These lights use high powered fixtures and require a larger amount of solar power. Highly efficient and off grid allow these types of lights to be the best solution to an area where grid power doesn’t already exist and is costly to bring in.

Medium Solar Lighting Solutions

In the middle you have solar lights that produce light perfect for signs, decorative pathway, commercial landscape, flags, bus stops and building structures. These lights are typically use lower wattage fixtures as the amount of area being lit is much less. Their solar is also smaller in size to produce the needed power for the application. These systems are perfect for almost any type of application as they can be located anywhere without disturbing the surrounding area by needed trenching of wires.

Small Solar Lighting Solutions

The smallest lights are typically found in a home improvement store. These lights range from a single LED to about 5 Watts of light. Their solar panels are very small, will only operate the light for a couple hours a night and they do not provide much reliability. However, these are perfect for the typical home landscape lighting needs. Since atmosphere and boundary markings are typically all that is used at a residential location, these are the perfect type of solar lights as they are inexpensive and allow for installation anywhere around the yard.

Next time you are looking for the perfect solar lighting solution, make sure to know what your expectations are and the needs of the project. Talk to your local solar lighting solutions expert and they can walk you through finding the perfect match to your needs.

Photovoltaic street lights are becoming more popular and are popping up all over the world. There are so many benefits to using photovoltaic street lights, but improving sustainability is my personal favorite. Here’s why.

Bus shelters are all around the world and provide shelter and lighting for travelers using the transit system. A lot of bus shelters also provide information and advertisement that passengers can check out while they wait. These shelters consume energy between 50 Watts in LED and 200 Watts in incandescent. When you multiply this by the total bus shelters in a single city, they consume quite a lot of energy. There is energy saving options available to cut costs to the city and still provide the lighting needed for safety.

Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy

Take a look at a great video from a recent TED.com conference that goes over a great innovation to energy storage. This video features a way to “invent our way out” of the energy storage crisis to be able to harness renewable energy at all times, store the power, and use that stored power to feed the grid to keep up with the energy demands at all times.