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Not all signs face one direction or are single-sided. Some are sideways along a roadway to show information to people traveling in either direction. There are also ones that show a welcome on the entrance side and a thank you on the exit side. No matter what your sign says, lighting it at night will provide the information to the passersby’s no matter when they go by at night.
Welcome to Stuart / Rio Sign
There is a local sign that, depending on which way you are traveling, you are either going into the City of Stuart, or the Town of Rio. A large monument sign is there to greet you on the corner, just beyond the tracks. This beautiful sign needed to have illumination at night so people driving by could easily see which direction they were traveling.
SEPCO worked with the city to design a system that mounted a single solar array on the back of the monument on a tall pole to ensure there was no shading and power two fixtures, one on each side of the sign.
This design doubles the amount of solar and battery required; however, it will provide the best option for these types of signs. Having a separate solar system for each fixture doubles the maintenance and overall cost of the system. Instead, by combining the system into one power array, the system requires less maintenance and fewer costs down the line.
Mediterranean Village Sign
The Mediterranean Village Community had an internal sign cabinet designed with solar in mind. This community sign has Fluorescent tube lights inside the sign cabinet to push through the teal letters on the sign face, on each side of the cabinet. Today, LEDs are the more popular way to illuminate these signs.
This type of installation is not typically recommended outside of the southern areas due to the ability to have snow collection on the panels during the winter months; however, it worked out well for this setup. Best of all, the cabinet was large enough to house the batteries.
Typically, the sign would have the LED modules installed. The solar would be installed on a pole nearby so that it would have a south-facing orientation. The batteries would be housed inside a vented aluminum battery box on the same pole as the solar array. This way, all the equipment for the solar side would be located in an easily accessible manner for future maintenance requirements.
US EPA Facility Sign
The US EPA required larger and brighter lights for the sign at the entrance to its facility. This required a larger solar power array and battery backup. The ability to custom design the system to meet the needs of the application is where SEPCO thrives. Each system is designed with the end result in mind. By sizing the system to meet the needs by providing the correct lighting output to sizing the solar to handle the local weather and nights.
The solar power assembly can be located beside the sign, attach to the top of the sign, or even be placed up to 100 feet away so as to allow direct sunlight all day. The solar power system should be sized to provide a minimum of five days autonomy to allow for times of inclement weather and never allow your sign to be left in the dark. So next time you need that double-sided sign lit up, consider using a single solar power system to provide the needed energy.
