Solar LED Lighting & Off-Grid Power Blog

Ways to Save Money with Solar Outdoor Lighting

Written by SEPCO | 6/21/16 2:00 PM

Solar outdoor lighting solutions help businesses provide lighting to the exterior areas of their buildings for the safety and security of their visitors as well as employees. While there are plenty of options on how to light those areas, one of the biggest points of examination is if you want to take advantage of an option that can provide an ROI, such as a solar outdoor lighting system, or a lower initial cost with a higher overall cost, such as grid powered old-style lights.

 

Standard AC lighting using metal halides or sodium lamps offer a much lower cost to start, but as time goes on, more money will be spent on the service, maintenance, and upkeep costs than a solar LED lighting system option.

 

Solar outdoor lighting systems are going to cost a much larger upfront payment over standard lighting methods, but that's money you'll eventually recoup in savings connected to not having a true light bill for that area and lower maintenance. Once the cost of installation is met you begin to make money as a profit instead of paying a company for electrical service.

 

Best of all, this can be done much faster if you can take advantage of the Federal Tax Incentive of 30% and any state and local incentives that may be available, see www.dsireusa.org for information.

 

Simply going with solar power for electrical service instead of traditional, standard lighting hook-up options is a guaranteed money-saving method in its own right. When you add to the equation that you can also look to go with LED lights you're looking at even greater cost savings.

 

LED lights tend to last a much longer time than incandescent or fluorescent bulbs. This means that you have less maintenance and have to purchase fewer replacements than the other options. Also, LED lights run at a much lower wattage, using a third or less of the energy of traditional lamps. Best of all, LEDs operate more efficiently at lower wattages.

 

Cutting down on the money you spend on purchasing multiple bulbs every year and the maintenance costs of the upkeep, on top of the savings of not paying an electrical bill thanks to your solar lighting, you'll be on your way to a major profit.

 

To get more “bang for your buck”, adjusting the lights to be the most efficient installation of your project will help reduce costs and increase profits. Using different control options that will reduce the operation of your systems can lower the solar requirements, increase light levels, and lower the costs of the complete project. Customizing your solar lighting systems to meet exactly what the business requires will ensure that needs are met while cost savings are high.

 

No matter how you look at it, swapping from standard electrical services to a solar-powered system is the best way to ensure that your business is turning a profit year over year.