Educational 3 March 2025
Solar street lighting seems straightforward enough: grab a panel, stick it on a pole, add some batteries and a fixture, and you’re good to go, right? Not so fast, young grasshopper. While solar street lighting has big benefits—zero energy costs, zero carbon emissions, and easy, flexible installation—getting it right requires careful planning and attention to detail.
Maybe you’ve seen solar streetlights that are about as bright as a tealight or heard about installations that failed after their first bout of bad weather. These aren’t inevitable outcomes but rather the result of cutting corners or overlooking crucial details during planning and implementation.
The good news is that most solar street lighting pitfalls are completely avoidable. Whether you’re lighting a single street or an entire development, understanding the do’s and don’ts will ensure your investment delivers the reliability and performance you expect.
Be level-headed about light levels
One of the most common pitfalls in solar lighting is falling for impressive-sounding lumen claims without digging deeper. A manufacturer might say their fixture can pump out 15,000 lumens—and maybe it can, for an hour or two. But solar street lighting isn’t about brief, intense brightness; it’s about sustained performance through the night, night after night.
The key is understanding the relationships between the system’s main components—solar panels, batteries, and fixtures—and your desired operating profile. Can the panels and batteries collect and store enough energy to power your fixture at the promised light levels throughout your longest nights? Don’t be afraid to ask manufacturers to back up their claims. A properly sized system should deliver reliable, uninterrupted light, not just impressive numbers on a spec sheet.
If you’re new to solar lighting, you’d be forgiven for not knowing that all the power solar lights consume comes from a battery—often more than one. And those batteries need enough capacity to power the light not just through a single night, but through multiple, including on days with little or no sunshine.
Consider your location’s worst-case conditions: how many consecutive days of poor solar collection can you expect? A properly sized battery should hold enough energy to outlast your longest low-solar period, whether that’s a couple of days of clouds or a week-long winter storm.
You also need to consider battery chemistry, as not all batteries perform well in all climates. Lithium batteries, for example, may struggle to recharge on cold winter nights (-4°F or lower). If your project is in a colder region, lead-acid or nickel-metal hydride batteries are more reliable, withstanding temperatures as low as -40°F.
Location, location, orientation
Here’s another one that should be obvious but often gets overlooked: solar panels need unobstructed sunlight. Those stately oaks lining your boulevard are lovely, but their dense canopy drastically reduces solar collection. Tall buildings and other structures that cast shadows create the same problem. In heavily shaded areas, grid-powered lighting may be the only viable option.
Even with clear access to the sky, proper orientation is key. Panels should face south in the Northern Hemisphere, with tilt angles adjusted for latitude—typically 25–40° in the U.S. Misalignment can significantly reduce energy collection, so taking the time to get this right pays off.
Few things are worse than finding your carefully installed systems flattened after the first major storm. Yet many buyers are so focused on the performance-related aspects of their solar lighting installation that they completely ignore the structural requirements.
Adding solar panels to a pole essentially transforms it into a sail, dramatically increasing wind load. This means selecting poles and mounts with appropriate wind ratings for your location’s maximum wind speeds, including seasonal gusts and storm conditions. Don’t hesitate to request detailed specifications from manufacturers that include wind resistance and EPA. A properly designed system is an investment in your system’s longevity and your community’s safety.
This comes last but really it might be the most important, because if you get it right, the rest will take care of itself. Seek out companies that specialize in solar lighting and can provide detailed recommendations based on your specific location and needs. Do your homework, ask the right questions, and invest in quality to ensure your solar street lighting meets your community’s safety and reliability needs long-term.
