Philips Solar Lighting – Your Ally in Fighting the Energy Crisis

Nowadays, cities consume more than two thirds of the total global energy and produce around 70% of global CO2 emissions. The urban populace is constantly growing. A UN report estimates that, by 2050, two thirds of the total world population will live in cities.

Energy prices are very high. Both natural gas and crude oil cost nearly twice as much as a year ago, and in some countries, the energy prices are at their all-time high. Europe is undergoing an energy crisis. The unwanted consequences of that are inflation, lower consumption by end-users and additional difficulties in colder months, when the heating of office spaces and homes becomes much more expensive.

All the major cities – even disregarding the current aggravating circumstances – are constantly facing a double challenge: how to reduce the consumption and the environmental impact, while at the same time meeting the needs of an increasing number of citizens?

Lighting plays a significant role in both these questions. There are estimates of the share of public lighting in the total power consumption in cities which say that it contributes up to 40% to the cities’ electricity bills and that it comprises up to 15% of the total power consumption in the world, which is what also makes it an area for big potential savings.

What solar lighting can do today

Solar technology is constantly upgraded. The efficiency of the LED packages by Signify has already reached 170 lumens per watt. At the same time, the price of this technology is dropping, so the investment return times are growing shorter, especially under the current conditions, in which the price of electrical energy is growing in the entire Europe.

Thanks to advanced technology, today, the life cycle of LED lights is already up to 100,000 hours, photovoltaic (PV) panels last up to 25 years, and the life cycle of lithium-ion and ferro-phosphate batteries is at least 10 years. The increasingly efficient panels, combined with a device for the control of the filling of batteries, enable longer autonomy periods, which, in turn, enable a much wider geographic implementation of solar solutions.

Also, new-generation batteries are very easily recycled. The newer battery technologies that Signify uses for its solar systems are considerably more environmentally friendly compared to the older ones, so this is a truly “green” energy with a minimal environmental impact.

As a result of all the technological improvements, solar technology today can be used in countries further to the north, such as Germany, which has the biggest base of installed solar panels in Europe, with around 46 GW in 2019. The number of new solar panels in the whole world grows with each year. In 2021, the record 168 GW of new solar PV capacities was installed. The record is expected to be broken in 2022, with a new 200 GW.



Where solar lights can be implemented in public lighting

Solar lighting offers solutions to several different problems. Off-grid solar lighting is a solution for areas where there are either no technical possibilities for connecting to the power grid or it would be too expensive and/or there are not enough budget funds.

Another kind of a problem, much more frequent in larger cities, is the rapid expansion of the populated areas, which burdens the power grid as a consequence. Then, there is the increasing need for power savings due to the lack of energy sources and the increasingly high electrical energy price. Those two kinds of problems can be significantly mitigated or fully solved with hybrid solar lighting. It collects and uses solar energy whenever possible, and uses electricity from the power grid only when it is not available.

Signify has in its portfolio (under the Philips brand) both these kinds of solar lights. The “solarization” of the portfolio is one of the important projects and directions in which the company is moving. As soon as the first half of 2023, the selection of lights for exterior lighting will be expanded to include, in addition to the existing lights for roads and streets, floodlights for lighting sports courts and large surfaces, but also modern decorative lights for urban environments. The application, then, will cover everything from playgrounds, through roads and streets, all the way to city squares and other tourist and commercial centers. Some of these lights can be seen in the photo gallery, and you can learn more about this on the website and the e-catalog.

You can read about more details about off-grid, hybrid, all-in-one and non-integrated solutions by Signify in a few days, in the next article!

SIGNIFY INTERNATIONAL B.V. OGRANAK BEOGRAD

Philips

solar lights

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ferro phosphate batteries

LED lights

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