Solar LED Warning Lights: The Ultimate Guide

This is a warning light that will operate on the electricity from batteries that charge via the use of solar panels.

They are environmentally friendly and also energy-efficient yet still offer suitable visibility in various environmental conditions.

In this article, we shall take a look at the common applications and the benefits of solar LED warning lights.

Also, we shall look at how it compares to other kinds of lights.

In addition, you will find out how it operates, the parts that make up this warning light, and also the quality standards if conforms to.

Solar LED warning light

Common Applications of Solar LED Warning Lights

This light is suitable for various applications such as:

• Solar barricade lighting
• Lighting boat docks
• Solar street lighting
• The lighting of military bases
• Wildlife area lighting
• Solar traffic signal lighting
• The lighting of perimeter security
• Solar roadway lighting
• Lighting parks
• Solar pathway lighting
• Lighting gates
• Solar ramp lighting
• Lighting yards
• Solar sidewalk lighting
• Lighting fences
• Private road lighting
• The lighting of farms and ranches
• Campus lighting
• Lighting remote locations
• Bike path lighting
• Lighting jogging paths
• Solar camping lights

Benefits of using Solar LED Warning Lights

There are several benefits of using the combination that is solar and LED lighting.

They operate together and complement their best attributes and here is why:

No Wiring or Cable from the Grid

These lights need no wiring meaning they can operate anywhere, even in the remote of locations far from power grids.

Portability

These lights come in both large and small sizes making them easy to install or fit anywhere as the need arises.

Highly Resistant

Solar LED warning lights are highly resistant to impacts, pressure, and high temperatures.

Besides, one can place these lights on roads with high traffic and they will last for several years.

Provide a Better Light Output

These lights can produce a wide array of color output for different environmental situations.

Such colors include red, yellow, green, blue, white, etc.

They offer Better Visibility

These warning lights provide a better color rendition index and are also easy to spot at night.

It also makes it a better choice for security purposes and will place less strain on the human eye.

The LED lights will Run on DC Power

Traditional solar lamps needed converters to run the light setup and this makes them large and uses huge batteries.

LED’s operate directly in DC power thus no need to use converters or other external power.

Low Power Consumption

Solar LED warning lights will use a fraction of the power that other traditional lighting systems use.

Also, they use less wattage yet provide the same kind of illumination as traditional lights that use higher wattage.

Versatility

The solar LED warning lights can also produce different colors during operation.

Also, they can provide different levels of brightness.

Long Life Expectancy

These warning lights can provide over 20 years of life expectancy which is higher than other kinds of lamps.

Maintenance

The solar LED warning lights need less maintenance which also increases their lifespan.

Also, they do not use wires which enhances their durability.

Besides, since the light uses solar power, you need not worry about incurring electricity bills.

Environmentally Friendly

Solar will provide power for the operation of these LED warning lights without using other sources of energy.

The LEDs will produce light by using the energy from the sun.

Besides, LED’s have no mercury or any other hazardous substances hence making them safe for recycling after their lifetime expires.

Main Features of Solar LED Warning Lights

Solar LED warning light

Since there are different kinds of solar LED warning lights, this means their features will also vary considerably.

Here are some features you are likely to find:

• Service life of between 1 and 5 years.
• Also, they can produce a rapid flashing rate of up to 65 times per minute.
• They are resistant to environmental elements like rain, heat, and dirt.
• Also, they can come with an ON/OFF button switch or automatic photosensitive control.
• The wireless feature makes it possible to deploy anywhere where there is direct sunlight.
• They also have a solar panel to improve the performance.
• The lights can have a longer operational time of between 7 to 120 hours on a full charge.
• They also have an impact-resistant lens.
• The effective charging time is normally 8 to 16 hours.
• One can find a magnetic attachment or a screw fixation system.
• A waterproof IP rating of IP65.
• It can produce various light patterns like a flash, stroboscopic, or a continuous glow.
• A lithium battery capacity of 3.7 V and 2000 to 6600 ma.
• The solar power module of 5.5 V and between 90 to 280 mA.

Parts and Components of Solar LED Warning Lights

 Solar lighting structure

These parts include:

Solar Panel

Most solar panels are of crystalline silicon which is a semiconductor material.

Solar cells have two layers of silicon with the lower layer having fewer electrons thus a slight positive charge.

This is because of the nature of the negative charge of the electrons.

The upper layer has more electrons hence a slightly negative charge.

A stream of light from the sun will enter and release the energy to the atoms within the silicon.

This causes the electrons to the lower layer and as it moves, it produces current.

When more light shines, more electrons will move around and increase current flows.

These are the photovoltaic and photoelectric processes.

The photovoltaic system will convert sunlight directly into electricity.

Battery

This part is within a metallic or plastic casing that has electrodes where chemical reaction happens.

Also, there is a separator that is between the anode and cathode which assists in inhibiting them from reacting together concurrently.

The batteries use gel electrolyte technology that has high-performance deep discharging.

It makes them able to operate in varying temperature ranges.

Other materials it may use include lithium, nickel metal hydride, lead acid, or nickel cadmium.

The battery will save energy from the solar panel and provide it to the LEDs when the need arises.

Charge Controller

This part will control the working of the solar LED warning lights to protect the charge in the battery.

It ensures the battery will not overcharge or over discharge in extreme weather situations.

This helps in preventing damage to the battery.

The Housing

This part will hold and contain all the parts of the solar LED warning light.

It is durable and can withstand external elements like changing temperatures and impacts.

Other Parts

These will vary between manufacturers and include things like fixture arms, mounting brackets, and extra materials.

How Solar LED Warning Lights work

These lights operate due to the photovoltaic technology within the system.

The most vital component of a solar LED warning light is the solar panel, solar cell, or photovoltaic cell.

This part works by converting solar energy into a direct electrical current.

The solar cell is usually dark and is at the top part of the solar LED warning light.

Also, the solar cell has several layers containing chemicals and crystalline silicon.

These will create layers of positively charged spaces and negatively charged electrons.

As the light from the sun passes via the solar cell, it will excite the negatively charged electrons.

This will make it move towards the positively charged spaces.

After this, the positively charged spaces will transfer the stream of electrons as a direct current [DC].

The current will move through wires that are in the solar cell to the battery system.

Once there, the battery system will store this direct charge for use at a later time.

The battery will continually charge as long as the solar cell converts the sunlight into electricity throughout the day.

As evening approaches, the solar wells will not convert sunlight into electricity since the light is weak or has disappeared.

Photoreceptors in the solar LED warning lights will detect when it is dark and eventually turns on the light.

The battery will supply electricity to the LEDs throughout the night.

This process happens daily where sunlight converts into electricity during the day with the help of the solar cells.

At night, the battery supplies electricity to the LED and turns off when the battery is used up.

It will also turn off if the photoreceptors turn off the light when they detect the presence of daylight.

Polycrystalline vs Monocrystalline vs Amorphous Solar Panels for Solar LED Warning Lights

One can categorize solar LED warning lights depending on the material that designs them.

These are:

Monocrystalline Solar LED Warning Lights

When the conversion efficiency and amount of solar energy it can convert into electricity is a priority, these are the best panels.

They have an efficiency that ranges from 15% to 21%.

Besides being efficient panels, they are also expensive to purchase.

Polycrystalline Solar LED Warning Lights

The energy conversion efficiency of these panels is 16%.

Besides being less efficient than monocrystalline solar LED warning lights, they are affordable to purchase.

Also, they have a good build quality that enhances their durability.

Amorphous Solar LED Warning Lights

The other name for this panel is a thin-film solar panel.

They are affordable than the other two and their energy efficiency is low, standing at about 10%, or lower.

Type of Battery to use with Solar LED Warning Lights

solar warning light

Batteries in these lights will need replacement after a duration of time, usually within 2 years or 600 charges.

There are solar LED warning lights that have replaceable batteries meaning they can operate for a long time.

Besides, they get their charge from the solar cells which convert solar energy to electrical current.

New and modern solar LED warning lights can come with one of the following batteries:

Nickel Cadmium [NiCd]

This happens to be the oldest and the cheapest battery.

They can operate in extremely hot or cold environments ranging between +30°C to +50°C.

Besides, these batteries will suffer from memory effect which makes them not utilize the full capacity of the cells.

One can properly charge or recondition to overcome this effect but it is not viable and practical for solar LED warning lights.

Nickel Metal Hydride [NiMH]

This battery type will deliver more longevity between charges of up to 40% above that of Nickel Cadmium [NiCd].

However, they will not operate efficiently in extreme temperatures.

Also, they are not as prone to memory effect as Nickel Cadmium batteries but over time, the run time for batteries will lessen.

Lithium-Ion [Li-Ion]

This battery can pack more power in a small package making it the common battery in this lighting system.

Besides, they are not prone to memory effect, however, they are highly volatile.

This is because they contain lithium salts and non-dense metallic components.

Durability of Solar LED Warning Light

The lifespan of these lights will depend on several definitions:

Life of Lamp

It is also known as rated life.

This is the time in hours it takes a percentage of the solar LED warning light to burn out.

For LED light sources, one will measure this by the L70 rating.

This is the time it will take the LED to experience a 30% reduction or 70% of the light output.

Lumen Maintenance Factor

This is the light amount that the LED will output at a certain time in the future to determine its lifetime.

The lifetime of the LED is the time it takes for the lumen maintenance factor to reach 70% of the first light output.

With this in mind, since the LED dims over time, the standard lifetime of an LED light is a minimum of 50000 hours.

Average Life

The durability ranges anywhere between 10000 and 50000 hours.

Meaning of ‘F’ and ‘S’ on solar LED Warning Lights

S stands for a static light while F stands for a flashing light.

Know Luminous Intensity for Solar LED Warning Lights

Depending on the application, the intensity can range from 50 to 2600 lumen.

Visibility Range of Solar LED Warning Lights

The lights are visible at long distances of between 1500 and 3000 meters.

Using Solar LED Warning Lights in Wet/Cold Weather

These lights depend on sunlight during the day to charge the batteries so that they can operate at night.

For cold weather, solar LED warning lights are the best choice since there is less thermal stress on diodes and drivers.

It is because they are semiconductors that will emit light when an electric current passes through them.

With this capacity, they turn on immediately in cold weather.

This is because they can operate in extreme temperature ranges as they have no glass component.

For those with glass components, large amounts of rain or snow may cause them to break.

Besides, heavy snow and rain can cover the solar panels which will lower the sunlight it can receive thus decrease its efficiency.

The solar LED warning lights are also weatherproof with a high IP rating meaning they can withstand rainy conditions.

Also, on a rainy day, there is still light in the sky that will reach the solar cells thus charging the battery.

However, they will not be as efficient as during the dry seasons.

Besides being weather-resistant, long exposure to harsh environments can cause damages thus shortening the lifespan.

 Solar LED warning light

Material Requirements for Solar LED Warning Lights

The housing material should be robust and protect all the components that are within it.

Also, it should be weatherproof to offer protection against external elements.

Besides, transparency is an important factor since it will allow one to experience the full brightness of the LEDs.

The material one can use to make a solar LED warning light are:

Polycarbonate

This is a special kind of plastic substance that has transparent resins making it is clear and offers up to 90% of transparency.

With this, the bright lenses will have no limitation as polycarbonate will transmit the warning light efficiently.

Also, it has a tensile strength that will protect the components during extreme weather conditions.

Besides, it is easy to maintain this material and is non-flammable and resistant to heat.

Also, they are strong with a high degree of stiffness than acrylics meaning you can drill it without breaking.

Polycarbonate is also resistant to high impacts and moisture.

Aluminum

This is a suitable material to make the metallic external component with since it is also a lightweight material.

Besides, you can use an epoxy-based coating that will protect it from rust.

Aluminum also has incredible heatsink capabilities.

This is advantageous since, in hot seasons, it will protect the components inside the housing.

Acrylic

This material is suitable for the diffusion of harsh lights.

Besides, they are UV resistant thus will not discolor in the presence of sunlight.

They are also flexible, scratch-resistant, and affordable than polycarbonate.

Suitable Working Temperature for Solar LED Warning Lights

This light can operate between -40 F° to 120 F°.

Also, with this wide range, they can work in both weather extremes.

Recommended Bulb Color for Solar LED Warning Lights

These can be:

• Red
• White
• Blue
• Amber

Solar LED Warning Lights Flash Rate

They can flash at a rate of 65 times per minute, with an option of altering it.

Importance of IP Rating in Solar LED Warning Lights

Ingress Protection [IP] rating is a level of protection that the solar LED warning light has against moisture and solid materials.

The first digit stands for protection against solids with 0 meaning no protection and 6 meaning maximum protection.

Also, the second digit provides a level of protection against moisture with 0 meaning no protection and 8 meaning maximum protection.

Besides, the solar LED warning lights are for use in external environments meaning they are in constant exposure to moisture and solids.

A higher IP rating means the light is highly weatherproof and will resist the external elements, thus, increase its durability.

Solar LED warning light

How to Troubleshoot Solar LED Warning Lights

Here are how one can solve issues when you notice the light is not producing light:

Pull Tab for Batteries

These tabs are with the batteries to preserve their durability.

Make sure to take them off to ensure the batteries are in contact with the light for it to charge.

If there is no tab, open the enclosure to check if there are batteries or if they are faulty.

Sensor Functionalities

The sensor may be faulty meaning it may not detect if it is nighttime to activate the light.

If you notice this, you can replace the sensor to ensure it detects the presence of light and darkness.

Clean Solar Panel

After some time, these lights may have some dirt or debris on the solar panel.

This will inhibit the amount of sunlight that will reach the solar cells to charge the batteries.

Ensure you clean the solar LED warning light from time to time.

Solar LED not Receiving Direct Sunlight

These lights depend on solar energy to produce an electric current that will light the LED.

Ensure the light is in an open area free from shade or other obstructing elements.

This will ensure it receives full charge during the day that will last throughout the night.

Rechargeable Batteries

After a long period of using the solar LED warning lights, the batteries will not be efficient.

When you notice the light is not as bright, it may be time to replace the batteries.

Battery Change

When buying a solar LED warning light, the batteries may not be in the system.

This is because if the battery is inside, they will lose their charge over time before purchase.

So if you notice the light is not working after purchasing, charge them for a full day before using them.

Quality Certifications needed for Solar LED Warning Lights

These include:

CE Mark of Quality

This will make sure the manufacturers comply with the necessary EU legislation.

It applies to products regardless of the country of origin.

ISO9001

This is a Quality Management System standard that helps industries to consistently meet customer needs effectively.

RoHS

It stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances.

This standard will inhibit the use of hazardous materials that you can find in electronic and electrical products.

CCC

This standard stands for Compulsory Certification of China [CCC].

It ensures the protection of consumers via the supervision of the products on issues of health, environment, anti-fraud, and hygiene.

CQC

This stands for Care Quality Commission and it regulated and inspects social care and health services in England.

It assesses the providers to check if they are responsive to individuals’ needs, safe, caring, well-led, and effective.

UL

This seal assures that the product has undergone testing by UL to well-known sustainability and safety parameters.

Also, it ensures the product is free from any future fire hazards of fires or electric shocks.

This happens to ensure the device can suitably handle the electric current as per the manufacturers’ description.

TUV

This standard ensures that the manufacturers meet all the electrical safety standards.

Solar LED Warning Lights Price

These lights can go anywhere between 5 USD to 750 USD.

The price depends on several factors such as quantity, country of origin, and type.

How Solar LED Warning Lights compare with Standard LED Warning Lights

Solar LED warning light

The main difference is that solar LED warning lights depends on sunlight to provide electrical energy to light up.

Standard LED warning lights either use replaceable or rechargeable batteries or connect directly to a power source.

They both provide suitable warning light solutions as they are bright, visible, and come in a variety of colors.

What Dimmability Means for Solar LED Warning Lights

This means one can adjust the intensity of the light to suit a specific need.

Solar LED Warning Lights with ON/OFF Switch vs Solar LED Warning Lights without ON/OFF Switch

You can turn the lights off or on when the need arises if the lights have an ON/OFF switch.

If the switch is in an ON state, the solar LED will charge during the day and also turn on when it is nighttime.

However, if the switch is in the OFF state, it will charge during the day but not light up at night.

On the other hand, solar LED warning lights with no ON/OFF switch will automatically turn on at night.

It will automatically charge during the day and turn on at night.

When to consider Solar LED Warning Lights with GPS Control

GPS is suitable when you need the lights to flash at the same time, like in tower or crane applications.

Also, you can synchronize multiple lights to flash concurrently.

Legal Requirements for Using Solar LED Warning Lights

These include:

• Ensure it will not hinder the view of the road to the drivers or pedestrians.
• Also, it should not cause any discomfort to the drivers or pedestrians either directly or indirectly.

How to Install Solar LED Warning Lights

One can install the lights permanently on a spot by securing them with bolts and nuts.

Also, there is the option of magnetic mounts where it sticks on magnetic material.

The legal restriction on magnetic mounts is to avoid placing them on the roof of moving automotive.

This is because it assists in avoiding the risk of it slipping off and causing an accident.

Warranty Considerations for Solar LED Warning Lights

One may purchase the light only for it to break in a few months.

In such scenarios, the warranty may come handy when replacing or repairing it.

Most manufacturers will offer a warranty that ranges from one to 5 years.

Ensure the warranty covers a long period if you plan to purchase expensive solar LED warning light.

At GoldMore, we help you get high quality and reliable solar LED warning lights depending on your requirements.

Contact us today for all your solar LED warning lights.