
Solar Powered LED Lighting in Buildings: Pros and Cons
Solar-powered lighting has become popular within the decades, especially since fossil fuels became more expensive. As a result, more building owners are learning towards achieving a sustainable green energy source. You can find that solar LED lights are a more affordable off-grid solution than traditional lighting systems. In general, solar-powered lights have more advantages, not just because of how simple you can install them.
However, you have to learn the different advantages and disadvantages of solar-powered LED building structures before installing them. At one point, you might find them not compatible with your building, which can result in more building issues than usual. Ensure you weigh out the advantages and disadvantages to help with deciding whether you need to install them or not.
Pros of Using Solar Lightings in Your Building
Pro #1: Reduces Electricity Bills:
What’s excellent about installing solar-powered lights within your building is seeing a drastic reduction in energy consumption. Most of the energy you use to feed your lights comes from solar power. It is free, and will not cost you anything. Also, if you install more extensive solar panels, the more solar energy converted into electrical energy can power more lights inside the building for a long time.
Pro #2: Durable and Safe:
Traditional electrical lighting systems usually have hidden safety hazards during the installation process. One known is exposed electrical wires that can become a potential fire hazard for contact with flammable materials. But when you install solar-powered LED lights, you can create a safer building.
You can find most solar-powered LED lights with safer and durable materials, ensuring the building won’t catch on fire at any point. But like with any system, you need to hire professional solar power technicians to take care of them. If you are afraid of potential fire hazards brought by traditional lighting systems, the best alternative is installing solar-powered LED lights.
Pro #3: Low Maintenance Cost and High Technology:
Solar lights can adjust their light intensity depending on the brightness within the room because of a solar charge controller that regulates the system. Moreover, solar lights only need a cyclical inspection. Thus, the cost of maintenance is relatively low.
Pro #4: Renewable Energy Source:
Solar-powered LED lights are the best source of renewable energy. It’s suitable in any area you want to install within the building, as long as the solar panels can accumulate enough light and convert them into clean, electrical energy. Furthermore, it can generate unlimited electricity as long as the sunlight hits the solar panels.
Pro #5: Simple Installation:
The solar LED lighting system’s installation is convenient and straightforward without the need for complicated wiring. It doesn’t need many labor force and material resources, ensuring that your budget fits perfectly.
Pro #6: Custom Sizes and Shapes:
There are different sizes and shapes of solar-powered LED lighting systems, and all of them can provide an aesthetically pleasing look to your building. You won’t have any issues creating an appealing structure for the public and building tenants to look at every day.
Pro #7: Environmentally Friendly:
You need to install solar-powered LED lighting in your building because it helps save the environment little by little. Note that most power plants generate a ton of pollution to produce electricity. But with solar energy, you don’t need power plants to power all of your lights inside the building because you get natural energy from the sun. You need to take advantage of that feature if you want to preserve the environment.
Cons of Solar Energy in Your Building
Since you now know about the several advantages of solar-powered LED lights, you have to learn its disadvantages.
Con #1: Consumes Too Much Space:
The more energy you want to collect, the more solar panels you need. This is because a single solar panel can only collect enough sunlight. Solar panels require ample space, and you might have a rooftop that’s not big enough to fit the number of solar panels you need.
The best alternative is installing the other panels in areas with access to direct sunlight within the whole day, like a yard or lawn. You can also install it near the shoreline if you construct your building near the sea. Don’t forget to install coastal zone access panels if you want to prevent bits of seawater from going inside your building components.
If you are struggling to free space for your solar paneling system, you can always install fewer panels, providing adequate electrical energy.
Con #2: Large Initial Investment:
One significant disadvantage of installing a solar energy system is the huge initial investment cost. Based on several surveys, the total cost to install a solar energy power system can reach up to three times the price of a traditional energy system. This is due to its solar storage batteries and other components.
Most green technology manufactured nowadays does not come cheap. The reason is that it’s still new, and it doesn’t have a larger market than the traditional energy system. But soon, the demand for solar energy systems will grow and decrease its cost, ensuring everyone can install one on their building without worrying about the price.
Conclusion
Every energy system has its pros and cons. But if you think of the greenhouse gases that affect the environment, the solar energy system is the best option. Besides saving the environment, the most significant advantage of solar-powered LED lightings is they do not add to your energy bills. Many building owners want to reduce the costs of maintaining their building as much as possible and solar energy can achieve that.
Make sure you talk to a professional solar energy company to get the most out of your solar lighting. They know the ins and outs of ensuring your solar lighting system runs efficiently. They can also give you helpful tips and tricks to make it last longer than usual.
Although, the best way you can make your solar-powered LED lightings last long is by contacting technicians to do the necessary inspections and maintenance. You can even schedule when they need to do the inspections and maintenance to avoid calling them all the time.
Author’s Bio
Chris Jackson is an experienced Business Development Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the construction industry. He is currently employed by Best Access Doors, an access door supplier in the US and Canada, and has been working for the company for more than 12 years now. His area of expertise is on Negotiation, Roofers, Sales, Project Estimation, and Facility Management (FM)