Solar lanterns

Petra Energia/Offer/Solar lanterns

Solar lanterns (solar street lamps) are the core of our business. It is a good solution for:

  • street lighting
  • parking lots
  • playgrounds
  • footpaths
  • bicycle paths

The lamps we offer are autonomous, powered by their own energy storage and high-efficiency photovoltaic modules integrated into the lantern pole. They can also work with the power grid. In this option, it can work as a super-saving lantern and as emergency lighting in case of a power outage.

How does the solar lamp work?

The solar lamp uses the process of capturing solar energy and converting it into electricity, which it then stores in batteries. At night, this process is reversed and the electricity stored in the batteries powers the LED luminaire.

The solar lantern consists of a south-facing photovoltaic (PV) module, an LED light fixture on a boom, and gel batteries placed in hermetic housings in the ground. In places, solutions with lithium-ion batteries, mounted in the lamp post, are also used.

In recent years, solar power systems have become increasingly common, and no wonder. With the development of technology, more durable components, better warranties, higher efficiency and lower prices, the solar lamp solution is becoming more and more popular.

It is worth noting that the growing trend does not apply only to products such as solar garden lights, which have been on the market for many years, but also to more professional installations, such as solar lanterns used to illuminate sidewalks or city parks. A solar lamp for illuminating, for example, pedestrian crossings on roads is also nothing new. In short – the whole world is increasingly leaning toward green technologies, and all systems that can use clean energy will become more and more popular every year.

What are solar lamps and how do they work?

Above all, a solar lamp is a way to illuminate virtually anything we want, without the cost of electricity and, more importantly, without the need for electrical wiring and all the work that goes with it. It is this second point that is the most common reason for the use of solar lanterns around the world. When you add ecology, the solution of solar lamps is almost unbeatable.

What are solar lamps and how do they work? It is actually a traditional lamp or lantern equipped with a suitable system of solar panels that supply it with energy in a completely ecological way. A solar panel accumulates solar energy, delivered to our planet in the form of photons by means of a light beam from the sun.

The use of solar energy brings several huge advantages. First of all, there is no fear that we will run out of this energy source in the coming millennia, plus we take care of the environment, which is becoming priceless these days.

Polish solar lamps versus Chinese products – which to choose?

The first and frequently asked question by our customers is which products to choose. Are Polish lamps a big improvement in quality, will Chinese products do well, and how is the quality. For the moment, it is difficult to talk about Polish solar lamps or other photovoltaic systems at all, since there are no solar lamps or lanterns produced in Poland in their entirety. In our country, you can find manufacturers who merely assemble solar lamps and panels from semi-finished products purchased in the East. Why is this happening?

The most important reason is that simply the cost of production in Poland would be too high, and the whole installation based on expensive products would be completely unprofitable. We often encounter the opinion that maybe Polish products would be more expensive, but they would provide another brick of taking care of the world’s ecology. In reality, this would not be the case. Note that the high price would not have come from nowhere. High production costs, as well as the transportation of intermediate products, involve the use of other energy sources, which would make the solution itself environmentally unfriendly. The consumption of fuel, coal energy or other sources of non-organic energy would be the same, it would simply be used by the factory, and we would have to pay for the results with our hard-earned money, which we would also use some resources to acquire, such as fuel for the commute.

Therefore, development and falling prices are key to the increasing use of solar energy.

Garden solar lights – solar lights to illuminate trees

Undoubtedly, until a few years ago, the most well-known product based on a solar energy source were small solar garden lights, available in almost every garden store. In the past, the prices of mediocre products were in the tens of zlotys, today the cheapest solar lamps for the garden can be purchased for just a few zlotys. This shows us how the industry based on the production of photovoltaic systems is developing. However, if we ask someone today about photovoltaic products, the first thing they will point out is photovoltaic panels, which are already on almost every fifth roof in Polish homes.

Despite the continued development of photovoltaics, the use of solar garden lamps has not ceased. These products continue to develop and today you can already buy sensational solar lamps with garden applications. Not only those to illuminate our flowerbeds, but also garden lanterns, used to illuminate paths and driveways around our house.

The biggest problem when arranging garden lighting is installation. If you are just building a house, you have the opportunity to arrange such lighting without invasion, but if you are only planning to add lighting to a long-occupied house, a big problem arises. The ideal way of such a solution is to use solar lamps.

Solar lighting of good quality will work exactly as much as we need it to. In addition, we can use solar lamps equipped with motion sensors. With them, we will not only create garden lighting at low cost, without the need for installation, destruction of the garden, sheathing and a lot of heavy work, but also perfectly integrated environmental lighting without costly customization.

Solar street lights – the best option for traditional sidewalk lights

Lighting the garden with solar lamps seems like a great solution, but how about more elaborate and much more demanding urban, sidewalk and park lighting? It may seem that here solar lamps will not cope. Solar lighting just a few years ago actually might not have had enough effect, but how is it today?

Nowadays we have really high-quality solar lighting. It provides a strong enough beam of light not only to illuminate sidewalks, but also such sensitive areas as pedestrian crossings.

The use of solar lanterns brings almost nothing but advantages, and it is very difficult to find any disadvantages. The first advantage is, first and foremost, saving money. Probably none of us has wondered what the electricity demand of a single traditional lantern is. Even if we take into account the use of energy-saving bulbs. Good quality energy-saving bulbs used in sidewalk lanterns range from 100 to 250 watts. Taking only the weakest ones and multiplying them by the number of streetlights in a small town, we will see that the power consumption of the streetlights alone reaches several tens of kW every night! And multiplying that by all the lighthouses in the country?

But let’s go further – someone may say that, after all, the installation of solar systems will be much more expensive and the savings on electricity will quickly disappear in the total cost of the investment. Maybe a few years ago this would have been the case, but not today.

The traditional lantern itself is slightly cheaper than a solar lantern, but what about the installation? Few people realize what a huge cost it is to do the electrical installation for city lighting. If we compare the cost of investment in solar lanterns versus traditional lanterns with mandatory installation, the former comes out much cheaper!

In addition, ecology should not be forgotten. Solar lanterns are simply the most economical solution of our time. With them, we will have strong light in our city without any operating costs. Importantly, the more we start using solar systems, the less demand there will be for system electricity, which in our country is mainly generated from coal-fired power plants, which in turn are not very environmentally friendly.

Professional solar lamps – solar lantern

Solar lanterns available in recent years are almost no different from the capabilities of system lights. Using the right photovoltaic panels combined with top-quality energy-saving lighting and gel batteries, we have the opportunity to create efficient, environmentally friendly and, importantly, low-cost urban lighting.

Solar lighting can be used in the form of street lamps, sidewalk lamps, park lamps and garden lamps. Our solar lamps can be equipped with motion sensors, as well as dusk sensors. All bulbs are made with the LED system and come from the world’s top manufacturers.

Solar lamps from Petra Energia

If you are facing the investment of creating lighting, we invite you to contact us. We make an initial free calculation and help the overall pricing of the project and advise on the best solution. Today it is difficult to find a company that will take care of its customer in every aspect, provide all the important information and guide through all the major stages of the investment. This is especially true for investments in solar lighting and other photovoltaic-based systems in municipalities. Problems often arise on the designer-investor road when the two parties cannot come to an agreement. It is also often the case that designers are not familiar with the realities of the industry and are unable to offer the best solution. We will make sure that when you work with us, you know exactly what you are paying for and how it will work. We will help you choose the best solution and holistically perform the installation and assembly of the entire project for you.