Home/Blog/Why Solar Street Lights Don’t Work: Targeted Solutions

Why Solar Street Lights Don’t Work?Targeted Solutions

By Alice

Published On: March 24, 2024

Table of Contents

Solar street lights to a certain extent, the structure is much simpler than the traditional street lamps, the installation is not so troublesome, corresponding to the late maintenance is also easier, but this does not mean that the solar street lamps in the event of a problem, you can be sloppy, such as the occurrence of street lamps do not light up, it is necessary to analyze the situation from various aspects, to find the problem, and prescribe the right medicine.

1. Installation environment

In addition to installing in a suitable environment, to avoid shading, usually also pay attention to check the solar panel of the solar street light, if there is dust, snow and other things on it, will also affect its absorption of light energy, naturally affects its luminous lighting effect, so usually check to ensure that the surface of the solar panel clean.
If these are no problem, check the solar panel joints and other places there is no welding, under normal circumstances there should be current, there is such a problem repair is good, if everything is normal, the solar panel or no current, then it may be the solar panel itself can not be used, it is best to change a solar panel.

2. Solar panel problem

In addition to installing in a suitable environment, to avoid shading, usually also pay attention to check the solar panel of the solar street light, if there is dust, snow and other things on it, will also affect its absorption of light energy, naturally affects its luminous lighting effect, so usually check to ensure that the surface of the solar panel clean.
If these are no problem, check the solar panel joints and other places there is no welding, under normal circumstances there should be current, there is such a problem repair is good, if everything is normal, the solar panel or no current, then it may be the solar panel itself can not be used, it is best to change a solar panel.

3. Light source problem

Solar street lamps more than the use of LED light source, first of all to determine the quality of the light bulb itself there is no problem, if there is a problem in time to replace.
If the bulb itself is not a problem, then it may also be because the bulb is not connected or welded, poor contact and other issues such as, in this case, the bulb will often appear to flicker, pay attention to overhaul can be.

4. Battery problem

If the solar street light starts to appear obscure, consider whether it is a battery problem, if the battery is storing electricity, the controller’s red light will be bright, the completion of the storage will flash, if the battery is in a state of power loss, the controller’s yellow light will be bright.
You can judge the battery problem according to the controller’s light situation, if you can’t light up normally, continue to check the battery voltage situation (provided that the controller itself has no problem and can display lights normally).
Many solar street light battery is not waterproof, if accidentally into the water short circuit, it will form a voltage instability, affecting its energy storage, naturally, the street light does not light up, this situation should be timely replacement of batteries, but it is best to buy the first stage of the solar street light so that the waterproof battery.

5. Solar charging and discharging controller problem

Solar street light controller is the core component in the solar street light system, which is responsible for controlling the charging and discharging of the solar panel, as well as controlling the switch and brightness adjustment of the street light. When the solar street light fails, we should focus on checking the controller problem. The following will introduce how to detect solar street light controller.
5.1. Appearance check: first of all, check whether the appearance of the solar street light controller is intact, whether there is obvious damage or deformation. At the same time, check whether the connection line of the controller is loose or broken, and whether the interface of the controller is clean and dust-free.
5.2. Power supply detection: Use a multimeter or voltmeter to detect the power input and output voltage of the solar street light controller. First of all, connect the test pen of multimeter or voltmeter to the power input and output terminals of the controller respectively, and then turn on the power switch of the controller to record the values of input and output voltages. Under normal circumstances, the input voltage of the solar street light controller should match the output voltage of the solar panel, and the output voltage should match the working voltage of the street light.
5.3. Charging detection: one of the main functions of the solar street light controller is to control the charging of the solar panel. In order to detect whether the charging function is normal, you can use a light meter or photodiode to detect the light intensity of the solar panel. Place the light meter or photodiode on the front side of the solar panel and record the value of light intensity. Then, observe whether the charging indicator light of the solar street light controller is on and whether the charging current is normal.
5.4. Discharge detection: Another important function of solar street light controller is to control the switch and brightness adjustment of street light. In order to test whether the discharge function is normal, you can use an ammeter or voltmeter to test the working current or voltage of the street light. Connect the test pen of the ammeter or voltmeter to the positive and negative poles of the street light respectively and record the value of the working current or voltage. Then, observe whether the discharge indicator of the solar street light controller is on, and whether the brightness of the street light is normal.
5.5. Control function detection: solar street light controller also has time control and light control function, which can automatically adjust the switch and brightness of the street light according to the time and light intensity. In order to detect whether the control function is normal, you can manually adjust the controller’s time and light intensity settings, and observe whether the switch and brightness of the street light are adjusted according to the set value.
Summarize: Through the above aspects of the test, you can fully understand the performance and working status of the solar street light controller. If the solar street light controller is found to be faulty or abnormal, it should be repaired or replaced in time to ensure the normal operation of the solar street light system.

6. Line problem

Solar LED street lights do not need to lay a large number of cables like traditional street lights, but the necessary lines are still needed, if there is a situation where the lamps do not light up, the above problems are ruled out, then we need to look at whether it is a problem with the line.
After a long time of use, or suffered from external forces, there will be contact is not bright or even broken, which also leads to the light source keeps flickering, or even not bright, to check and replace the line in a timely manner.

7. Conclusion

Solar street light is a system that contains a lot of important parts, the quality of any one part determines whether the whole system can operate properly, so we can not just look at the price when we buy solar street light, because the price difference between the good quality solar street light price and the poor quality of the price of the street light is very big. For example, the battery in the whole solar street light system cost accounted for the largest proportion, good battery and poor battery price difference is a lot, in addition there are some suppliers false labeling of battery capacity, which is also the reason for the big difference in price. MKLIGHTS as a professional supplier of solar street lamps, the components are selected cost-effective, high quality, in addition to provide customized solar street lamps. If you have any questions, please contact MKLIGHTS team.

Author

Alice
Lighting Specialist

As a sales engineer at MK Lighting, I have been in the LED lights industry for more than 13 years. Good at lighting design, light system configuration, and bidding technology support. Feel free to contact us. I’m happy to provide you with the best service and products.

Related Products

How Can We Help You?