Solar Power Developments For Outdoor Lighting & Networks
Filed Under Environment Friendly Outdoor Lighting, Solar lighting
The challenge with consumers around the globe is to encourage them to balance the convenience of plug-and-play solutions and instant gratification with longer-term benefits and sustainability.
The growing success of small solar applications such as the solar landscape and walkway marking lights you now see everywhere are an illustration that if the right products are produced balancing instant gratification with sustainability, people will buy them.
Solar-powered roof vents are growing in popularity, as are domestic solar systems to power lighting. As well as being clean energy and independent from the grid, solar is typically cheaper to install when hardwiring is required over distance.
Small, task-specific solar is generally cost effective. Full blown domestic roof top solar systems are still expensive, but are likley to attract increasing government subsidies in years to come.
To illustrate the applications of solar, you can now use it to power Wi-Fi networks for internet access. For example, Meraki Networks of California, recently introduced two new products; Meraki Outdoor and Meraki Solar. Working together these can create wireless Wi-Fi computer networks covering entire neighborhoods while being powered by the Sun.
The Meraki Outdoor component is mounted on the side of your house or on top of a pole and as standard can transmit a signal up to 700 feet. (This can be boosted to 6-14 miles using an additional antenna).
The Meraki Solar component includes a solar panel and battery pack for night-time use and back-up power, so the network can be installed without power grid electrical connections. The wireless connections from Meraki Outdoor to home wireless networks are made using Meraki’s Mini.
The costs are very reasonable. Meraki Outdoor is $99 and the Mini $49. For the solar power accessory Visit Meraki at http://www.meraki.net
Small application solar is a step forward in familiarising consumers and businesses to the idea that energy doesn’t have tocome from the grid and can be emission free.
Cotinued success of small solar in the market should drive innovation and lead manufacturers to invent and develop more solar solutions.
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