As cities expand and suburbs grow, street lighting and public space illumination has become all the more important. While South Africa is moving towards a new solution with solar-powered lights in these areas, South America is leaps and bounds ahead. Traditional lighting solutions have relied on electricity, they are inefficient, and they contribute to our carbon footprint. Solar power, on the other hand, is efficient, does not require electricity, nor does it add to carbon emissions. South America, Colombia in particular, is moving towards a greener future by introducing solar-powered streetlights across cities and suburbs.
“South America has a high potential for renewable energy sources, especially solar energy,” explains Cris Tseng, a designer at China-based solar lighting specialists Anethic Lighting. The company has been concluding contracts across South America to install solar-power lighting solutions, with Tseng adding, “Many South American countries have invested in solar-powered streetlights, especially in remote areas where access to electricity is limited.”
South America, like South Africa, is littered with rural areas where access to the electrical grid is near impossible. “Solar-powered streetlights operate independently of the electricity grid. They are self-sustaining and do not require any connection to the electrical network,” explains Tseng. “This makes them ideal for remote areas where the cost of installing electricity infrastructure can be prohibitively high. Solar- street lights are also more resilient to power outages, making them a reliable lighting source in areas with an unstable electrical supply.”
In Bogota, Colombia, the local government has installed over 22 000 solar-powered streetlights, which in turn has reduced the city’s carbon footprint by some 4 000 tons of CO2 per year.
In Peru, the government has installed solar-powered streetlights in rural areas to provide lighting for communities living off the grid, especially for women and children who often need to walk long distances at night.
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, solar-powered streetlights have been installed in several informal settlements known as favelas. The solar-powered streetlights have also contributed to increased safety and security for residents in these areas.
Solar-powered streetlights offer a low-maintenance lighting solution to areas where electrical infrastructure is either limited or non-existent for various reasons. The lights provide clean and renewable options to traditional lighting systems, while also providing other benefits such as reducing carbon emissions and footprints. Having proven to change lives in South America already, it is only a matter of time before this illumination solution is introduced into South Africa in the hopes of brightening lives and providing an improved way of life.
Source: www.anethic.com
