Today, municipalities and DOTs (Department of Transportation) have several options when it comes to traffic warning systems. With growing populations and rising numbers of vehicles on the roads, the potential for more traffic hazards increases. Maybe it’s a school or pedestrian crosswalk, or you want to warn drivers of a specific road condition. All traffic warning signals require a power source. You can choose AC power from the grid, but you may want to consider solar power warning lights and the many benefits it offers.
Analyze Your Project
There are many implications to consider before deciding on the power source for the traffic warning signals. If you choose AC power and if a power connection is not readily available, it requires running a great deal of electrical cable. Trenching and boring is rarely easy. It is also very expensive.
One benefit of using solar power as the power source is no electrician is required on site during the installation. Often the local power company requires one of their employees to be on-site when the power is turned-on. A certified electrician must “sign-off” approving all connections meet code safety standards. Coordination of multiple schedules can delay the activation of the traffic warning system.
While on the topic of expenses, consider the future budget of your project. Should AC be used, a continued capital expenditure must be budgeted to pay the never-ending electrical costs. If a meter is not purchased (by the end-user) and installed, some municipalities pay a ‘flat fee’ even if the electrical expense is nominal. Long term, it can be a burden to the city, county or state budgets as more and more are added each year. Tax payers ultimately pay the bill. A self-contained solar powered system would have no electrical bills, and if sized correctly would have very few maintenance costs for years to come.
Warning lights are used to alert motorists of dangerous situations. Severe weather or cutting power lines accidently with new construction causes many outages each year. Consider the consequences of what happens in the event of a power outage. Motorists are left unaware of these dangerous conditions if the warning system suddenly goes dark and stops functioning. Once warning lights are installed using solar as the power source, the warning signal(s) are never interrupted. It remains functional during power outages.
Weigh Your Options
The potential issues mentioned above can all be addressed and resolved by using a solar power. Solar power warning lights from ELTEC are easy to install. Unless specified by the project requirements, ELTEC’s default communication standard between poles (for pedestrian crossings and/or advanced warning signals) uses radios. There is no need to run AC electrical wires under the street or down the road. For example, when a pedestrian activates the flashing beacons, communication to other poles is done instantly.
Our self-cleaning solar panels carry a 20-year warranty, so you can be assured of their reliability. We also use AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries that perform much better in cold weather than lithium ion batteries, further contributing to the reliability of solar power warning lights.
More Than Solar Power Warning Lights
When you choose ELTEC for your traffic warning system needs, you have a wide range to choose from. Plus, we offer custom solutions so you can have exactly what you want or what the project specification requires. Call us today at 1-800-227-1734 to discuss the many caution systems we design and manufacture.
