Dec 21 is typically the shortest “day” of the year, and coupled with the longest night, can make running billboard lights from dusk to dawn an expensive proposition.
You have the longest night of the year on the same day you have the least amount of sunlight. For this reason, it is often not practical to use solar in certain parts of the country. As a salesperson and business owner, I hate to say that, but it is true.
WORST parts of the country for solar are in northern latitudes, around large bodies of water. In cities like Seattle WA and Buffalo NY, you have the equivalent of 1 peak sun hour of sunshine to run the lights for 14 hours. In general, the Pacific Northwest and cities south of the Great Lakes have the worst winter weather in terms of sunshine. There are exceptions, of course, as we are shipping a system to Lansing, MI.
Conversely, the BEST parts of the country are in the Southwest; west TX, CO, UT, NM, NV, AZ, and southern FL. Gulf Coast states typically have cloudier winters, again, due to the proximity of water.
To design a solar system properly, we must consider the historical worst winter weather. At Autonomous Power we use a 30-year database compiled by the National Weather Service. By designing for the worst winter weather scenario, the system may be larger and cost a little more, but it will provide consistent performance during the worst winter.
No system is perfect, and extreme weather will take any solar system down. Even with a conservative design approach, we equip every system with a SmartLink, so we can look in and diagnose any trouble a customer might be having. Typical problems are usually batteries at the end of their life, or a programming error, very seldom equipment failure.
Happy Solstice everyone, the good news is the “days” will start getting longer from now on.
This solar array in Dallas is tilted at 45 degrees to capture the maximum winter sun. Platforms are becoming increasingly popular as they can greatly simplify the solar installation.
In addition to over-sizing the solar array, it’s important to have enough battery reserve to get through winter periods of extended rain or snow. Adequate battery reserve also extends the life of the batteries
If you have questions about a solar powered billboard contact Kevin at kconlin@autonomouspwr.com, 281-202-9629.
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