When is solar feasible and when is solar not feasible?

• Solar is recommended when utility power is unavailable, and the billboard owner can get a premium for adding lights.
• We don’t recommend it if the board already has power.
• The solar system must be a revenue generator, or it doesn’t make sense. As such, an owner should look at solar as a long-term investment, capable of lasting the life of the board, and paying for itself many times over.

What kinds of capital costs can I expect to install a solar powered billboard?

• For a 14’ x 48’, double face, $10-12K for solar, $3 to 4K for lights and hardware, and $4- 5K for installation, so $17 – 21K. The complete installed system qualifies for the 30% Federal tax Credit, so the owners net cost will be $12-15K.
• Ideally, an owner should see a minimum of $400 a month in revenue to achieve an approximate 36 – 42 month payback.

What mistakes to companies make when they try to light billboards using solar?

• Choosing price over quality. It’s easy to do, and understandable, as the technology isn’t well understood, but all billboard systems are not alike. There is “no one size fits all”. * Each board, and customer, is unique, and a properly designed industrial quality system will last 30 years, as opposed to 3-4 years for the cheaper systems.
• Non-billboard lights often come with the cheaper solar systems, and they’re terrible. We only use Holophane DC fixtures: they’re clearly the best choice for solar because of their quality construction, superior optics and low power consumption.
• We also provide a SmartLink as standard equipment on all our systems. They’re dependable, easy to program, and provide excellent information on the health and performance of the solar system.  They’re especially helpful when troubleshooting and give our customers confidence in the performance of their solar system.

You can contact Kevin Conlin Autonomous Power Solutions kconlin@autonomouspwr.com, 281-202-9629