Yesterday Billboard Insider asked readers if their company’s out of home plant had solar powered billboards.  Here are the results.

Many readers shared their opinions.

Mike Brown of Brownhouse Outdoor had a bad experience with solar.

I’m in California. I built a double 14×48 billboard in 2022. There was no utility power available. Without getting into detail, avoid solar if at all possible. The most oversized system in the world won’t work if it’s cloudy and foggy for two weeks in the winter.

Kevin Conlin of Autonomous Power says solar powered billboard can work

I’m not sure what experience Mike had, but I have to disagree with his assessment. We’ve been building solar systems for billboards since 2012, and almost all of my customers are repeat customers. This includes Clear Channel, Yesco, Reagan and SignAd. They wouldn’t continue to buy from me if their systems didn’t work.  Proper sizing for winter weather is key, and occasionally, a bad winter may cause a board to go dark for a few days. It’s not the end of the world, and can easily be remedied with a SmartLink.  We only recommend solar if utility power is unavailable, and the customer is able to get a big enough premium for lighting the board that the system pays for itself in a few years. Since the design life of the solar system is 30 years, the solar system will pay for itself many times over.

Matt Schulze of Selective Structures say solar makes sense if you can’t get power to a sign

It really only makes sense when you can’t get grid power. If you can run a line to the sign, do it. Solar is a backup solution, not a first choice….We did solar years ago — ran a 14×48 on solar and you’d get from dusk till about midnight. After that, the battery was done. I’d only use it on interstate signs where you truly can’t get power.  Also, if you’ve got a small sign and you don’t need it running past 10 PM, solar can work. A lot of people don’t care about impressions after 10 anyway.  But to power up a full 14×48 around the clock — you’re talking $25,000 or more in solar panels and batteries just to get there. It’s a big investment.

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