Pioneering Engineers Craft First Fully Solar LED Bus Stop

Can the power of the sun make waiting for that late night bus home more comfortable? It sure can! Solar technology is creating an all new way to travel mass transportation, and it is 100% environmentally friendly. Solar system designers at the Solar Electric Power Company (SEPCO) have created bus stop shelters that are completely solar powered and also provide incredible illumination using LED lighting fixtures for tired commuters.

These custom built bus stop shelters feature a self-storing battery and backup power, and high-efficiency solar panels in order to maximize the amount of solar energy captured and stored. Additionally, this reimagined model of the traditional bus stop produces high-performance white light, using an LED lighting system.

Not only are these LEDs exceptionally energy efficient they also have an incredibly high shelf life, retaining 70% of their brightness even after 50,000 hours of use. This is significant because the LED drivers last around 100,000 hours in consistent climate conditions. Meaning that for over half of the fixtures life it will continue to shine at near peak efficiency.

All this fascinating and beneficial science can run without needing to trench standard electric wires for installations. Plus the team at SEPCO designs each custom shelter so that the panels are placed in the space that is best for that geographical location. SEPCO believes that many companies like colleges, towns, cities, and public transit systems will find that the initial investment into solar powered shelters will pay long-term dividends by cutting down electrical utilities and bulb replacement costs.

As this trend towards solar powered amenities continues, the integration of LED technology and solar science will become more and more crucial. The energy sipping high luminance properties of LEDs will most definitely improve solar powered applications which means having the tools to ensure consistency in quality will also be in greater demand. Konica Minolta has a number of instruments available to provide high-quality LED testing like the T-10A Illuminance Meter.

Image credit: SEPCO