Stand-alone solar street lights · nightly load and autonomy days, battery depth of discharge and ampere-hours, panel watt-peak against peak sun hours, lumens, lux and IP rating
A solar street light, or solar lamppost, is a stand-alone outdoor light that charges a battery from a photovoltaic panel by day and runs an LED luminaire from it at night, switched by daylight sensing, with a charge controller managing charging and discharge, all on its own pole. Ask three things first: what light it must deliver and for how long each night, how many sunless days its battery must cover, and whether its panel and battery are sized for your site's sunshine.
Stand-alone solar LED street and area lights with separate or integrated (all-in-one) panel, battery and luminaire, on galvanised or aluminium poles, including hybrid versions with grid backup. Grid-powered LED street lights, solar garden and decorative lights, and charge controllers, panels or batteries sold alone are outside this page except where compared.
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01
The Indian Railways RDSO specification for stand-alone LED solar street lights designs for one 15 W LED luminaire running 12 hours a night, dusk to dawn, at 12 V, with battery autonomy of 4 days (four consecutive days without charging) and solar insolation of 5 peak sun hours a day. It requires a minimum module rating of 80 Wp, a battery bank of at least 12 V 75 Ah at C10, discharge allowed to 80% depth of discharge at the end of the autonomy days with automatic boost charging afterwards, PWM or MPPT charge control, and a pole sited clear of shade throughout daylight hours. [1]
Its default battery is a tubular gel VRLA type with a design life over 5 years at 50% depth of discharge and 27 °C and self-discharge under 2% a month; the purchaser may specify another battery type. [1] Philips' solar street lighting brochure lists systems from 8 W to 43 W sized for 3 days autonomy, with battery depth of discharge of 75%, MPPT or PWM charging, and panel and battery ratings per model, for example 15 W, 1,150 lm with 80 Wp and 75 Ah. [2]
Editorial calculation: the RDSO load is 15 W × 12 h = 180 Wh a night; four days of autonomy need 720 Wh, and allowing only 80% discharge requires 720 / 0.8 = 900 Wh, which at 12 V is 75 Ah, the specification's minimum battery. Replacing 180 Wh a day from 5 peak sun hours needs 180 / 5 = 36 W of panel output before losses and recovery charging; the 80 Wp minimum is about 2.2 times that.
Give the supplier the site location and its sunshine (peak sun hours in the worst month), required light level and road or area geometry, operating hours and any dimming profile, autonomy days, battery chemistry preference and temperature range, pole height and spacing, wind conditions, theft and vandal protection, mounting (separate panel or all-in-one), and test reports for module, battery and luminaire.
02
RDSO sets 1,200 system lumens for its 15 W system, verified by an accredited laboratory, an average illuminance of 4 lux at ground level measured between poles 15 m apart on a road taken as 5 m wide, LED efficacy of at least 100 lm at 350 mA, L70 LED life of 50,000 hours, IP65 luminaire and enclosure protection, and a 6 m galvanised steel pole; modules must meet IEC 61215 and IEC 61730 and carry a bird spike. [1]
Philips describes IP65 aluminium luminaires with LEDs of more than 100 lm/W, galvanised poles, daylight-sensing on and off, a safe 12/24 V circuit, and options for dimming (for example 6 hours full and 6 hours at 60%) and hybrid AC backup, which in its table reduce the panel and battery needed. [2]
Editorial note: compare offers on delivered lux on your road layout and on system lumens at the luminaire, not on LED wattage alone, and ask for the dimming profile assumed in the autonomy figure.
03
Kerala's Agency for New Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT) publishes 2024 technical specifications for fourteen solar street and flood lighting models. Each model uses a lithium iron phosphate battery and states an autonomy of operation of 24 hours, against the 4 days of the RDSO specification above; the duty cycle is dusk to dawn under average daily insolation of 5 kWh/m² on a horizontal surface. [4] [1]
The specification also sets luminaire efficacy of at least 150 lm/W, IP66 for the luminaire and the battery box, the battery fixed at least 3 m above ground, modules tilted 10° from horizontal facing south and certified to IEC 61215, IEC 61730 and IEC 61701, electronics efficiency of at least 85%, load reconnect at 70% of battery capacity, and a 5-year system warranty with module output not below 90% after 10 years. It asks for foundations to be strengthened according to the nature of the soil. [4]
Editorial calculation: Model A's 384 Wh battery runs its 14 W luminaire for 384 ÷ 14 ≈ 27 hours before any discharge limit, and 14 W × 150 lm/W = 2,100 lm, the stated output. Ask which autonomy basis, design wind speed and foundation drawing a quote uses. [4]
| ANERT model | Luminaire / PV module / battery | Pole and foundation |
|---|---|---|
| A | 14 W, 2,100 lm / 60 Wp / 384 Wh | 5 m galvanised pole, 10 cm dia., 3 mm sheet; M25 concrete 500 × 500 mm, 800 mm under soil |
| C | 20 W, 3,000 lm / 100 Wp / 538 Wh | 6 m, 10 cm dia.; 500 × 500 mm, 800 mm under soil |
| F | 50 W, 7,500 lm / 150 Wp / 1,152 Wh | 6 m, 10 cm dia.; 500 × 500 mm, 1,000 mm under soil |
| G | 70 W, 10,400 lm / 200 Wp / 1,728 Wh | 7 m octagonal mast, 70–155 mm dia.; 600 × 600 mm, 1,000 mm under soil; structure to withstand 150 km/h wind |
04
The State of Hawaii's published responses to bidder questions for solicitation B20002025, Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor (South) paving improvements (June 2020), show how a public buyer fixed solar lighting requirements: LED fixtures of 40 W output and 4,000 lumens; full intensity from dusk to dawn with no dimming, which also excluded energy-management systems that dim on battery voltage; UL listing of the complete system rather than of individual parts; vandal protection for the PV panels; batteries shielded from direct sun; and downward-directed, shielded light to limit attraction of night-flying birds protected under the Endangered Species Act. [3]
A bidder asked the agency to confirm that a 40 W fixture running dusk to dawn in winter with at least 5 days of autonomy would need at least a 200 W array and 224 Ah of battery storage; the agency's answer restated the 40 W, 4,000 lm, no-dimming requirement rather than fixing the array and battery size, leaving sizing to the bidder. Compare this with the RDSO sizing rules above. [3] [1]
Editorial calculation: 40 W for a 13-hour winter night is 520 Wh; five nights is 2,600 Wh. The bidder's 224 Ah at an assumed 12 V is 2,688 Wh, about 5.2 nights of storage before any depth-of-discharge limit.
| Requirement in the Hawaii responses | Answer |
|---|---|
| Luminaire | 40 W LED, 4,000 lm |
| Operating mode | Full intensity dusk to dawn, no dimming |
| Energy-management dimming | Not accepted (lights must not dim through the night) |
| Listing | UL listed as a complete system |
| PV panel | Vandal protection |
| Battery | Shielded from direct sunlight |
| Light direction | Shielded and directed downward; lamp not visible from the side at lamp height |
State the lighting result you need (lumens or lux), the hours and whether dimming is allowed, autonomy days, listing and vandal and wildlife requirements, and ask bidders for their array and battery sizing calculation.
05
Suppliers linked to this page list solar street lights; each card links to the page reviewed.
Listings include integrated (all-in-one) and split solar street lights, all-in-two semi-integrated lights of 30–120 W, commercial solar street lights from garden-lighting makers, and solar street light products from a solar controller maker. Ask each for panel Wp, battery type and Ah, luminaire lumens, autonomy basis and test reports.
06
This is a functional reference built from the sources cited; it is not one maker's specification.
| Part | Role | Fix in the order |
|---|---|---|
| PV module | Charges the battery. [1] [2] | Wp, cell type, IEC tests. |
| Battery | Stores energy for night and autonomy. [1] | Chemistry, Ah, DoD, life. |
| Charge controller | PWM or MPPT; protects battery. [1] [2] | Type and protections. |
| LED luminaire | Light output. [1] | Lumens, efficacy, optics, IP. |
| Light sensor | Dusk-to-dawn switching. [2] | Switching and dimming. |
| Pole and battery box | Mount and protect. [1] [2] | Height, galvanising, box. |
07
A solar street light quotation needs values for your site. The table explains each field, gives published values where a reviewed source states them, and says what to obtain from the supplier.
| Field | What it means and published values | Ask the supplier for |
|---|---|---|
| Solar Panel Wattage (watts) | Example: ≥80 Wp for 15 W load. [1] | Wp and module tests. |
| Battery Capacity (ampere-hours) | Example: ≥12 V 75 Ah at C10. [1] | Ah, voltage, chemistry. |
| LED Luminous Flux (lumens) | Example: 1,200 system lm. [1] | System lumens, tested. |
| Pole Height (meters) | Example: 6 m galvanised. [1] | Height and spacing. |
| Autonomy Days (days) | Examples: 4 days; 3 days. [1] [2] | Days and dimming basis. |
| Operating Voltage (V DC) | Example: 12 V; 12/24 V. [1] [2] | System voltage. |
| Charging Time (h) | Boost charge after autonomy days. [1] | Recharge after autonomy. |
| Operating Temperature (°C) | Battery rated at 27 °C. [1] | Range and derating. |
| Ingress Protection | Example: IP65. [1] [2] | Rating for luminaire and box. |
| Pole Material | Galvanised steel. [1] [2] | Material and coating. |
| Wind Load Resistance (km/h) | Pole and panel loading. | Design wind speed. |
| Weight (kg) | Handling. | Weights. |
| Dimming and listing | No dimming dusk to dawn; UL listing of the complete system (State of Hawaii tender). [3] | Operating profile; system listing. |
08
Paste it into your enquiry below or into an email to a maker, then replace every bracket.
Site: [location; worst-month sun hours; shading] Light: [lux target; road width; pole spacing] Operation: [hours; dimming] Autonomy: [days] Battery: [chemistry; temperature] Pole: [height; wind; anti-theft] Tests: [module; battery; luminaire]
These companies list solar street lights.
Lists solar street lights among outdoor lighting.
Product scope checked 2026-10-11
Lists integrated and split solar street lights.
Product scope checked 2026-10-11
Lists all-in-two semi-integrated solar street lights of 30–120 W.
Product scope checked 2026-10-11
Lists solar street lights with LED street and flood lights.
Product scope checked 2026-10-11
Lists solar street lights among solar lighting products.
Product scope checked 2026-10-11
Lists LED solar street lights with LED street lights.
Product scope checked 2026-10-11
Lists LED solar street lights.
Product scope checked 2026-10-11
Lists integrated solar street lights with other light fixtures.
Product scope checked 2026-10-11
Garden-lighting maker listing commercial and LED solar street lights.
Product scope checked 2026-10-11
Outdoor lighting maker listing solar street lights with solar garden lights.
Product scope checked 2026-10-11
Solar controller and storage maker (EPEVER) listing solar street lights.
Product scope checked 2026-10-11
Explore company information and manufacturing capabilities, then discuss the scope of your project with a relevant supplier.
The RDSO specification designs for 4 days; Philips' brochure lists systems at 3 days. [1] [2]
Nightly watt-hours × autonomy days ÷ allowed depth of discharge ÷ system voltage; RDSO's 15 W, 12 h, 4-day, 80% case gives 75 Ah at 12 V. [1]
RDSO requires 1,200 system lumens and 4 lux average at ground level for its 15 W system. [1]
Yes. In a 2020 Hawaii harbor tender, the agency required 40 W, 4,000 lm LED lights at full intensity dusk to dawn without dimming, excluding battery-voltage dimming systems, and UL listing of the complete system. [3]
Kerala's ANERT specification (2024) requires the structure of its 7 m and 8 m octagonal mast models to withstand wind velocity of 150 km/h; use the design wind speed your site and local code set. [4]
Sources checked 2026-10-12. The RDSO document is an Indian Railways procurement specification; Philips is a lighting maker describing its own systems. Their figures are a specification and a maker's examples, not universal requirements.
Ask for use case, specification boundaries, supplier type, and RFQ preparation information for this product.
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