I repaired 600watt solar street lamp
It's one thing to have something, it's another thing to take care of it..., in other words - maintenance.
This is very important in the field of engineering - hence, we have maintenance courses.
Once solar is installed, maintenance would be the next thing to consider especially when one of the components develope fault, otherwise....other components could get damaged one after the other.
Few days ago, I had the opportunity to repair a solar street light in my environment as more people have began to know me now for solar.
This is not something I do frequently or something I have done before. However, I had few Udemy maintenance courses almost 8 months ago and I believe it was more than enough to equipped me carry out this task. Guess what? It was a success.
So, I was trying to fix a 600watt solar street light that was faulty. It is very uncommon for this equipment to have a fault....and so, it was unusual to be called for this.
Have a glimpse of the systerm
Systerm: 600w Solar Street Light
Weight: 1.50 kg
Battery: 3.2V 12A large capacity lithium battery
Operation duration: 18 to 21 hours
Location: Idu -Nwaniba, Uyo - Nigeria
Operation/ fault
This is mostly used in the night in one of the streets. Unfortunately the battery was bad and the power board was faulty due to thunder strike that happens few days ago.
According to the street youth leader, he said that this solar street lights has been in good condition for the past 3 years without any issues.
They became worried when it became faulty...causing darkness at a certain corner during the night.
The above reasons were the causes of this solar street malfunctioning, however, even if what I want to mention now wasn't part of the causes, but since here is educational center for solar, I also need to mention other comon problems that installer can meet when it comes to solar streetlights.
- Poor positioning of the mini panel
- Unfavourable weather conditions
- Using un-fit Solar Panel Size
- Dirts and dust on the solar panels surface
I could list this on and on and on...., you can even think of others. But these are the few comon ones here...., I don't know if @mahadisalim still have others to list based on his experience....
The repair
Basically, I used the following tools:
Multimeter ( a very old and ugly one 😅, I need to get a new one)
Soldering Iron
Screw driver (both star and flat)
And I followed the process below and it works...:
I first disconnected the solar street Light from the pole
I Inspected the solar panel incase of any breakage of cells.
I re-assemble the solar street light box to view the control panels.
I tested the solar panel to check if it can give me the output voltage( it was working okay). I used that opportunity to clean the surface of the cells to remove dust/dirts.
I tested the wires by using a multimeter(in continuity mode) to check if the electrical connections are okay. The wires were okay... there was continuity in the wiring and the panel, unfortunately, there was no generating power.
It was at this moment, I checked the battery. Alas! The battery didn't bring out any voltage.
I used a different battery to check and it was all good with power!
But something was missing..., the power generated from the battery didn't circulate 🤔, so I checked the power board of the entire system and it was all faulty.
I changed it and it's now working.
So what I changed at the end of the day was just the battery and the power board. I didn't buy any of those items, the community did and so, I can't say for sure, how much it is in the market.
I hope you have learned a new thing today...
Does the solar street light in your zone misbehave?
How often is maintenance carried out?
Do you have one at home, how long have you use it without maintenance?
How much is it sold in your environment?
Share your thoughts below.
Heads up
Do you wish to install solar in your home and don't know where to start? Are you contemplating of which size you could install in your home...? Are you thinking of upgrading your solar or carrying out a maintenance on your already install solar PVs...?
Just contact me for a quotation. I would respond ASAP.
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Dear Sir,
I am very glad to see your 600 watt solar street light maintenance work. You have checked the solar light step by step and found out the fault. A very nice formula used is to measure with a multimeter. The cable was fine so you checked with another battery. The most important task was to figure out that the solar panel power board was damaged. If I lived in your country, I would definitely try to learn from you. But troubleshooting solar panels is my favorite job. A lot of solar lights are being used on the highways of our country. I am very moved by your solar work because I would greatly benefit from having a solar expert like you in my country. I wish you all the best for your work.
Solar Light
I think all countries have solar streetlights..., it is useful in streets and highways.
Are there other solar streetlight problems you notice in your country?
Dear Sir, In our country the present government has installed solar lights on the road side. A solar light is installed between two AC lights. If the lights are a problem, some companies work through tenders.
Nice work on fixing that street light ☀️
Thank you... we love the 🌞