Praise The Sun: Should You Choose Solar Portable Traffic Lights For Your Roadwork Site?

Anybody who works in the road construction and repair business knows all too well how important it is to precisely and efficiently control traffic flow, both through and around your work site. With modern traffic density and safety standards, the days of workmen directing traffic with stop-go signs are all but past, and portable traffic lights are now standard equipment for practically every roadwork contractor operating today.

However, even the most sophisticated portable traffic light system is useless without a power source to run it, and more and more roadwork companies are relying on solar-powered traffic lights to keep workers and drivers safe. These self-sufficient traffic lights have a number of advantages over traffic lights powered by conventional means, but there are also a couple of disadvantages to using them, so you should bear these pros and cons in mind when looking to purchase or hire a set of portable lights.

What are the advantages of choosing solar portable traffic lights?

No external power source required

Solar portable traffic lights are completely self contained, and are fitted with both a solar panel array to collect energy from sunlight and a robust battery pack used to store surplus energy. This makes them completely self-sufficient, with no need for a roadside power source or portable generators to provide electricity. This makes solar powered traffic lights especially useful for roadwork projects in rural, isolated areas, where power sources are hard to find and generator transportation and refuelling can be time-consuming.

Easy setup

Since solar traffic lights do not need to be plugged into any external power source, they are extremely easy to set up; simply assemble the light, adjust the positioning of the solar panel(s) for maximum exposure, and your lights are ready to go. Some solar lights do not even need be assembled, and can be folded up to a size where they can be easily transported by most vans and trailers.

Environmentally friendly

As environmental concerns become every more prevalent in our society, doing everything you can to reduce the environmental impact of your business is never a bad idea, and solar portable traffic lights are an excellent eco-friendly option. They are also a highly visible eco-friendly option, which can improve public perception of your business and bring in more environmentally-conscious clients.

What are the advantages of choosing solar portable traffic lights?

Backup batteries required

The sun is an enormously abundant source of energy, but hardly a reliable one, and using solar lights during prolonged periods of cloudy, dull weather can leave them lacking in juice. Consequently, you should keep a reasonable supply of charged backup batteries on hand to prevent blackouts.

Attractive to thieves

Solar powered traffic lights can be enormous valuable to thieves when disassembled and sold in component form, and their lack of electrical hookups means the don't need to be unhooked before they can be stolen. If you choose solar lights, you should keep security measures in place to prevent theft, and leaving them operating unattended during the hours of darkness may not be adviseable in all cases.

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