How solar can eliminate cost of wiring devices to the grid by Ronald Brakels

This morning I decided to head down to the beach and take a photograph of a solar-powered parking lot sign for you, but it was raining. This was very odd, as it almost never rains in Adelaide at this time of year.

Of course, it does rain in other parts of Australia. A fair bit of Queensland is under water at the moment as a result of all the rain they’re having, which is rather inconvenient for them, but I suppose it makes for a pleasant change from all that catching on fire they were doing not so long ago. But rain in Adelaide at this time of year is most peculiar. Fortunately for you, I was undaunted and headed out to get some photographs.

Actually, heading out wasn’t that much of a sacrifice. I prefer rainy days to sunny ones. We don’t get enough rain in Australia. Except when it floods. Personally, I dislike walking around in sunshine as I burn very easily. If my arms weren’t so hairy I would have died of sunburn long ago. The sun is my enemy. The reason I am so interested in solar power is it amuses me to gain benefit from my foe.

The reason I wanted to go out and get you some photographs is because I’ve been told that free-standing, solar-powered, electrical devices are rare in many countries, and so there may be quite a few people who have never seen one.

Here is one of our solar-powered parking signs. It cuts carbon emissions by getting its electricity from the sun and stops drivers from wasting time and fuel looking for a park when the lot is full. As it’s a free car park, it was quite thoughtful of the local council to install it.

Powering devices like the parking lot sign with solar instead of mains power can save money by eliminating the cost of connecting them to the grid. The savings can be huge, as installing just a few metres of power line can cost thousands of dollars. It can be much cheaper to install a solar panel and a battery instead. As the cost of solar has decreased and the reliability of batteries has improved, these devices have steadily become more common.