Wind-Solar Hybrid Street Lights

Like solar-powered traffic signals, wind-solar hybrid street lights are a helpful, important innovation.  Its not just that they are “green,” but think about the safety factor in the case of grid-failure (weather-related or otherwise).  It is at these times that we need certain reliable municipal services.

A company based in France, Windela, has developed a street light – called the Windelux – that is powered by a vertical wind turbine, as well as a PV solar panel.  The Windelux is easy to install – no wires or cables are required – and the lights automatically come on at dusk when a photosensitive cell detects that it’s dark.  It even functions as a wifi relay.  The Windelux has a “brain” that automatically turns off the turbine when wind speeds get too high, and also alerts human operators when problems need to be addressed or maintenance is required.

Lest you doubt whether there is enough wind or sun in your area to charge up these hybrid street lights, consider that the rechargeable battery located inside the pole stores excess energy generated by the solar panel and wind turbine, allowing up to four days before the battery needs to be recharged.

Similarly, Panasonic has developed the “Seagull,” another version of a wind-solar hybrid street light:

Here’s another version of a wind-solar hybrid street light from EGL Energy in Hong Kong:

Incorporating distributed generation renewable energy projects like wind-solar hybrid lights makes sense from an economic standpoint, too.  Electricity for street lighting generally comprises about 30-35% of city budgets.  Even the cost of retrofitting street lights with the Windelux, or a similar model, would pay for itself quickly – not only in energy but maintenance costs, too.

Of course, the environmental benefits cannot be overlooked.  Worldwide, the electricity required to run street lights is about 12% of all fossil fuels.  Can you imagine the savings if even only a small fraction of lamps are replaced?

This is the type of small, yet significant RE project that we’re talking about here at Build Baby Build.

Have you seen wind-solar hybrid street lights in your neighborhood, or while on vacation?  We’d love to see some photos in our Greenspotting features!

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