posted
One of my customers brought this site to my attention. We will have one light for his new wall signs to monitor for performance and durability issues. I'm excited to see if this will be a viable alternative to wired lights.
posted
Keep us informed. I tried some a while ago (not sure of the manufacturer) and they weren't great, maybe would work with landscape lighting or a sign in a dark area, but not where this one was. Client had an electricain install a much more substanial and expensive set up.
My name is Tom and I run small sign company up in Canada called De Jager Signs. We're in Edmonton, (the same city as Duncan Wilkie of ComSign) and we have been looking into solar power for our signs for the last year.
We installed the GenLight Plus by Silicon Solar last year and haven't had any complaints. We're a bit further North than you so you will probably see better performance due to more sunlight.
When we priced the system out we also got quotes from Carmanah (www.carmanah.com). They have really super equipment, guaranteed to work even after 5 days of no sun! However, the price tag was pretty steep!
If you like, I'll check with the client and see if they're happy with the solar light we provided.
Cheers,
Tom
-------------------- Tom Henningson De Jager Signs 11474-156 Street Edmonton, AB, T5M 3N2 CANADA Phone: (780) 453-3636 Posts: 41 | From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Registered: Mar 2007
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I've been lurking for about a year now so I figured I may as well contribute.
I'll try to post a photo:
The sign is sandblasted cedar, 4' x 8'. It is installed with 6x6 treated posts set 4' in the ground with concrete. We attached a treated plywood box (about 18" square) for the stone - which is a precast concrete product a local company made and installed. Before the stone went on we lagged custom metal brackets to the posts to hold the sign. Another photo:
I'll try to nip out and take a photo of it in the dark tonight. I hope the light is on!
Cheers,
Tom
-------------------- Tom Henningson De Jager Signs 11474-156 Street Edmonton, AB, T5M 3N2 CANADA Phone: (780) 453-3636 Posts: 41 | From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Registered: Mar 2007
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Rene, the light hadn't been installed when that photo was taken. Things were so busy I never did take another photo when all was said & done. However, I took some night photos yesterday showing the light in action:
As you can see the light just barely adds to the ambient lighting from the street lights. We had about half a day of full sun yesterday and when I got there the light was flickering slightly. I assume that this is due to a 1/2 full battery, but who knows. Some more photos showing the set up of light & collector.
I have to say that I'm not too impressed with it's performance! I had expected a bit more but I guess you get what you pay for.
Speaking of paying - my cost for bringing the light and solar collector in was $640.00 (not incl. tax). I had to buy the cable separately and connect it myself. Also, the solar collector came with no mounting hardware. So I had to make that myself - 1 hour of work and ~$50 in material. The total installation took no more than 2 hours (including taking out a section of fence) and cost about $150 in material (post, conduit, sonotube, concrete, etc).
In the future I would for sure take another look at Carmanah's technology. It's proven and they have sold it all over the world. It's just expensive - a similar unit starts at $1,500.00 (not including cables, etc.).
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Tom
-------------------- Tom Henningson De Jager Signs 11474-156 Street Edmonton, AB, T5M 3N2 CANADA Phone: (780) 453-3636 Posts: 41 | From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
I'm not very impressed. Hopefully they have resolved the installation issues and our more southerly location will also add to the efficiency. I've forwarded the link to this thread on to my customer. They have ordered one and will evaluate it before the trial period runs out. Thanks for all your help, Tom.
-------------------- Mike gatlinburg Sign Crafters Posts: 1051 | From: Gatlinburg, TN | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
My pleasure Mike. I have a feeling though that this particular light system will under-perform even in your, more southerly location. The supplied panel is on the smallish side and I feel the battery is not robust enough.
I also noticed that when I pulled into the complex my car's headlights swept across the light, and it went out! This, I found out on further inspection, is because the photo-sensor is positioned on the light itself, and any strong light will trip the switch. So, I guess every car turning into the complex at night turns off the light briefly!? I can't say I like that!
The only reason we went this way was because the client specifically requested to have a solar powered light, and they were unwilling to pay for the more expensive Carmanah system. It's really too bad.
Tom
[ May 09, 2008, 03:19 PM: Message edited by: Tom Henningson ]
-------------------- Tom Henningson De Jager Signs 11474-156 Street Edmonton, AB, T5M 3N2 CANADA Phone: (780) 453-3636 Posts: 41 | From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Registered: Mar 2007
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I spoke with the management company about the light on Friday. There haven't been any complaints from the residents, however they do think something needs to be done. There have been times that it has been very bright (much more than you see in my photo) but that's after a day or two of full sun - and we all know how irregular that can be.
I contacted the company that brought it in for us and they're going to help trouble-shoot the set-up. So there will be more info to come for those interested.
Here is a link to information on the system we installed:
posted
That's an interesting project Tom. I've wondered about solar as well. Is mounting it over top an option? I'd be concerned with the whole unit being covered in snow for half of the year, vandalism etc.
Hey, it's nice to see you've jumped on board here. I know we've done some routing for you in the past. I'd like to learn a little more about what you do. Are you still in the same location as when Henri owned the business?
posted
Hi Duncan. I would have posted earlier but things are busy now that the days are longer.
We considered installing the light over top but decided not to give the kids one more thing to swing on! Surprisingly, there have been no attempts to vandalize the sign or the light (though I'll keep my fingers crossed). I had thought to make-up a kind of protective cage for the light but the manufacturer claims that the light is vandal-proof and the client didn't want to pay extra.
As for the snow...the city won't touch that area (not city property) and the company they hired had been instructed to be careful around it.
-------------------- Tom Henningson De Jager Signs 11474-156 Street Edmonton, AB, T5M 3N2 CANADA Phone: (780) 453-3636 Posts: 41 | From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Registered: Mar 2007
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We're still in the same business park - The Atomic Centre (great name eh?)- but in a different bay than when Henri owned it.
Our core business is sandblasted cedar signs but we also do crezon & dibond signs. We don't advertise it but we do vehicle graphics and provide other services for select customers (website, logo, etc). We're just a two-man shop so I've got to be a bit picky with what jobs we take.
I'll swing by sometime for a chat.
Tom
-------------------- Tom Henningson De Jager Signs 11474-156 Street Edmonton, AB, T5M 3N2 CANADA Phone: (780) 453-3636 Posts: 41 | From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
Hi. My name is little Bobby Hines & I have lived in a solar house for the past 25 years. (might have fried my braneee). While at the ISA show in Orlando a while ago, I visited the WhitehallProducts booth. They offer a line of solar residential lights. Bought 40, sold 14 so far. No complaints. Fit above most house #s.My cost was $20 US. They might be a merchant here. www. whitehallproducts.com I think. I have several other solar address lights on the side of my shop for testing. All good so far.
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