Solar Crosswalk Lights and Public Safety

Browse the internet for solar lights and you will find an endless supply of information on solar yard lights, solar security lights, string lights, shed lights, etc.  Solar powered lights have added a completely new dimension to ecologically sound lighting for all kinds of residential and commercial applications.  Fairly recently, we have even began to see solar crosswalk lights in use by municipalities to enhance public safety.

The most common use for solar lighting in this area is for street lights.  Many cities around the United States and around the world have begun replacing standard street lights with solar versions.  Not only do they reduce the municipality’s energy usage, but solar street lights require less maintenance than the traditional styles. More info

Leading the way for solar lighting in the public safety sector is a company called Silicon Constellations, out of Santa Clara, California. They specialize in wireless, solar crosswalk lights.  Using their solar road markers, wireless controllers, advanced warning signs and beacons, they can create the perfect configuration for any roadway crosswalk.

Picture this: You come to a busy street corner that you would like to cross.  You press a “walk” button at the intersection.  Warning beacons flash to let oncoming traffic know that they need to yield to you; road marker lights along the crosswalk light and flash and a yellow “pedestrian crossing” sign lights up as well.  There is no doubt in the minds of the nearby motorists as to your intentions.  You can now safely cross the street with little concern about not being seen.

The backbone of their solar crosswalk lights is their “LumiStar” road marker light

This is a bidirectional solar powered marker light that is installed in the pavement.  They are very bright and have a line of sight visibility of a minimum of 1,000 feet.  They are equipped with solar panels that charge their internal batteries, are completely wireless, and are activated by 2.4 GHz frequency controller.  A fully charged battery holds enough charge to activate the lights for 30-60 days, depending upon the amount of usage.

The LumiSign™ XB Warning Sign is an advanced pedestrian crossing sign that can be controlled by the same controller as the road markers and can be placed up to 1000 feet away from the crosswalk. It is also solar powered and can be set up to flash in sync with the roadway markers.

Silicon Constellations also offers a solar warning beacon as part of their arsenal.  Their warning beacon comes in two basic designs: single and dual lamp designs. The single lamp design can be set to sync with the road markers and warning sign or to flash with any pattern you may wish.  The dual lamp design can be programmed for alternate flashing, which sends a much more powerful message to nearby motorists.

The heart of the system is the controller.  The activator/controller from Silicon Constellations is a completely self contained unit.  Like the rest of the system, it is solar powered and wireless.  The controller is usually pole mounted, but it can be mounted to a wall in situations where that might be more practical.  It is weather proof, yet the internal mechanisms are easily accessible for maintenance.  The unit can control the other parts of the system up to 1000 feet away (line of sight) and is maintenance free for a minimum of five years.

All in all, the system is very reliable, and since it is solar powered, it is extremely energy efficient.  Since each piece is self contained and wireless, there is very little construction or demolition involved in installation. In fact, most configurations can be installed in as little as one day.  Using these components, the possible configurations are almost endless and everything is completely programmable.  They even offer active pedestrian detection and voice modules.

There is no doubt that solar crosswalk lights are a great addition to the public safety sector.  As solar technology continues to grow, we will see even more uses for municipal solar lighting.

For more information about Silicon Constellations and their solar crosswalk lighting solutions, you can visit their website at www.silicon-constellations.com

Here is a quick video I made of their system in action

Here some useful links pointing to other manufacturers:

• Carmanah is a leading manufacturer of commercial solar lighting for aviation, marine, traffic. You can find them Here
• Inovus solar street lights use flexible, thin-film solar wrap instead of flat panels. Very interesting concept. Click Here for more info