How We Designed Solar Bus Shelter Lighting
The Need
The SSL, or Solar Shelter Lighting, was created to solve a simple yet widespread problem: shelters with no lighting. The solution was as straightforward as a solar panel on the outside of the structure and the lighting on the inside of the structure.
However, the complexity came through the constraints that we imposed on ourselves. Those constraints were and are virtually no change to the pre-existing bus shelter without a solar lighting structure, adaptable to every roof shape and material, and remaining inexpensive to grant access to those who need it the most.
The Solution
The need was originally presented by municipalities and transit authorities that needed lighting in their bus stops. Solar Shelter Lighting is an ideal solution for the safety of the passengers while improving the ability of the bus driver to see if people are waiting. The system is adaptable to any shelter, like those in parks so residents can use public park shelters more comfortably and after dark. However, our design team quickly realized the potential for this product’s use in developing countries and disaster zones and subsequently added our third constraint.
The solar shelter lighting also has the options to provide surveillance, wifi, and many other options.
With the SSL or Solar Shelter Lighting, we were able to achieve the need to provide reliable solar lighting with an extremely easy installation process that can adapt to any type of structure.
To satisfy the constraint of minimal alteration to the pre-existing structure our SSL solar shelter lighting uses a patented tensioning method to secure the light housing to the panel with steel cables. This means that the only change to the soon-to-be bus shelter with solar lighting structure is (2) 1/4-inch diameter holes for the cable, and a single ¾-inch hole for the solar panel wire. These holes are sheltered and gasketed to prevent any water from getting through.
To make the SSL - Bus Shelter Solar Lighting fully adaptable to any roof shape or material we used a set of aluminum extrusions that integrate with each other and utilize a sliding function that allows 55 degrees of variable tilt for the panel to receive the most direct sun. In addition, the extrusions provide 4 rubberized points of small contact that allow it to be fitted to rounded, pointed, flat, and sloped roofs without any slippage on smooth surfaces. The entire system is just under 40lbs presenting little to no structural concerns for an existing shelter.
One of the benefits of the SSL Solar Shelter Lighting is that it is scalable to virtually any size meaning the types of loads are entirely customizable. This allowed us to provide options including live video surveillance and high-speed internet to our customers – going beyond a simple bus shelter with solar lighting.
Further enhancing the client's design options, the SSL, or Solar Shelter Lighting System, can be placed anywhere the sun shines so you can have light, security, and access to the internet. That satisfies our constant and over-arching constraint: Make people's lives better with our products.
