In the solar industry, one of the common solar products that most people opt for is solar street lights. Due to their low-cost, environmentally friendly, efficient, and reliable energy source, these solar street lights become a great option for many households. Even public places, facilities, and commercial buildings that require sufficient lighting during the day are gradually switching to solar street lights.
As someone who has been in the solar street light business for many years, the most frequently asked question is, How much do wholesale solar street lights cost?. But before we answer that question, let’s break down first some of the major factors influencing solar street light prices.
Major factors affecting solar street lights prices
While most solar street lights almost serve the same purpose—to provide low-cost, reliable energy from the sun, not all products share the same features and specifications. For that reason, prices vary from one company to company. So, to give you enough idea about the cost, we provide some of the most common factors affecting the price of solar street lights.
Solar LED street lights wattage
The solar street light LED light wattage (40w, 60w, 80w, 100w, 120w) is the most common factor that affects the costs of solar street lights. The country’s origin of solar street lights also impacts the prices.
Tariffs in each country
Solar Tariffs also affect the cost of solar street lights. Each country declares its own solar tariff, while the United States and Jamaica will be exempted from tariffs on solar street lights within 2 years. In 2021, India increased the tariffs on solar street lights by 15%. For the specific tariffs of each country, customers can consult the local customs department when purchasing solar street lights.
Quantity that you buy
The quantity of solar street lights you will buy also impacts the cost. The more quantity you buy, the cheaper the price as many solar street lights manufacturers offer wholesale prices. Generally, if the quantity of your solar street lights exceeds 200 sets, the factory will give you a 1%-2% discount, and if the quantity exceeds 500 sets, there will be a 3% discount. Usually, solar street light factories give up to 5% discount
Warranty of the solar street lights
Usually, solar street lights have a 2-year, 3-year, and 5-year warranty. The ultimate tip is to get the solar street lights with a longer warranty period as these street lights are usually equipped with better materials. On the other hand, solar street lights with a 2-year warranty are generally cheaper and suitable for rural roads or household use. Whereas, the 3-year warranty is 20% cheaper than the five-year warranty. But if you will install a solar street light in a place with high demand for light conditions, we recommend buying one with a five-year warranty for better materials.
Battery storage time, duration on rainy days (for reference) and battery life, and material
Battery types – battery life & material
Solar street light manufactures use a wide span of battery ranging from (A-class) LiFePO4 Lithium, (B-class) LiFePO4 Lithium, Ternary Li-ion Lithium, and Broken Lithium detached from the electric car（D-class). Among these battery types, over 90% of solar street light manufacturers use the broken lithium battery because of its less than one-year lifespan.
To purchase high-quality solar street lights, we suggest you choose an A-class LiFePO4 battery or a B-class Lifepo4 battery. Although their cost is higher than other solar batteries, their lifespan extends up to five years. If you need to install solar street lights in areas where sunlight is not particularly sufficient, you can opt for a Ternary lithium battery.
Battery types – duration on rainy days
The number of cloudy days refers to the number of days that the solar street light can be used normally with few or no solar energy replenishment on consecutive cloudy or rainy days. If you are using lithium-integrated solar street lights and the number of cloudy days exceeded its normal number, you cannot use them normally.
Generally, the lithium-integrated solar street light can be used on 3-5 consecutive days of cloudy and rainy days. You can increase the configuration of solar panels and batteries by adjusting the working mode of the lithium-integrated solar street light to improve its efficiency during long cloudy and rainy days.
The number of rainy days determines the size of the solar panel and lithium battery configuration, which is an important configuration parameter for lithium-integrated solar street lights. So you should determine the number of rainy days in your local area. If your local area has more consecutive rainy days, increase the number of days by 1-2 days to avoid abnormal working conditions.
Lighting hours and the number of consecutive rainy days
Application Garden lighting, landscaping, residential area Local roads, small roads, event lighting Main Road, Highways
Features Light control+smart induction+remote control Light control+smart induction+remote control Light control+smart induction+remote control
Battery Capacity 10AH-24AH 32AH -48AH 48AH – 96AH
Solar Panel Power 12W to 40W 40W to 130W 120W to 200W
LED light Power 6W to 12W 15W-100W 15W-100W
LED Light Luminous flux 600-1800 LM 1950LM – 15000 LM 2400LM – 18000LM
Cost Range (Alibaba) $18-$220 $60-$400 $450-$4,000
Other factors
Solar street lights are composed of a wide array of solar panels size, battery controllers, and shell materials (for reference below)
Third: LED Chip Lumen
210lm/w: Brightness decayed in 5 years, and more than 80% brightness remained.
110lm/w: Brightness decayed in 2-3 years, and about 20% brightness remained.
Case and Bracket Material
Quality solar street lights use a customized die-casting aluminum mold due to its abundant benefits. The major advantages of die-casting aluminum mold are lightweight, strong, corrosion-resistant, and anti-rust. With its solid and firm materials, it can withstand a strong wind load of up to 130 MPH. It is also equipped with stainless steel screws that are used as fasteners to protect against any harsh weather conditions. Aside from that, the die-casting aluminum mold looks elegant and classy.
On the contrary, lower-quality solar street lights just use mold and rough craft. Usually, the installation requires the support of the knighthead, to recover the structure strength issue, making the installation more complex. It also lacks stability and cannot withstand strong wind.
Sidenote: don’t for get solar street light installation and maintenance cost
Installation cost: traditional street light vs solar street lights
Traditional street light installation is more expensive than solar street light installation. In fact, an electrician will often charge between $4000 and $5000 to install electric street lights. This covers the necessary supplies, labor, and tools for the installation. You will most likely pay more if your lighting project is on a highway. On the other hand, installing solar street lights with poles only costs around $1,800 to $4,000 including the necessary items for the installation process.
Maintenance cost: traditional street light vs solar street lights
When it comes to maintenance cost, traditional street lights win over solar street lights. Usually, the average traditional street lights maintenance cost is only $800 while solar street lights maintenance cost is around $1000. But the good thing about solar street lights is you only have to do seldom maintenance. This is because solar street lights use an LED bulb, and LED has an average lifespan of between 25,000 and 80,000 hours. But a conventional street light has a lifespan that only reaches 24,000 hours. It only implies that conventional light bulbs need to be changed more frequently than LED.
Final verdict
Solar street light costs are highly influenced by several factors. Therefore, you should take note of these factors to understand the pricing. Compared to conventional street lights, solar street lights are essentially more cost-effective, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly. While the upfront cost of solar street light is more expensive than the cost of traditional street light, it still offers abundant perks that you will enjoy in the long run. Purchasing solar street lights is an investment that will provide you more long-term benefits, making it more economical than the traditional street lights.
We recommend purchasing solar street lights from reputable manufacturers only because they provide good biggest deals and high-quality solar street lights. Aside from that, they often offer discounted rates for bulk orders.
