What is the system warranty for the Inovus Solar™ off-grid solar light pole? The standard warranty for the system is five (5) years. Specific components may have longer manufacturer warranties: How does the Inovus Solar™ off-grid solar lighting system work? The overall system consists of an LED based luminaire, a photocell, a control board, a charge controller, a solar collector panel, a battery subsystem (composed of 6-8 batteries, a battery enclosure and wiring harnesses), three motion sensors, and the pole assembly.
The solar collector captures light during daytime hours and passes it onto the charge controller. The charge controller manages the power from the solar collector to optimize the power to be stored in the batteries. The batteries hold stored electrical energy and release it to power the LED Luminaire and other system electronics. Various modes of energy release are determined and managed by the Control board. The Control board uses input from the photocell to determine when to turn the luminaire on (and off at dawn), and uses energy saving algorithms to manage energy to the luminaire. These algorithms take into account the charged state of the battery subsystem, the photocell output, the state of the motions sensors, and the anticipated time before dawn. Certain variables that determine the degree of power management can be user selected. How autonomous is the system (how many days without direct sunlight, will the system operate)? System performance is highly dependent on location and weather conditions. We have consistently measured 6-9 days of autonomy in locations around the United States.
Supporting Facts: - The Inovus Solar™ off-grid solar pole can charge between 30-50 Amp-hours per day. - The Inovus Solar™ off-grid solar pole draws 4 amps per hour, average 12 hours per day = 48 amp-hours per day. - The Inovus Solar™ off-grid solar pole System Capacity is 156 Amp-hours (6 batteries rated at 26 Amp-hours). How many hours of sunlight does it take to charge the system? The answer is dependent upon the current state of the battery (level of charge), the intensity of sunlight on the solar panel, and the amount of time that there is sunshine. What angles of sunlight charge the system? the wrap around the pole allows all angles of sunlight and collection throughout the day. Even at high noon in low latitude locations, the PV panel is efficient at converting diffuse sunlight into energy. How shade tolerant is the system? The thin film solar collector is highly shade tolerant, both as far as individual cells within the collector and the collector as a whole. Generally, a solar collector is comprised of multiple solar cells. If solar cells are connected in a series, a shaded cell within the collector can begin to consume current, as opposed to create current. This not only degrades the overall performance of the collector, but can create hot spots in the collector that can be damaging to the collector. The solar collectors used by Inovus Solar™ have bypass diodes that prevent shaded portions of the collector from consuming current. This preserves the performance of the collector and prevents the build up of hot spots. Is thin film efficient at converting sunlight on cloudy days? The thin film material that forms the active photovoltaic component in the Inovus Solar™ collector is more effective at converting sunlight on cloudy days. Daylight is composed of direct sunlight and diffuse or scattered sunlight. During cloudy days, almost all the light that reaches the collector is diffuse sunlight. The Inovus Solar™ thin film collector converts this diffuse sunlight into usable energy nearly 20% better than crystalline or polycrystalline Si collectors. What temperature ranges does your battery system support? Charge -4F (-20C) to 122F (50C) Discharge -40F (-40C) to 140F (60C)
