Solar Street Lights Installed in Uganda
Why should anyone choose solar street lighting over a grid power lighting system? Here we compare the costs and benefits of each, using data from a real project.
Project Conditions:
— Street length: 5000m
— Pole spacing: 40m
— Street lighting unit quantity: 126 units
— Lighting time: 10 hours/day
— Lifetime: 15 years
01. Transformer and electricity distribution
| No. | Street Light Type Items | Grid Power Lighting | Solar Power Lighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transformer (USD/pc) | 5,500.00 × 2 | No need |
| 2 | Transformer Installation (USD/pc) | 81.00 × 2 | No need |
| 3 | Transformer Drying (USD/pc) | 54.00 × 2 | No need |
| 4 | Transformer System Commissioning (USD/set) | 230.00 × 2 | No need |
| 5 | Capacitor Installation (USD/pc) | 2.70 × 2 | No need |
| 6 | High-voltage Distribution Cabinet Installation (USD/pc) | 65.00 | No need |
| 7 | Low-voltage Distribution Cabinet Installation (USD/pc) | 122.00 | No need |
| 8 | Floor type control box installation (USD/pc) | 46.00 | No need |
| 9 | Pole switching equipment installation (USD/set) | 65.00 | No need |
| 10 | Switch board fabrication and installation (USD/m2) | 45.00 | No need |
| 11 | Whole set of switch cabinet installation (USD/pc) | 19.00 | No need |
| 12 | Fuse and limit switch (USD/pc) | 6.60 | No need |
| 13 | Controller & Starter Installation (USD/pc) | 16.30 | No need |
| 14 | Control Cabinet Wiring (USD/10m) | 10.00 × 500 | No need |
| 15 | Wiring Terminal (USD/10m) | 19.50 | No need |
| 16 | Control Relay Protector (USD/pc) | 109.30 | No need |
| 17 | Current divider, miniature busbar Installation(USDpc) | 17.00 × 13 | No need |
| 18 | Commissioning of busbar, capacitor, lightning arrester, earthing (USD/group) | 233.00 × 2 | No need |
| 19 | Electricity transmission and distribution system commissioning (USD/system unit) | 794.00 | No need |
| 20 | TOTAL: | 18,730.10 | No cost |
02. Cable Spreading
| No. | Street Light Type Items | Grid Power Lighting | Solar Power Lighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cable ditch covers (USD/100m) | 158 × 50 | No need |
| 2 | Cable protective tube spreading (USD/10m) | 4.60 × 500 | No need |
| 3 | Top tube spreading (USD/pc) | 78.00 × 126 | No need |
| 4 | Copper-core cable spreading (USD/100m) | 53.00 × 50 | No need |
| 5 | Outdoor heat-extraction type cable terminals fabrication (USD/pc) | 18.10 × 2 | No need |
| 6 | Control cable terminal fabrication (USD/pc) | 19.70 × 2 | No need |
| 7 | TOTAL: | 22,753.60 | No cost |
03. Pipeline and wiring works
| No. | Street Light Type Items | Grid Power Lighting | Solar Power Lighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hard plastic pipe underground laying (USD/100m) | 267.00 × 50 | No need |
| 2 | Brick and concrete structure (USD/100m)) | 252.00 × 50 | No need |
| 3 | Busbar and steel rope tensioning device(USD/set) | 75.00 | No need |
| 4 | Thread inside pipe (USD/100m) | 3.20 × 50 | No need |
| 5 | Terminal box installation (USD/10pcs) | 42.00 × 13 | No need |
| 6 | Switch and button (USD/set) | 6.30 × 13 | No need |
| 7 | Outlet mounting (USD/pc) | 34.00 × 13 | No need |
| 8 | TOTAL: | 27,254.90 | No cost |
04. Lamp Installation
| No. | Street Light Type Items | Grid Power Lighting | Solar Power Lighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchoring type (USD/10sets) | 106.00 × 13 | 106.00 × 13 |
| 2 | Lamp Installation (USD/10pcs) | 71.00 × 13 | 10.70 × 13 |
| 3 | Pole base installation (USD/10pcs) | 40.00 × 13 | 40.00 × 13 |
| 4 | TOTAL: | 2,821.00 | 1,997.10 |
05.Lightning protection and earthing works
| No. | Street Light Type Items | Grid Power Lighting | Solar Power Lighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steel pipe earthing board (USD/pc) | 3.90 × 126 | 3.90 × 126 |
| 2 | Earthing busbar laying (USD/10m) | 10.00 | No need |
| 3 | TOTAL: | 501.4 | 491.4 |
06. Lamp Unit Cost & Operation Fee
| No. | Street Light Type Items | Grid Power Lighting | Solar Power Lighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Street lamp system price (USD/pc) | 160 × 126 units | 656 × 126 units |
| 2 | Cable (USD/m) | 7.70 × 5000 | No need |
| 3 | Electricity charge (USD/kW·h) | 0.08 × 2414475 | No need |
| 4 | Additional charge of municipal construction (USD/kW·h) | 0.0014 × 2414475 | No need |
| TOTAL: | 255198.27 | 82,656 | |
| 5 | TOTAL VALUE | 327,759.17 | 85144.5 |
| 6 | Cost of maintenance, loss of working time and unpredictable expenses/costs (USD): 5% of total project value. |
16387.96 | 4257.23 |
| TOTAL PROJECT VALUE | 344,147.13 | 89401.73 | |
| TOTAL SAVINGS (USD): | 254745.4 | ||
According to the above analysis and comparison, we can summarize:
► If we only compare the prices of the street lighting systems, the cost of solar street lighting is higher than that of grid-power lighting.
► If we consider the ancillary facilities’ costs and the costs of the required work, then the cost of the solar unit is lower than that of the grid-power unit. It is important to note that the bigger the project is, the comparable cost for the solar unit will be even less.
►The cost of operating the grid-power system is higher than that of the solar street light system.
The points clearly show that the solar street lighting system is more economically beneficial than the grid power system.
If you want more details on this or any of our other projects, feel free to contact us and a dedicated staff member will assist you right away.
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