What effect does the external environment have on the efficiency of solar street lights

In modern urban lighting solutions, solar street lights, as a renewable energy application, are gradually becoming the preferred solution for municipal projects in various places. However, its power generation efficiency is affected by many factors, among which solar radiation intensity, climate conditions and temperature changes are key factors.

Solar radiation intensity is the core factor affecting the power generation efficiency of solar street lights. The power generation capacity of photovoltaic modules is directly proportional to the light energy received. Due to its abundant sunshine all year round, the annual average sunshine hours in the equatorial region can reach more than 2,500 hours, which greatly improves the overall operating efficiency of the solar energy system. Relatively speaking, high-latitude regions face the problems of short sunshine time and low solar altitude angle in winter, which significantly reduces the effective radiation received by photovoltaic modules, thereby affecting the total amount of daily power generation. In this case, the energy storage system of solar street lights may not be able to meet the needs of night lighting, and there may even be a phenomenon of lighting interruption.

Climate conditions also have a complex and far-reaching impact on the power generation efficiency of solar street lights. Clear weather helps photovoltaic modules to generate electricity efficiently, while rainy, foggy and dusty weather will significantly reduce the light intensity, thereby affecting the working efficiency of the panels. Continuous rainy or hazy weather may cause the battery to be unable to fully charge, and the stored power is insufficient, thus affecting the duration and brightness of lighting. At the same time, sandstorms not only block sunlight, but also accumulate dust on the surface of photovoltaic panels, forming a "light-shielding film", further hindering the absorption of solar energy. Studies have shown that when the thickness of dust on the surface of photovoltaic panels reaches 0.1 mm, its power generation efficiency may drop by more than 10%. If it is not cleaned for a long time, the efficiency loss will be more serious, so regular maintenance is particularly important.

Temperature changes are also an important factor affecting the efficiency of solar street lights. The output power of solar panels will decrease with the increase of ambient temperature, showing a certain negative temperature coefficient. Taking the common monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules as an example, the power generation efficiency may drop by 0.4% to 0.5% for every 1 degree Celsius increase in temperature. In high temperature environments, such as summer or tropical areas, photovoltaic modules are exposed to strong sunlight for a long time, and the surface temperature may be much higher than the ambient temperature, resulting in a significant decrease in output power. In addition, high temperature will also affect the chemical stability of the battery energy storage system, accelerate the aging of the internal materials of the battery, and shorten its service life. Although low temperature environment can promote the power generation of photovoltaic modules to a certain extent, it will limit the charging and discharging capacity of lithium batteries. Especially at sub-zero temperatures, the internal resistance of the battery increases significantly, resulting in insufficient energy release, thus affecting the effect of night lighting.