How to choose solar panels for solar flood lights?

A solar flood light runs entirely on energy collected from the sun using solar panels, so it can be installed almost anywhere the sun can reach the panels. When looking for outdoor flood lights, you may be faced with a choice—whether to install regular wired flood lights or opt for a solar-powered option. Some time ago, the decision was simple - install wired flood lights since there are few reliable solar powered lights on the market. But that's changed a lot now thanks to the growing popularity of solar panels and renewable energy, and you're likely to find that electronics stores and online stores offer even more solar flood lights than regular light fixtures. The range of solar lighting products has grown rapidly over the past few years and you can now choose from small solar accent lights, motion activated security lights and landscape lights, as well as powerful solutions for large areas such as sports stadiums. So how to choose solar reflective battery?

1.Type

Basically, solar panels for solar lighting are divided into three types - monocrystalline solar panels, polycrystalline solar panels and amorphous (thin film) solar panels. Monocrystalline panels are considered the most efficient, with cell efficiencies (how much solar energy can be harvested and converted into electricity) between 15-21%, but they are also the most expensive. You'll see monocrystalline solar panels mostly used in powerful solar flood lights. Polycrystalline panels also offer good cell efficiencies of up to 16%, but are cheaper to manufacture. Polycrystalline panels usually have dark blue solar cells, which makes these panels easy to distinguish from other panels. Because of the high cell efficiency, monocrystalline and polycrystalline panels are also used in large-scale solar systems that power homes and commercial buildings, and these panels are also used in more powerful solar lights. Amorphous panels offer a minimum efficiency of 10% and below and are mainly used to charge different low-power electronic devices. You'll find these types of solar panels in cheaper, lower wattage solar lights.

All in all, if you're buying a lower wattage solar flood light for under $100 to light your front door or driveway, you don't have to worry too much about what type of solar panel is on the light. Due to the very small size of these panels (compared to those used to power an entire building), the difference in their efficiency will hardly be noticeable. However, if you're investing in a powerful flood light that produces thousands of lumens, I'd recommend getting one with a monocrystalline or polycrystalline solar panel.

2. Wattage

One of the most important measurements of a solar panel is wattage. It shows how much power the panel will produce under ideal conditions, for example, a 10-watt solar panel will output 10 watt-hours of electricity per hour. The greater the lighting power, the higher the wattage panel required to light it. For example, a low wattage light that produces a few hundred lumens of light can be run from a 1 to 5 watt solar panel, while a larger light will require a 10 to 20 watt solar panel.

Most of the time, larger solar panels produce more wattage because there is more surface area on the panels to collect solar energy. You will sometimes see high powered outdoor flood lights equipped with not just one, but two or more solar panels to generate enough energy to charge their high capacity batteries.

3. Size

As mentioned above, the size of the solar panel depends on the intensity of the light and the material of the panel. Monocrystalline solar panels can produce the same amount of electricity with smaller panels than thin-film solar panels. Before purchasing a solar light fixture, you have to consider not only whether the location you want to install will get enough sunlight during the day, but also whether there is enough physical area to install the solar panel if you want a high powered flood light.

Solar Flood Lights Supplier

Yi Can Lighting (Guangzhou yi can Lighting Co., Ltd) is a professional solar flood light supplier with 12 years of production and sales experience. We supply high quality solar flood lights and complete solutions for your lighting needs.