Solar Street Lamps
Carmanah Technologies
Solar-powered street lighting still sounds like an oxymoron to many people. But these lighting systems—which gather solar energy during the day, store it in batteries, and release it at night—are one of the fastest growing categories in the lighting industry. Carmanah, which has a 20-year track record of making solar-LED lanterns and beacons for marine and aviation uses, enlisted frog to create a more elaborate outdoor solar-LED lighting system that would be a true alternative to traditional wired systems.
Carmanah set out to create a new lighting technology that would be innovative, easy to install, low maintenance, and worth every penny of the initial investment.
One of the major hurdles for solar lighting is the perception that it is unreliable, complicated, and expensive, so frog set out to prove otherwise. The 1710 solar lighting concept we came up with for Carmanah used emerging technologies to create a product that positions Carmanah to win in the market, as well as drive expansion of the market itself.
An Organic, Leaf-Like Design
Each system consists of a solar panel, batteries, an LED light fixture and an energy-management system. The physical design frog developed takes its inspiration from the shape of a leaf, and the fluted pole looks like a stem. This creates an organic form that harmonizes with surrounding trees. It’s practical, too: the front panel is sculpted to allow rain and snow to run off.
The Challenge of Storing Energy
Because solar lighting systems require large automotive-style batteries that must be changed every five years, many potential buyers are turned off by the additional maintenance challenge. frog’s solution was to remove the need for all tools and screws for servicing the batteries, which can be easily accessed with quick-release
clamps. The batteries and the energy-management system are packaged compactly in a single-piece rear-housing unit to present a simple, integrated exterior.
Carmanah set out to create a new lighting technology that would be innovative, but not visually polarizing, easy to install and to maintain, and worth every penny of the initial investment. The final concept epitomizes each of these elements in a bold, organic form that accentuates the benefits of solar lighting. Thanks to Carmanah and frog, using daylight at night is making a lot more sense.
