ADN got you covered! Most of our customers frequently ask this question. We also encounter other situations related to quality. As a manufacturer with more than 10 years of experience in solar lamp production, we are glad to answer this kind of inquiry. Actually, the broken rate from our company can only be one thousandth around. It definitely can help to build a good reputation in your market.
We have prepared some checklists that you can use to determine the quality of your solar streetlights.
The Most Critical Start – Solar Street Light Design
Above all else, you should take note of the solar street light design when checking the quality. Solar street light design is the most critical part of determining if solar street lights have good or poor quality.
What to know why? We’ll give you a sample scenario. If the design is defective, the higher chance that the solar panels, batteries, and other components’ parameters are not properly designed. You can also determine by just looking at the brightness of the solar street light. If the lighting time is too short or the lifespan is insufficient, then we can conclude that it is poor quality.
If you want a quality solar street light, we can design the parameters of the main accessories of the solar light. But you don’t have to worry about the pricing. We understand that every client has a limited budget for their lighting projects. So, we always consider it and ensure that solar LED street lights are not that expensive. After all, one of the advantages of solar streetlights is that they can save customers money. You can check our list of articles to learn more about solar street light design.
Road Lighting Standards
You must consider a few parameters if solar street lights are for road lighting. It is necessary to select LED lights with reasonable parameters. It should fit the height of the poles, the distance between them, and the width of the road. These LED lights’ parameters include LED power, lumen value, light distribution, and more. Most of the time, specialized machines can record these parameters on IES files. Lighting designers can use IES files to judge whether the luminaire is suitable for simulation software such as DIALUX. The main parameters of judgment include illuminance, uniformity, and so on.
Hardware Accessories
If the solar panel, battery, and LED lights are installed on the light pole separately, then confirm the size of all accessories. Also, if the size and weight of solar panels and batteries are too large, check if the reliability of the hardware accessories is properly fixed. For example, solar panels are not very heavy, but they can generate hundreds or even thousands of kilograms of force on windy days. Another thing to check is the hardware accessories. They will rust if they are made of iron or if the surface treatment is not properly handled. It is also at risk of corrosion and becomes more fragile.
The Equally Important Part – Material Supplier Selection & Material QC
Do not blindly choose the lowest price raw materials. Selecting the lowest cost in the market might give you a higher risk of the consequences of lower-quality products.
Batteries – Choose Your Battery Supplier Carefully
Batteries are the most crucial accessories in solar streetlights. Not only because they are the most expensive accessories but also because they highly affect the product’s overall performance. Generally, it restricts the life of the solar street light.
If the battery is of poor quality, you’ll surely get customer complaints that the product isn’t working properly. More so, a battery of poor quality can burn violently instantly and cause a fire. Click here to see all the secrets about solar street light batteries.
So, going to the battery pack factory to do the QC is best. Because the parameters of the battery cells and battery packs require specific instruments to check.
Solar Panel
In 2022, we can say that the quality of solar panels is already very stable. Generally, good-quality solar panels can have a 10-year warranty and a 25-year lifespan.
But if you’re looking for cheap solar panels, the typical solar chips are of a low grade, with a lifespan of only a few years. Some low grades sometimes last even for a few months. Therefore, clarify the grade and brand of the solar chips used with the solar panel supplier.
In addition, the solar panels used in solar street lights carry small-wattage solar panels, and the size is also customized. Also, if you order a small quantity at one time, the packaging may not be very secure. So be sure to pay attention to the packaging and transportation of solar panels.
LED & PCB
Generally, the LED is pasted on the PCB by the placement machine and then sent to the solar lamp factory. Therefore, before production, it is necessary to energize the PCB to detect whether the LED chips on the PCB are desoldered.
Solar Charge Controller
After more than 10 years of development, the quality of solar street light controllers has been very reliable. Don’t pursue low cost too much to buy low-quality and low-priced controllers. By that, the defective rate of solar street light controllers can be as little as one percent.
If you use a high-wattage street light for government projects, you may choose well-known brand controllers, such as SRNW and DPOWER.
House
When the case arrives at the factory, carefully inspect the case’s surface for defects such as scratches or peeling paint. If it is a custom-sized housing, carefully check whether the hole position for fixing the various accessories is correct.
Wire Length
All accessories inside the solar light need to be connected by wires. The wires between the accessories need to be connected with waterproof connectors. Therefore, when producing solar lamps, always prepare a certain length of wires with waterproof connectors in advance. Also, always check if each wire is of the correct length.
Selection of Major Accessories Suppliers
Of all materials, batteries, solar panels, and controllers are the most critical. Every supplier must be careful when choosing these three materials. For these materials, we usually select various companies. On the other hand, the company size shows the market’s recognition of the company to a certain extent. Whereas the quality and after-sale service of the products provided by large companies has certain guarantees. To ensure that the supplier can provide high-quality products, it is best to sign a warranty agreement with the supplier.
Quality Inspection of Solar Street Light Production
To know whether the mass-produced solar street lights have the lowest defective rate, you must conduct quality inspections for the following processions. Yes, it is our 10 years of manufacturing experience to ensure the one-thousandth broken rate.
1: Waterproof glue must be applied at the PCB outlet to prevent water vapor from short-circuiting the wiring and turning the LED off.
2: Apply heat-dissipating silicone between the PCB and the housing. This is to ensure that the LEDs work within the normal temperature range.
3: After the PCB is mounted to the housing, you should perform an aging test.
4: Pay attention to the correct connection of the positive and negative poles of the wires between the accessories.
5: You must tighten the screws that fix the accessories to avoid loosening and falling off during transportation. These screws include screws for fixing the LED lens, screws for fixing the controller, screws for fixing the battery, etc.
6: You must also tighten the waterproof connectors of the wires between the accessories to prevent them from falling off during transportation.
7: After the LED light and the controller are connected, it is usually necessary to power on and test the LED. This is done to ensure it is working and there is no problem with the previous installation. Finally, connect and install the solar panels. Testing the LED first will save you more time disassembling the solar light. If the whole solar light is installed before you do the lighting test, finding the problem will take longer.
8: Check if the edge of the solar panel is designed or not with a rubber ring. If not, be sure to glue the edge of the solar panel to protect the solar panel.
9: Once ready, turn on the switch, cover the solar panel, and test whether the solar lighting system can charge and discharge normally. You should cover the solar panel as its LED will automatically turn off when the panel is in a bright environment.
10: In the final packaging process, be sure to protect the solar panels. Solar panels get easily damaged during transportation. Therefore, use enough thickness of foam and enough rigid cartons to ensure the safety of solar panels.
How to Repair Solar Street Lights
Repairing solar panel street lights is an important after-sales service if you sell solar-led street lights in your area. Repairing outdoor solar street lamps is not difficult as long as you know the following:
- The lighting time of solar lamps is too short.
If the lighting time of your solar lights is too short, you must consider the following factors:
- Solar panel power is too low, and battery capacity is too small.
- During winter, the temperature is too low. Thus it won’t get enough sunlight.
- There are shadows on the solar panels. Even small shades can drastically reduce the overall solar panel power. Additionally, some shadows require a thorough inspection to be seen.
- Error in controller system.
- Solar street lights are completely turned off.
If the indicator light on the surface of the solar street lamps continues to flash normally, the entire solar light system is operational. However, if the solar street light’s indicator light has gone out, the solar light system has been disconnected. It most likely occurs when there is a problem with the installation method. For instance, there is a light source around the solar lamp at night, or the solar panel has a shadow, etc. If that’s the case, consider the following factors:
- The wires and wire connectors between the solar light components are disconnected.
- The switch is broken. (Factors 1 and 2 are frequently the main reasons.)
- The waterproof glue at the LED PCBs outlet is not properly covered, and the water ingress causes the LED PCB to short-circuit.
- Check the controller’s indicator light to determine if none of the three factors revealed a problem. Usually, if the indicator light is completely off, the battery is likely bad. If the light still flashes and other accessories are fine, replace it with a new controller.
- You may also pay attention to the controller design. If it is working fine, it usually has three indicator lights. The flashing indicator lights in the table below represent the various solar street light states.