Solar-powered signage from Greenlight Initiative

New York-based Greenlight Initiative, an LED-lighting sales and solutions provider, announced one of the first commercially successful deployments of an LED-based lighting installation for large exterior marker-sign applications. The internal illumination of the 2 x 8 ft remotely-mounted sign was based on Albeo Technologies’ state-of-the-art white LED fluorescent troffer retrofit kit directly integrated to the sign’s solar power system.

Nik Nicolakis, president and co-founder of Greenlight Initiative says, “Contrary to some recent comments from the periphery of the LED-lighting industry, solid state lighting is able to demonstrate a clear ROI in key applications currently being served by fluorescent lighting. These include real-world installations in commercial, industrial and public sector applications and we’re proud to say that both solar and standard sign illuminations can be added to the list.”

The standard LED-based retrofit lighting kit was internally end-mounted and arranged facing inward towards the centre of the two-sided sign. Traditional high-output fluorescent illumination would typically mount four single-lamp T-12 110w tubes at intervals along the length of the marker sign. The LED system’s highly controlled light distribution allowed the same sign to be equivalently illuminated with only 130 total watts instead of 440 watts for the T-12 solution. It is notable that the LED installation is particularly effective with a solar-power system because it is compatible with the ‘native’ 12-volt output of the solar panels and batteries.