Inhabitat

Sleek Solar and Wind Powered Hybrid Street Lamps

As designers strive to create a more sustainable future, we’re thrilled to see designs that integrate a variety of renewable energy technologies into objects we encounter in everyday life. This innovative hybrid wind and solar powered street lamp is just such a solution – not only does it use renewable energy to provide light, it’s a stylish update to an everyday object that is capable of operating completely off-grid. The hybrid streetlamps consist of a solar array topped with a wind turbine, and they are capable of generating up to 380 W of power.

street lamp, lamp, LED, solar, wind, solar power, wind power, pv, wind turbine

Designed and manufactured by Urban Green Energy, these solar/wind powered street lamps are mounted to a standard galvanized steel pole that can be made locally and easily swapped with older street lamps. The turbine on top can be either a 300 W 2nd Generation vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) or a horizontal axis wind turbine. Mounted on the side of the pole are 2 solar panels made by F3 Solar that are capable of generating up to 80 W of power.

The street lamp is capable of producing up to 380 W of power if the sun was shining and the wind were blowing, and the street lamps save excess energy generated in a battery that powers their high efficiency LEDs through the night. Since every location and project is different, Urban Green Energy is taking a component-focused approach to the street lamps’ design – the LED lights, solar panels, wind turbine, tower height, and battery storage are all easily scaled to best fit a particular project.

Decorations on the pole compliment the sweeping lines of the wind turbine and can be customized to whatever color the buyer wants. The hybrid LED lamps seem more like an commissioned art piece rather than a standard industrial looking street lamp.

Urban Green Energy’s Hybrid Wind/Solar Lamps are already gaining attention around the world – they just signed an agreement with an undisclosed city in China to outfit their streets with these street lamps. The company also offers wind turbines ranging from 300 W up to 10 kW, and we recently got a sneak peak at their new 2nd generation 4kW VAWT. We think this new company is on the right track, and we can’t wait to see their hybrid turbines hit the streets.

+ Urban Green Energy

10 Responses to “Sleek Solar and Wind Powered Hybrid Street Lamps”

naglis Says:

July 13th, 2009 at 12:19 pm

Let’s assume that it was winter, the day was cloudy and with no wind, the sun went down at 5PM. What then?

Yuka Yoneda Says:

July 13th, 2009 at 12:26 pm

Hi Naglis,

The street lamps save excess energy generated in a battery so that it has enough power for times when the sun and wind aren’t cooperating.

dragonbutterfly Says:

July 13th, 2009 at 1:51 pm

Technologically it sounds like the sort of idea that should have been the standard long ago. Bravo. Aesthetically, it would be nice to have some models that were a bit more contextual. I’ve lived in older parts of cities with beautiful 100-300 year old buildings and placing these street lamps in those areas would look like invading with alien space ships. Any plans for aesthetics variety beyond color choices?

Also, the computer renditions of the generic suburbs with huge asphalt streets and driveways is just scary. All the solar/wind powered street lights in the world aren’t going to save us if we don’t make other more fundamental changes to the way we live. I understand the images from a marketing perspective, but I’d really have loved to also see a more forward looking rendering.

roxolar Says:

July 13th, 2009 at 10:49 pm

Also, even n the winter, the day lights from the sun (even if it’s not sunny) are still able to generate electricity. Remember, it’s the photons that are transformed into electricity, not heat. I think it is totally sustainable in most parts of the world.

Yaya
http://www.roxolar.com

roxolar Says:

July 13th, 2009 at 10:56 pm

Naglis

I think it’s still sustainable because even in winter, there is still sunlight even if the days are not sunny and shining. Remember solar electricity is generated by photons from the sunlight, not heat.

Yaya
http://www.roxolar.com

naglis Says:

July 14th, 2009 at 7:59 am

“The street lamps save excess energy generated in a battery so that it has enough power for times when the sun and wind aren’t cooperating.”

Yes, I do understand that. What interests me is, would the battery save enough energy for the lamp to shine overnight (assuming that night lasts 15-17 hours), even if it was cloudy and there was no wind ?

Jeff Says:

July 14th, 2009 at 11:29 am

This is really a ground breaking update to an everyday city object. Dragonbutterfly has a point when he/she said that aesthetics must be given some consideration before this becomes a standard in every city, Perhaps, we can can have a stone wind-mill like structure in your city. Well, lets just wait for designers to concoct their own solutions.

hubermania Says:

July 14th, 2009 at 3:17 pm

That is certainly an eye-catching design. However, I notice that all of the landscaping is immature. You would do well to fast-forward 30 years to mature, deciduous trees. They will block the wind and shade the solar panels. Although the concave solar panels look nice, convex panels would do a much better job of shedding rain, leaves, and snow.

joshuayoshida Says:

July 23rd, 2009 at 4:17 pm

There are so many great ideas, especially on this website. I just wish people would take the initiative and put these things together! Decrease our dependence on foreign oil and all that…

lynn Says:

August 18th, 2009 at 1:39 pm

I was on ebay and noticed that similar led solar or wind powered street lights were for sale for $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 each. It’s here NOW and cheep.
I thought that if you crashed into a street light it would cost you about $1,000 to replace.
YEA!!! YEA!!! (LED light means that the draw is insanely reduced)

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