How
The Lighthouse Man Solar Beacon works:
At dusk, the solar beacon is
"activated" and it will be discharging its batteries while
emitting light output. At dawn, it will turn off, and its solar panels
will begin to recharge its batteries. Sunny days will result in the
batteries recovering more energy than was expended the night before. On
days with little or no sun (due to cloud cover, rain, or fog), the beacon
may only recover a partial recharge, and thus there will be a power
deficit from the night before. THIS IS NOT A CONCERN. The solar beacon has
an excellent storage capacity and are designed so they do not require
sunlight every day.
With a fully charged battery,
the solar beacon can operate for up to 150 hours without recharging. For
example, if we assume there is thirteen hours from dusk to dawn, the unit
is "on" and the battery discharging for ten hours out of a
24-hour day. The unit will therefore last 11.5 days (150 hours / 13 hours
per day) without any sunlight for recharging. When nights are longer
(i.e.: 16 hours), the unit will last fewer days without recharging (i.e.:
approximately 10 days).
For the solar beacon to
continue operating perfectly, it must recharge at least partially before
the 150 hour buffer is completely discharged. However, this recharging can
be spread over the 150 hour (11.5 day) discharge time. Consequently, the
unit can go several days without any sunlight and then receive very little
and still continue operating.
Despite the power storage
capacity of my solar beacon, it is still important to consider three
factors when finding a location for the unit and or lighthouse:
1) Average daylight:
Local weather conditions determine the amount of sunlight an area receives
each year. Areas with, on average, at least 1.5 hours of sunlight per day
or more (including the winter months) have adequate sunlight for my solar
beacon. Most of the world receives this minimum. The measurement to
determine average daylight can be obtained from your local weather office.
2) Shade: Even the
sunniest locations will not be adequate for proper installation if the
beacon will be in the shade for most the day. It is important to ensure
the unit will not be in the shade at least during midday.
3) Winter: During the
winter season, the sun is lower on the horizon. This has two potential
effects. First, obstructions such as trees, buildings, and mountains that
do not shade the beacon during the summer may come to shade it during the
winter. Second, for locations beyond 50° latitude north or south, winter
causes significantly shorter days and longer nights. This may result in
the unit not having sufficient recharging time during the shorter days.
Suitable temperature:
The temperature of the batteries in the beacon during
recharging/discharging affects the life-span of its rechargeable battery
power system, and consequently the overall life-span of the unit. Although
the unit can operate normally between the temperatures of -40° C (-40°
F) and 80° C (176° F), its expected life-span may be reduced when the
ambient temperatures are consistently higher than 25° C (77° F) during
recharging/discharging.
Although the beacon will
operate most effectively in moderate areas, it can certainly function in
areas with ambient temperatures over 25° C (77° F). A key factor will be
that the unit is not usually charging/discharging during the warmest part
of the day. Unlike colder areas, hot areas generally tend to have many
hours of daylight, which allows the unit to fully recharge every day.
Since the unit does not need as much time to recharge, it will fully
charge and kick out of the recharging mode before the ambient temperature
is too high.
