Project Background (Grid to Solar Retrofit)

In June 2022, a Portuguese municipality faced a common issue: aging AC street lights with damaged underground cables. Repairing the grid would require expensive trenching and rewiring.

Instead of repairing the old system, they decided to switch to solar. The goal was to install a sustainable, wireless solution directly at the existing locations without digging up the road.

The Challenge: Labor Costs & Rainy Winters

The project faced two critical European-specific challenges:

• Why no trenching? In Portugal, the labor cost for digging cable trenches is extremely high. The client prioritized a solution to bypass civil engineering works entirely.
• How to survive winter? Portugal experiences frequent rain and cloudy days in winter. A standard solar light would fail due to lack of charge. The system required technology to ensure "All-Night Lighting" even with limited sunlight.

The Solution: Why Sunplus 100W?

Based on the site survey (Fixed 8m Poles + Portuguese Weather), we engineered the optimal configuration:

1. Perfect Match for 8m Poles: Since the existing poles are fixed at 8 meters, a standard 60W unit would result in insufficient ground lux. The 100W output was calculated to deliver municipal-grade illuminance from this specific height, ensuring safety for drivers.

2. Balancing Power & Weather: Portugal has limited peak sun hours in winter. The 100W Sunplus is equipped with a high-capacity LiFePO4 battery and a larger solar panel. This ratio ensures that even on cloudy days, the system harvests enough energy to power the 8m-high fixture throughout the night.

3. Zero Trenching Retrofit: The All-in-One design allowed the installation team to simply mount the lights onto the existing 8m poles using a lift truck, bypassing the damaged underground cables entirely.

Operational Status (Jan 2026 Update)

The system was installed in June 2022. As of January 2026, the project has been in operation for nearly 4 years. Site feedback confirms that even during the heavy rains of December, the lights maintained 100% operation rate with zero maintenance required.

Project Video & Quality Control Gallery

* The gallery above showcases our quality control and product design. The Outdoor Charging & Discharging Test (Image 2) ensures real-world performance before shipping.