the solar sign Signs are a business’ calling card to the world.  When businesses create powerful, effective signage, they immediately broaden their reach and set themselves apart from their competitors.  Illuminated signs perform a double duty; during the day they identify your business using your unique colors and logo.  At night, they are transformed into attention-grabbing beacons that use light and color to promote your company’s image.  That attention comes at a price though.  Modern commercial signs are expensive to install and they are expensive to operate and maintain. The Solar Sign is a revolutionary idea that dramatically reduces the expenses associated with installing, operating and maintaining illuminated signs while producing a zero carbon footprint.  Combining existing state-of-the-art green technologies, the Solar Sign promises to provide illuminated commercial signage powered entirely by the sun.       Flexible thin film solar panels The Solar Sign utilizes thin film amorphous silicon (“a-Si”) solar modules as its source for electricity.  The unique advantages of thin film a-Si solar modules are that they are light, flexible and able to produce electricity even in ambient light conditions.  Traditional solar panels, usually called photovoltaic or PV panels, are heavy, rigid panels using mono crystalline or poly crystalline wafers to produce electricity.  Unfortunately, the weight, inflexibility and need for direct sunlight, makes PV panels unsuitable for most applications.  Indeed, the peak-charging window of a thin film a-Si solar module is 5 hours versus 2 hours for a PV panel.  In addition, the amount of silicon used in an a-Si module is as low as 1% of the amount used in a traditional solar panel and the film has a strong environmental profile and is cadmium free. The sign box and battery box will be sheathed on the top and sides with thin film a-Si solar modules that are affixed to the sign with permanent adhesives.  Powering the Solar Sign with flexible thin film a-Si solar modules provides a safe, effective and attractive alternative to erecting a multiple PV panel solar array.  In areas with less sun or where the sign calls for additional power requirements, a single PV solar panel may be added to increase the charge capacity of the battery array.  Efficient LED lights We have designed the Solar Sign to work with new style high efficient Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s) that produce 75 Lumens per Watt.  The unique advantage of these lights is that they operate off of direct 12 Volt DC current thus eliminating the loss of power associated with inverting the DC power produced by solar modules into AC power needed by most lighting systems.  In addition, depending on the requirements of the sign, the LED’s are rated to last up 50,000 or 100,000 hours.  Compared to fluorescent light bulbs (both traditional AC powered and 12 Volt DC powered), which have a life expectancy of 7500-10,000 hours, LED’s provide a cost-effective alternative that has the added advantage dramatically of reducing maintenance costs over the life of the sign.  With the use of additional a-Si solar modules or PV solar panels, we can illuminate the sign to meet any need and have even created a version for channel letters.   Customized battery bank The Solar Sign can be designed to operate for days in without full sunlight.  The Solar Sign uses an array of Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) batteries which are specifically designed to be powered by renewable energy sources. We estimate an average battery use for the Solar Sign to be between 210 and 240 amp hours per day based on an average use of 16 hours per night.  We have taken the precaution of overestimating energy consumption and the amount of battery power needed to power the Solar Sign, therefore the Solar Sign battery array provides a minimum of 848-amp hrs based on the principal of a 24 Hour Rate drawdown. Significantly lower operational costs The Solar Sign costs nothing to operate since it is powered by the sun.  On the other hand, the average energy consumption of an AC powered fluorescent sign is 10,688 kW per year.  At an average cost of $0.12 per kW hour, the annual cost to power a conventional sign is $1,284.  Using the life of the sign as a ten-year break out due to the life of the batteries the Solar Sign would save approximately $12,840 in energy costs.  In addition, the Solar Sign dramatically reduces the cost of replacement bulbs and maintenance.  In a conventional sign, fluorescent bulbs are routinely replaced every two years.  Since the Solar Signs LED lights last over five times as long as conventional fluorescent bulbs, there is no cost for replacement.  At a cost of $10.18 for a commercial grade fluorescent bulb and an average of 8 bulbs per sign, the cost for replacing bulbs is $81.44 per sign every two years.  Therefore, the Solar Sign provides a savings of $407.17 over the life of the bulbs…and this doesn’t include labor costs to replace the bulbs.  Significant cost savings Taking into account the cost of electrical installation of the average conventional sign of $6,000, the total cost saving over a ten-year period would be approximately $19,247, which far exceeds the estimated cost of the Solar Sign!   Why choose The Solar Sign?  The Solar Sign is less expensive to install than traditional AC lighted signs The Solar Sign is an off-grid standalone system which is FREE to operate (no utility bill) The Solar Sign is nearly maintenance free The Solar Sign can be sized to illuminate any sign, of any size The Solar Sign gives your company a clean, green, eco-friendly image The Solar Sign may qualify for tax credits and incentives With the Solar Sign, you will never worry about utility connections and trenching for installations again
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