Frequently asked questions
Solar-powered lighting is no longer just a great solution for those prioritising sustainability. It’s now an ideal option for many other reasons. One of the most obvious is providing reliable lighting in areas without access to the power grid, such as remote and newly developed areas. Another is the growing concern for rolling blackouts and power outages. By providing reliable, off-grid illumination, this is no longer an issue. Beyond this, Soluxio Lighting delivers a range of impressive features and benefits that make it a clear and smart choice for modern lighting in any situation.
On this page, we’ll cover all you need to know about our Flexsol Solar Solutions, including remote monitoring capabilities, quick 30-minute installation, warranty details, cost considerations, light fixture compatibility, features, algorithms and much more. Choose Flexsol Solutions for innovative, reliable, and efficient solar solutions that set the standard in the industry.
When planning a solar lighting project, it’s important to gather key information to ensure the solution meets your specific needs. Location is a critical factor; assess the solar energy potential by evaluating the area’s sun availability. Define the intended application, whether it’s a parking lot, residential area, campus, pedestrian walkway, or another setting, as this will determine the required light levels. Operational requirements, such as dimming options, motion sensors, runtime hours, and desired performance, should also be considered. Additionally, the fixture mounting height is essential, as it directly affects light distribution, power requirements, pole design, and wind load specifications. Your local Soluxio Lighting expert is ready to assist you at every step of your solar lighting journey.
Soluxio is ideal for a wide range of applications, such as pedestrian-scale lighting for parks, jogging paths, bicycle lanes, pickleball and tennis courts, residential subdivisions, commercial centres, public recreation areas, university campuses, and locations with limited access to power. In addition, the Soluxio system is perfectly suited for remote,
industrial, or ecologically sensitive areas such as industrial zones, parking lots, harbours, military bases, and nature reserves.
Soluxio Solar Lighting is highly adaptable and thrives in a variety of locations. The system’s trenchless design eliminates the need for costly and disruptive grid interconnections, making it ideal for areas with limited infrastructure or challenging permitting processes. Additionally, the installation process minimises soil disruption, reducing the risk of project delays or the need for soil remediation. Whether it’s a remote, ecologically sensitive site or a developed urban area, Soluxio’s flexibility ensures a smooth and efficient implementation, tailored to your specific project needs.
We offer a diverse range of customizable options to elevate the aesthetic appeal of your Soluxio Solar Pole. Personalise the design with various pole finishes, including anodising or powder coating, with options such as a wood grain effect. You can also select the solar module colour in either elegant black or clean white, emphasising it is a solar light.
Further enhance the pole’s look with ornamental clamshell bases for a refined touch and elegantly designed arms for single or double light fixtures. For added customisation, consider functional additions like plant hangers or banner arms to further elevate the visual appeal. Soluxio’s versatile design options complement
both modern and classic styles, ensuring your lighting system enhances its surroundings while delivering cutting-edge solar performance.
When considering the comprehensive costs associated with traditional lighting systems, Soluxio’s Solar Lighting may not have a higher upfront expense. Traditional systems often require extensive labour for groundwork, including trenching, laying electrical cables, and commissioning to the grid by utilities, all of which can significantly increase initial costs. In contrast, Soluxio’s off-grid design eliminates the need for such infrastructure, leading to substantial savings in installation and material expenses.
Additionally, Soluxio’s low-maintenance design and remote monitoring capabilities further reduce operational costs.
These factors, combined with potential government incentives and subsidies for renewable energy, lead to a faster return on investment (ROI). Over time, you not only save money but also contribute to a more sustainable future, making solar lighting a smarter and more responsible choice.
Installing the Soluxio Solar Pole takes only 30 minutes, thanks to a comprehensive step-by-step manual featuring photos and videos. Other solar lighting solutions often take up to 4 hours of installation! The process of assembling the mounting rings, cylindrical solar modules, cabling, battery, and fixture can be completed with just two people, and often only one.
The Soluxio system comes preconfigured with factory settings for the LED fixture and lighting scheme, eliminating the need for manual controller configuration. This makes Soluxio one of the simplest systems to operate on the market.
Soluxio offers an extended 10-year warranty on all solar components, including the battery, cylindrical solar modules, and controller. Third-party fixtures, components and add-ons such as cameras or sensors are covered under the manufacturer’s warranty, typically lasting 2 to 5 years. The Soluxio marine-grade aluminium pole comes with a lifetime warranty.
The Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) mandates that the majority of component costs and manufacturing for federally funded projects must be U.S.-based. Soluxio Lighting offers a BABA compliant Solar pole option to ensure your project meets these standards while supporting the American economy.
Warren Buffett famously said, “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” This sentiment perfectly applies to solar lighting, where no two projects are the same. Factors like solar irradiance, operational requirements, and design preferences make direct comparisons challenging; however, Soluxio stands out as the most comprehensive and advanced solution available worldwide. Our value proposition is one of a kind. To receive pricing tailored to your specific project, location, and performance requirements, we invite you to send us an inquiry or request a quote.
From the very first Soluxio installation, lithium batteries have been a core component. Initially, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP or LiFePO4) batteries were used due to their many advantages for solar lighting, such as high charge and discharge efficiencies, greater usable capacity (Depth of Discharge), excellent temperature tolerance, and long lifespan.
Over time, Soluxio transitioned to the more advanced Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) lithium batteries. These offer additional benefits, including a wider operating temperature range and 50% higher energy density compared to LFP batteries. This makes them even more efficient and suitable for demanding applications.
The advanced nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) lithium battery is housed within the Soluxio Control Unit, a durable and compact unit that also includes the proprietary solar electronics and software. This unit is securely located inside the pole, behind the hand hole, at an ergonomic height. This design ensures easy access, making placement and maintenance both fast and convenient.
The Soluxio Solar Pole is equipped with cellular 4G/LTE wireless connectivity. This enables remote installation assistance and remote monitoring, giving you access to critical system data through an API or an online dashboard. This completely eliminates the drawbacks of mesh networks and the challenges of pole-to-pole commissioning. Additionally, Soluxio integrates with TerraGo’s smart city asset management platform.
After installation, the Soluxio system enters a calibration mode, which in general is one week. During this period, it locates itself via GPS, calculates sunrise and sunset data, calculates expected solar generation, gathers historical weather data, and recharges the battery from the factory-shipped 40% State-Of-Charge to full capacity. Once these tasks are completed, which in general lasts one week, the system will transition to its normal operating sequence.
Some public spaces and property protection areas demand light levels that must be consistently met on a daily basis. Our exclusive grid-tied hybrid solar light solves the problem. It doesn’t feed power back to the grid, but uses 120-277 V grid power to fully charge the battery when needed. This ensures maximum light output regardless of the weather or solar conditions.
Using an occupancy sensor can certainly be a good idea if you need it to meet energy codes like California Title 24 or IECC. Those require power reduction during evening times of vacancy or scheduled non-business hours, often achieved through motion sensors for fixtures over 40 watts. Another application can be to limit loitering by running the fixtures at a reduced rate and powering to 100% upon motion detection to offer maximum area deterrence. For these and other occupancy applications, reach out to Soluxio Solar Lighting.
Soluxio is a fully standalone solar system designed for more than just lighting. It provides reliable DC power for a variety of smart city applications, including WiFi hotspots, emergency call buttons, gunshot detection monitors, 24/7 camera operation and much more.
The Soluxio Solar Pole uses a built-in GPS to determine its precise location, as well as the current date and time. This allows the system to automatically calculate daily sunrise and sunset times using astronomical models. By eliminating the need for a photocell, one of the most unreliable components in traditional systems, Soluxio enhances reliability and reduces maintenance requirements.
Unlike traditional flat panels mounted atop poles, Soluxio’s cylindrical solar panels are mounted around the pole. This innovative design makes it possible to use almost any type of light fixture, including single or double fixtures.
By avoiding the traditional placement of solar panels at the top of the pole, Soluxio preserves valuable space, offering unmatched flexibility for diverse design needs while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
The Soluxio LED driver is specifically designed to ensure compatibility with renowned manufacturers such as Spring City, King Luminaire, Landscape Forms, Cooper Lighting, Sternberg Lighting, Hubbell Lighting, and Acuity Brands, to name a few.
With just a few adjustments, the Soluxio Solar Pole can accommodate a wide range of fixtures.
The Soluxio system is designed to accommodate a wide range of light fixtures. With a maximum power of 80 watts, the system can support most fixtures and lighting applications.
The Soluxio LED driver is a highly efficient DC-DC LED driver designed specifically for solar applications. Unlike conventional AC-DC drivers that convert Alternating Current (AC) to Direct Current (DC), the Soluxio driver operates directly from the DC battery, eliminating energy losses associated with converting power to AC. This direct DC-to-DC operation ensures significantly higher efficiency. Additionally, the Soluxio LED driver is engineered to accommodate a wide range of voltages, currents, wattages, and dimming levels. This versatility makes it the ideal choice for use with both Soluxio LED fixtures and third-party LED fixtures.
Soluxio runs entirely on solar power, turning sunlight into electricity with high efficiency. By storing this energy in high-capacity, dense lithium batteries, Soluxio operates entirely off-grid, unless the hybrid option is selected. This makes Soluxio ideal for areas susceptible to natural disasters, such as hurricanes or flooding, where infrastructure damage is common. Even during power outages or rolling blackouts, Soluxio continues to provide reliable, uninterrupted lighting. This resilience ensures guaranteed safety and security, making Soluxio the premier choice for those seeking reliable, autonomous lighting solutions in any circumstance.
Even on the darkest winter days or during extended cloudy periods, the Soluxio Solar Light Pole remains operational. With the ability to provide illumination for up to 30 days without a single ray of sunlight, it offers the longest autonomy available in the solar lighting market today. This remarkable performance is achieved through advanced, proprietary solar technology and control algorithms. Integrated machine learning algorithms analyse seasonal and historical weather data to optimise Soluxio’s energy consumption. Additionally, HelioSync™ algorithmic dimming is applied to ensure consistent, reliable lighting and extended battery life.
Cylindrical solar panels, like those on Soluxio poles, outperform traditional flat panels in durability, efficiency, and maintenance. Their vertical design captures sunlight from multiple angles, maximising power generation even during winter or low-sunlight conditions. Because the module sits 360° around the pole and has an integrated maximum power point tracker (MPPT), it continuously optimises energy yield from all sides and does not require careful orientation toward the sun like traditional flat panels. Made with borosilicate, scratch-resistant glass, they resist dirt and require no cleaning.
Additionally, their streamlined shape improves wind resistance and EPA performance. Plus, they offer a sleek, modern look for versatile design applications.
Soluxio’s cylindrical solar modules deliver a peak power output of 110 Watts (Wp) and achieve an average daily energy production of 220 Watt-hours (Wh), thanks to their >24% efficiency and 4-channel power point tracker.
The height of the pole is the main limiting factor for the number of solar modules which can be used. Typically, 1 to 4 modules are used per pole, depending on its height and intended application.
No, Soluxio Solar Panels are built with high-efficiency mono-crystalline silicon solar cells (>24%), integrated into cylindrical panels using proprietary technology. Silicon solar panels are renowned for their durability in extreme weather, long lifespans, and reliable performance in high-temperature environments, making them ideal for solar lighting applications.
In contrast, thin-film solar panels typically have lower efficiency (around 10–14%), limited power output for solar poles, and shorter lifespans. Additionally, their vulnerability to being cut or punctured increases the risk of moisture ingress, which can compromise performance and durability. Thin-film panels also degrade faster under high temperatures, which happens often at sunny locations. These disadvantages are effectively avoided with the Soluxio Solar Panel solution.
The Soluxio Solar Panels are made with a borosilicate glass front sheet. Borosilicate glass offers exceptional resistance to environmental factors such as UV radiation, temperature fluctuations, and extreme weather conditions (e.g., hailstorms, snow, and heavy rainfall). It also maintains its strength and optical properties (light transmission) over time and across a wide temperature range, ensuring maximum solar energy capture throughout its lifespan. Moreover, borosilicate glass provides an excellent barrier against moisture and oxygen, protecting the solar cells from long-term degradation. Additionally, borosilicate glass is more eco-friendly and easier to recycle at the end of the solar panel’s life compared to plastic alternatives.
This combination of features ensures a long operational lifespan (20–30+ years), minimal performance loss as well as superior durability, advantages that plastic materials used in thin-film solar panels cannot match.
The solar modules on Soluxio are made from SCHOTT’s high-quality borosilicate glass, which is known for its microscopic, smooth, abrasion-resistant surface. The borosilicate glass, in combination with the vertical orientation of the modules, minimises dust and debris accumulation and eliminates the need for cleaning. Unlike flat panels, where dust and dirt collect on the panels, which requires regular cleaning.