SunPower Sign Inc. (Mankato, MN), a specialty design and solar-solutions provider, collaborated with Green City Signs LLC, Green Light Initiative and SignHouse Inc. to produce a solar-powered sign for the New City Hall in Greensburg, KS. This standalone sign eliminates the need for large photovoltaic panels and, instead, integrates an amorphous silicon solar film into the sign itself. SunPower Sign’s parent company, Mankato, MN-based Green Energy Concepts Group Inc. (GECG), provided the film.
GECG’s solar film can produce electrical power at 4% ambient light. The system includes custom-designed controllers and Green Light Initiative‘s LEDs. The SunPower Sign is designed to be an off-grid solution that requires no line voltage and eliminates digging trenches, pulling wires, adding breakers and obtaining electrical permits to supply power to distant signs.
The system is designed with an average life of five years for batteries, 15 years for the LEDs and 25 years for the solar film (based on a 10-hour daily run time).