Support

Support

From frequently asked questions to product and warranty details, we want you to have the information you need to make a smart decision. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team. Email Us

FAQ

We've compiled a list of answers to common questions.

Our solar lights are a viable replacement to traditional lights which solve the major obstacle of grid connection required for traditional outdoor lights. Connecting to the electrical grid is expensive, environmentally-invasive, labor-intensive, and requires certified electricians, city permits, paperwork. Once installed, traditional outdoor lights, even if they are LEDs, accelerate the climate crisis by drawing roughly half of their energy from fossil-fuel burning power plants. Grid-connected outdoor lighting also has fewer sources of power. In the event of a power outage, fossil-fuel burning plants provide back up, yet provide fewer options for back up than our solution.

Our high-spec solar outdoor lights offer redundancy; each light has its own power source and power storage, making them great for peace of mind during emergencies. Our aerodynamic Sunlike solar light can withstand heavy storm winds while offering high brightness, efficiency, durability, and ease of maintenance. Going off-grid both accelerates the time frame of return on investment and significantly boosts sustainability. The monetary and environmental cost of paying for electricity over ten years, combined with the high cost and environmental impact of digging electrical trenching, especially through remote areas, makes off-grid solar lighting the smart choice. However, up until now, technology was not advanced enough to support a viable, dependable, and powerful replacement to traditional grid-connected street lighting. With over 20 years of lighting innovation, we have recently combined the height of illumination performance (200Lm/W LEDs) with the height of solar (21%+ Transfer Rate) and battery performance (2,000+ Cycle LiFePO4) in a streamlined design which is a realistic, affordable, and bright replacement for city street lights. Installation requires no certified electricians, minimal permits, easy digging-free installation, zero electricity bills, and zero waiting time for the power sources of the grid to implement renewables. Because of many of these features, our solution saves thousands of dollars per light pole compared to traditional lighting.

“Lumens” is a measure of the quantity of total visible light emitted by a source. This is the best way to see how powerful a light is, not wattage-which is a measure of how much power is released, regardless of brightness or efficiency.

Soltech Smart Solar lighting provides 200 Lumens for every 1 Watt of stored sunlight in the cutting-edge battery, up to double the efficiency (measured in Lm/W) of many solar lights. It is these performance breakthroughs that make our solar lighting a viable alternative to traditional lighting, especially under sub-optimal sunlight.

In general, thousands can be saved by going with our solar off-grid ranges. This is mainly due to the difference in the cost of installation and not having to pay for electricity. More on this in the “How To Save By Going Solar” article.

Our segmented battery system ensures our lights are as bright on the 7th night of an overcast week as on the first night of a summer week. Our industry-leading efficiency and battery tech guarantee this performance even if every day is as dark as night. Ambient light can still be harnessed by our panels on overcast days. This extends real-world performance beyond just 7 nights of light. Lights come with remote controls to save energy during different seasons.

While streetlights have traditionally used high-intensity discharge (HID) lights, there is a now a strong push toward the use of LEDs. LED efficiency makes off-grid lighting a cost effective alternative, and when used with our off-grid solar lighting technology, it provides greater functionality and lighting profile options not previously possible. LED benefits include:

  • Significantly reduced energy consumption
  • Minimal lumen depreciation
  • Longer lifetimes and better durability
  • Better directionality
  • Easy lighting control
  • Better quality of light

One of the greatest benefits of LEDs is their lifetime, which can be 5-10 times the average life of an HID bulb. This results in much lower maintenance costs for light owners and operators.

Our 75 Watt streetlight can replace a 150W Metal-Halide light with the same lumens while functioning completely off-grid. 175W of electrical load, given a certain lumen/wattage, will yield a certain electrical input demand. Given variances in electricity costs, and the fact that in the U.S. over half of the electricity is generated by fossil-fuel plants, the calculation of environmental impact varies. The local cost of electricity is needed as well as the total number of light poles, but we generally save 100% of on-grid operating costs of electricity, half of which is directly made by fossil fuels. A case-by-case calculation is needed for further information. Another measure of environmental impact is the destruction of natural habitats that digging electrical lines in rural areas might cause. The more rural, the higher potential for our off-grid lights to have a better impact.

Your SOLTECH LED lighting fixtures are protected under our warranty. If there are any defects in either the materials or workmanship, your products will be replaced at no charge or you will be issued a credit.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has a comprehensive list of lighting terms, some of the key terms are listed below as well as the link:

Ambient light: The general illumination that comes from all directions in an area.

Color temperature (CCT): The color temperature is a specification of the color appearance of a light source, relating the color to a reference source heated to a particular temperature, measured by the thermal unit Kelvin. The measurement can also be described as the “warmth” or “coolness” of a light source. Generally, sources below 3,200K are considered “warm;” while those above 4,000K are considered “cool” sources.

Efficacy: A measure of the energy efficiency of a light source in terms of Lumens (light output) per rated wattage of the source.

Footcandle (FC): The English unit of measurement of the illuminance (or light level) on a surface. One footcandle is equal to one lumen per square foot.

Luminaire: A complete lighting unit consisting of a lamp or lamps, along with the parts designed to distribute the light, hold the lamps, and connect the lamps to a power source.

Photometric report: A photometric report is a set of printed data describing the light distribution, efficiency, and zonal lumen output of a luminaire. This report is generated from laboratory testing.

Watt (W): The unit for measuring electrical power. It defines the rate of energy consumption by an electrical device when it is in operation. The energy cost of operating an electrical device is calculated as its wattage times the hours of use. In single phase circuits, it is related to volts and amps by the formula: Volts x Amps x PF = Watts. (Note: For alternating current circuits, PF must be included.

ADDITIONS AND CHANGES: Orders normally ship within 48 hours. Orders received at Soltech before 11:00am PST will be scheduled to ship out the next 1 or 2 business day. (Example: if an order received before 11:00am on the 4th, it will ship out on 5th or 6th). Orders received at Soltech after 11:00am PST will be scheduled to ship out the following 1 or 2 business day ( Example: if an order is received at 2:00pm on the 4th, it will ship on 6th or 7th). We make every effort to comply with your instructions. We will accept changes to orders; however, doing do may delay your order and additional freight charges may be incurred.   

PRODUCT RETURNS:  All returns must comply with the established guidelines below:

(a) Soltech WILL CONSIDER “RETURN TO STOCK” REQUESTS ONLY IF THERE HAS BEEN AN ERROR BY SOLTECH. Such return to stock requests made after thirty (30) days of the invoice date will not be considered. A SOLTECH INVOICE NUMBER IS REQUIRED FOR ALL “RETURN TO STOCK” CLAIMS. 
(b) A Return Authorization Number is required. The Return Authorization Number is valid for 30 days from the issue date.   
(c) Returns must be shipped freight prepaid to: SOLTECH LLC 1460 PARK AVE EMERYVILLE, CA 94608 
(d) All returned products must be: (1) in full box quantities, (2) Of current design and material, and (3) in saleable condition 
(e) A credit memo will be issued against the Distributors Net Price at the time or return, and will only be issued once quantities have been verified. Credit memos are only issued for full box quantities. Broken boxes, unsaleable material, specials or non-catalogued products will not be considered for credit.  
(f)  A 25% RE-STOCKING FEE WII BE CHARGED FOR ANY ACCEPTED RETURNS. Return request inside 30 days from the invoice date will be considered.
(g) All product returns are subject to the above terms and conditions.  

ERRORS & SHORTAGES:  Shipping errors (e.g. wrong items or shortages) must be reported within 10 days after receipt of goods.  

DAMAGE TO FREIGHT:  Any shipments that appear to be damaged in shipping must be noted when signing for receipt of delivery.  

LIABILITY OF MISUSE: SOLTECH will not be liable for damages to property or persons due to importer installation of our material or through attempts to utilize the material under conditions which exceed the designed capabilities. Purchaser agrees to indemnity and hold us harmless from any and all claims, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses asserted against us or incurred by us because of injuries to persons or damages to property resulting from the improper installation or misuse of the material.  

Contacts

Here is a list of contacts for more information about our products, promotional, or events.

                Dennis Crawford, LC – Vice President of Sales
                Phone: (817)586-6570
                Email: dennis.crawford@soltechlighting.com

             Fiona Zhang – Finance Manager
                Phone: (510) 891-1056
                Email: fiona@soltechlighting.com

Important Forms

You can find important documents related to our products here.