New 15-watt solar panel for E Series beacons: 50% more solar charging capacity, same small form factor

1 min. read
February 26, 2021

As solar panel technology improves, so do the capabilities of solar-powered traffic systems. At Carmanah, we follow these solar power trends closely so that we can continue to offer systems that pack as much power as possible into the smallest form factor. For us, more power means a system that can now operate sustainably in more Northern latitudes or a system that can now drive the latest third-party devices—all with no added cost.

In 2012, we released our first compact, solar engine-based beacons with a 10-watt solar panel. As solar efficiency increased, we shifted to a 13-watt panel in 2018, resulting in a 30% increase in solar charging capacity, and all in the same form factor as our preceding 10-watt panel.

Since July 2020, we once again upgraded our solar panel efficiency, bringing our most compact, E Series engine to 15-watts of solar power. This is a 50% charging increase from the original 10-watt panel’s capacity.

You can find this 15-watt solar engine in these Carmanah products:

Every E Series or replacement panel order made starting in 2020 Q3 received this new 15-watt panel.

Along with our new power-efficient RRFB light bar, these changes greatly increase the performance and capabilities of our popular R920-E RRFB crosswalk system. This smaller, more compact system can now easily power Polara’s new iNX accessible pedestrian pushbutton, providing a fully ADA-compliant system, for around 30% less.

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