Protective measures against ice condensation hazards of solar street lamps

A problem that is easily overlooked in the promotion and application of solar street lights in cold areas is the accumulation of ice and snow on the surface of the lamps, and the ice formed after being melted by heat. Once the ice is formed, it will cause great safety hazards to vehicles and pedestrians. Especially for LED street lamps, since the lamp housing is generally made of aluminum, the aluminum oxide on the surface is a hydrophilic material, which is more likely to cause ice condensation. In 2008, a large-scale snow disaster in southern my country caused a large amount of ice to condense on the high-voltage wires on the aluminum surface, which collapsed and damaged a large number of power facilities. This disaster is not only caused by the weather, but also the high-voltage cable on the surface of alumina is a hydrophilic material, which is also an important incentive. Because it affects the safety of road traffic, preventing ice condensation is a safety measure that must be considered when applying solar street lights in cold areas.

In order to solve this key technology, we analyzed the reasons why water freezes on the surface of the object and the ice can be firmly attached to the surface of the object through the microscopic imaging analysis of the surface of the ice-covered body. The experimental results found that only using materials with excellent hydrophobic properties would not be ideal for preventing ice from condensing, and even water could freeze very strongly on the surface of some materials. The test results show that: ice can adhere to any surface; cracks and depressions on the surface of the object are another main reason why ice can firmly adhere to the surface of the object; materials with good hydrophobic properties can delay the freezing process. process, but cannot prevent the formation of ice.

In order to more accurately compare the ability of different materials to prevent ice condensation, we have deeply studied the internal relationship between the surface structure, surface properties and ice coating of different objects from different angles, including: structural shape and coating. Ice, structural materials and icing, surface finish and icing, surface rigidity and icing. The research results show that the components with simple shape structure, compact structure, excellent surface waterproof and hydrophobic properties are not prone to ice condensation.

Based on this test data, we set up LED street lights with different appearances and shell materials in winter for 2 consecutive years. Through experiments, we found that all the lamps have a smooth, smooth and smooth appearance; there is no accumulation of ice, snow or water. Bearing structure; LED street lights with excellent hydrophobic surface material will not cause ice condensation.

Most of the cold regions in my country are located in high latitudes, with cold climate and large temperature difference, which brings new challenges to the application of solar road lighting products. On the other hand, the annual average daily lighting time in most cold regions is longer than the domestic average level, so the lighting power consumption is also higher than the domestic average level. Therefore, the geographical characteristics of short days and long nights have brought more demand for solar lighting applications. Overall, the application of solar lighting products has both challenges and opportunities.