Free engineering tool
Solar vs grid street lighting cost calculator
Build the business case for a road, estate or industrial park: compare the total cost of ownership of grid-powered LED street lights, including trenching, cabling, connection and electricity, with solar street lights over 5 to 25 years.
What the comparison includes
- Grid-powered: luminaire and pole installed, trench and cable along the whole run (number of poles × spacing), grid connection or transformer, electricity with an annual price increase, and maintenance.
- Solar: complete solar street light installed, periodic battery replacement and maintenance. No trench, cable or electricity.
- Outputs: cumulative cost curves, break-even year, total saving, a year-by-year table, grid energy avoided and CO₂ avoided.
Pole foundations, land and financing are left out because they are similar for both options. The comparison is undiscounted, which keeps it transparent; for a net present value, discount the year-by-year table from the PDF report at your organisation’s rate.
For the comparison to be fair, the solar lights must be sized for the site. Use the solar street light calculator and the battery autonomy calculator first.
Questions about this calculation
Are solar street lights cheaper than grid street lights?
Often, when trenching and cabling are long. Each grid pole needs a cable trench to the next pole and a connection to the network; on new roads, rural roads and car parks this civil work can cost more than the lights. Solar lights cost more per unit but need no trench, cable or electricity bill. Where a powered network already exists, grid LED is usually cheaper.
What does trenching and cabling cost?
It varies widely by country and ground conditions, from under US$10 per metre in some markets to over US$100 per metre in cities with hard surfaces to reinstate. Ask a local contractor for a rate per metre including cable, conduit, backfill and surface repair, and enter it in the calculator.
How often do solar street light batteries need replacing?
Quality LiFePO4 batteries typically last 5–8 years in street lighting duty (one cycle per night). Gel batteries usually need replacing after 2–4 years. Battery replacement is the main running cost of a solar street light, which is why the calculator includes it.
Why are the default prices not your prices?
The defaults only show how the comparison works. Real prices depend on the specification, quantity and site. Ask us for a quotation for the solar side and get local quotes for civil works and electricity.
More free tools
- Solar street light calculatorBattery Wh / Ah and solar panel watts from LED power, schedule, sun hours and autonomy.
- Street light pole height & spacing calculatorRecommended pole arrangement and maximum spacing from road width, pole height and LED lumens.
- Solar battery autonomy & rainy-day calculatorHow many rainy days your solar street light battery lasts, and whether it survives your rainy season.
- High bay lighting calculatorHow many LED high bays a warehouse, factory or sports hall needs, with layout and W/m².
- LED retrofit energy savings & payback calculatorEnergy, money and CO2 saved by replacing sodium, metal halide or fluorescent lights with LED.
Next step
Ask our engineers to check your design
Calculators give planning figures. Send us the site location, drawings and quantity, and we return a photometric or solar sizing check and a quotation for the complete set.
Email us
[email protected]Tell us the product, quantity, site location and any drawings or specifications. An engineer reads every email and we reply within one working day (China time, GMT+8).