What is the Real Cost of Solar Lighting?
What is the Real Cost of Solar Lighting?
Count the real cost — the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for solar lighting — and see how Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) delivers predictable, long-term performance while slashing risk and unplanned costs.
Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) — Predictable OPEX — Fewer Site Visits —
Resilient & Grid-independent
The Fine Print Matters
Low upfront pricing can look good, but read the fine print and discover the real costs of your solar provider. 5–10 year warranties sound great, but what does it mean? Will the light still work in 5–10 years? Traditional solar warranties provide only 5–10 years of “acceptable” operational functionality. What does “acceptable” mean?
One of the biggest challenges with solar and battery systems is the early failure or limited lifespan of key components. Clear Blue addresses this head-on and stands behind its systems with a service-backed performance guarantee. That’s EaaS. Unlike warranties, which typically only cover factory defects, EaaS covers the actual operating conditions of the system.
Solar and battery systems are most impacted by their in-field operations, so even during a warranty period, most problems aren’t covered because they aren’t the result of factory defects. For example, if a battery degrades to 50% capacity and the light no longer performs as intended, this wouldn’t be covered by a warranty because it’s “acceptable” — but it is covered under Energy as a Service (EaaS).
Leveraging our ongoing EaaS allows you to have the lowest TCO by providing mission-critical reliable service for 15–20 years, spreading your monthly costs over a greater horizon of time.
What is EaaS?
EaaS is more comprehensive than a standard or even extended warranty, offering predictable, long-term system support and dramatically reducing unplanned costs.
Analogy: When you buy a car, the warranty doesn’t cover oil changes, tires, or brakes. With EaaS, everything is included. That’s the full-service support Clear Blue provides.
Clear Blue takes the guessing out of TCO by ensuring:
- No trenching — slashes civil works & CAPEX costs
- Zero kWh charges — predictable OPEX
- Cloud monitoring — far fewer site maintenance visits
- Reducing outages — resilience when the grid blinks
EaaS rolls every dollar into one number, factoring in:
- Capital: poles, panels, batteries, permits
- Operations: energy, data plans, Illumience subscription
- Maintenance: site visits, parts swaps, vandalism repair
- Risk: outage fines, storm damage, copper theft
Proof in the Field: Five Clear Blue Stories
1) Oregon Highway Expansion — $300k Order, Zero Trenching
Planners faced six-figure trenching bids for a new lane. They chose 23 Illumient lights, shaving civil-works cost and cutting the build window to days.
Take-away: The bigger the roadway, the bigger the savings when you skip the back-hoe.
2) Long Island, NY — Parking Garage Retrofit
A Hicksville commuter-rail deck swapped 20 failing grid fixtures for Illumient, eliminating utility bills on a hard-to-service roof.
Take-away: Retrofits don’t need a master plan — one deck, one cost-center, instant win.
3) Allentown, PA — American Parkway
Illumient solar street-lights arrived fully assembled, lighting two miles with no grid tie and no night-shift lane closures.
Take-away: Off-grid poles shine (literally) when traffic disruption costs more than hardware.
4) Toronto — Fifth Smart Off-Grid Project
Five consecutive projects prove Smart Off-Grid solves grid bottlenecks without ripping up sidewalks.
Take-away: Repeat orders are the strongest TCO endorsement.
5) Algonac, MI — Waterfront Revitalization
A US $248k project installed Illumient poles to beat storm-surge outages and wetland cabling hurdles.
Take-away: Resilience keeps tourist foot-traffic (and revenue) flowing after storms.
How the Numbers Shake Out
Up-front Savings
40% lower cap-ex — meta field study shows right-sized Smart Off-Grid systems cut equipment spend.
Zero trenching — civil works can be ~60% of grid lighting budgets; Illumient eliminates it.
Operating Savings
Up to 80% fewer site visits — predictive analytics flag faults early.
No monthly utility fee — grid tariffs often run US $15–22 / pole / month.
Stays lit when the grid fails — critical for Toronto’s corridors and other mission-critical zones.
The Illumience™ Secret Sauce
- Each pole’s Smart Off-Grid controller (with 3G/4G/5G) connects to Illumience to learn local solar & load curves
- Predict battery SoC days ahead
- Tune brightness & charging on the fly
- Alert crews before faults hit uptime
This closed loop powers Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) — bundling hardware, cloud, and proactive maintenance into one predictable fee.
Myth-Busting the TCO Debate
✕ “Solar lights cost more.”
Remove trenching, tariffs, and extra truck rolls — Illumient can land at < 50% of 20-year grid cost.
✕ “Maintenance is the same.”
Smart Off-Grid cuts call-outs up to 80%.
✕ “Off-grid fails in winter.”
Predictive charge control keeps batteries healthy — Toronto trusts it at 43°N.
What Finance Teams Ask & Answers
Most roadway, parks, and data center installs pay back in 6–7 years — often sooner when trenching permits vanish.
EaaS shifts that risk to Clear Blue — battery swaps are included.
Yes. Many cities start with a car-park or trailhead, then expand district-wide after reviewing real data.
The Bigger Picture: Beyond Lighting
Clear Blue powers telecom towers in 37 countries, cutting diesel burns and extending connectivity — proof the Smart Off-Grid model scales. Portfolio example
Closing Thought
Cities, campuses, and DOTs aren’t buying poles — they’re buying safe, reliable light. When you zoom out to full TCO, wireless power beats wired power on cost, risk, and resilience. Run the numbers, start the pilot, and let the lights pay their own way.