Solar Street Lights in Bossangoa and Mbaiki

Aptech Africa’s team in the Central African Republic recently installed 31 sets of double armed street lights in Bossangoa and 16 sets in Mabiki for a project funded by UNDP.

Each set installed by Aptech has 2 LED lamps of 60 watts each powered by 2 180W solar panels. The systems use 900 Wh lithium-ion batteries which work 12 hours at night and have the capacity of 5 days of autonomy to insure they will continue to work in the rainy season. The poles are 8m high and can light a 30m radius by using 120 lumens per watt (7,200 lumens for the 60 W LED bulbs). The street light’s life span is 25 years.

These street lights were installed in Bosaangoa, about 300 km north of the capital Bangui and in Mbaiki, about 120 km from Bangui. The street lights were installed in critical community locations including around schools, the market, traffic roundabouts, and main roads. These locations were selected because the local grid is unreliable and power outages are common in these cities. These street lights are expected to enhance night time visibility and road safety. They also work to deter crime, improve neighborhood security, and they can help extend business and shopping hours for the local community. Aptech is proud to be a part of the efforts to bring increased security to Central African Republic.