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Our children are our future, so keeping them safe is our number one priority. Since school is a requirement of being a child, making sure there are flashing beacons in school zones is important for children's safety when walking or biking to school. It also keeps traffic at a much slower rate than normal and tries to warn drivers of children also being taxied by their parents.
The flashers must operate without fail during school travel hours to ensure that traffic understands that there will be children moving about, crossing the street, as well as other pedestrians such as teachers and parents. This zone typically has a reduced speed and various crossing guards located within the area. Safety is key in these areas.
The school zone flashing beacons can be activated by a remote, switch, or spring-loaded timer by the crossing guard, or by a programmable clock that works without anyone touching it throughout the school year. Any of these options work well depending on the needs of the school. The zone is typically turned on 30 minutes or so before school begins and is turned off once the bell rings and school starts, or shortly thereafter. These flashers turn back on again after school is released and then off again once traffic dissipates.
Solar school zone flashing beacons are a great solution since most areas do not have utility power readily available where the school zone is active. Drop-down transformers cost a lot to install, and if there is a grid outage, the school zone flashers will not operate. The solar systems will work without fail any time the flashers are needed, even for special occasions different than school hours if there is a manual override built into the system.
Other than the inclusion of a solar panel for energy generation and a battery assembly for powering the devices, there is nothing different between a solar school zone flasher and a standard electric school zone flasher. Both can have the same signs, controls, etc. built into the system. The pole can still be breakaway in case it is struck by a car and all standard equipment is used.
Remember, as with any solar application, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Using a properly sized solar system sized properly for the installation location will ensure that your system runs flawlessly no matter what the weather condition is, keeping the children safe. The system should have a backup of 5 days for times of bad weather. This will ensure the school zone can still work even during periods of heavy rain or snow.
All that being said, next time you are in need of a solar solution for your school zone flashers, contact us for a complete system quote and specification. We will work with you to ensure you have a long-lasting system that will meet the needs of the school district for years to come.
