Solar Lights

Forty-one of these are located in the Quarry, and a further six have been installed in Stanley Lane producing clear lighting for parts of Shrewsbury.

These lights work by using a solar cell that converts sunlight into electricity. The cell is composed of layers of crystalline silicone and chemicals that produce rows of positively charged spaces, as well as negatively charged electrons.

After receiving sunlight, the negatively charged electrons start to become excited and are pushed into the positively charged spaces, which then transfer the stream through wires into a battery where that electricity is then stored ready to be used when it is needed.

The lights are able to detect when to switch on due to photocells that senses when it is either light or dark. This process of converting sunlight into energy happens throughout the day, and even functions when there is no direct sunlight.

There are also financial benefits despite the initial investment as solar lights have reduced maintenance costs compared to traditional lights and you don’t have to pay electricity bills.

An important factor for us when we decided to install to solar lighting to avoid compromising the Quarry and to preserve its listed heritage. Working with Zeta Specialist Lighting, Shrewsbury Town Council set a design brief to create a promenading atmosphere along the stretch with lighting that was respectful of the local area.

The lights now bring a heritage look, while providing the necessary wattage to ensure the lights work both in the summer and the winter.

Stuart Farmer, projects manager for the Town Council, spoke of the extent of the task in hand: “Our Councillors were clear that they wanted solar lights but wanted them to be in keeping with the heritage feel of the park, so finding a solution where we didn’t have a large solar dish on the top of the light was always going to be a hard task.

“We worked with the specialist lighting company, who we recently worked with to convert all of our lights to LED, and they came up with this perfect solution. Shrewsbury is the first place to have these type of lights in the world so it is good to see us leading the way.”

This is one of our initiatives that has seen some of the most positive reactions from the community of Shrewsbury and building on our success we plan on introducing even more solar lights.