The Brief
The county government needed to upgrade lighting along a 12 km stretch of the A104 between two towns. Grid extension was not viable — the nearest 11 kV line was 8 km away, and the cost of running new medium-voltage cable plus transformers exceeded the entire lighting budget.
Solar was the obvious answer, but the brief was strict:
- Minimum 5 days of autonomous operation (long rainy season in March-May)
- 8 m hot-dip galvanized poles
- Single-fixture design — the installation team was 12 local electricians, not specialized solar contractors
- Delivery within 12 weeks of order
Our Solution
We proposed the TR410 100W all-in-one with two modifications to the standard product:
- Battery sized up to 100Ah (vs. the standard 80Ah) for the 5-day autonomy requirement
- Pre-drilled pole-top bracket matched to the local supplier’s pole OD
Numbers
- 240 units delivered in three 40-foot HQ containers
- 11 weeks from PO to final commissioning (1 week ahead of schedule)
- Zero returns in the first 12 months of operation
- Average measured illumination on the road surface: 18 lux (spec called for 15 lux)
What Made the Project Work
- Single point of contact. One project manager from order to commissioning.
- Pre-shipment video inspection. Each unit was filmed running through a 48-hour burn-in test before packing.
- On-site supervisor for week 1. Our engineer flew in for the first week of installation to train the local team.
- A 5% spare-parts kit. 12 spare units and a kit of replacement batteries / LED modules / brackets, so the maintenance team could keep the road lit for the first two years without waiting on international shipping.
Client Feedback
“We have done solar road lighting before with other suppliers, and there were always some units that failed in the first monsoon season. With the Xiuben kit, all 240 units are still running two years later. We are specifying them on the next three projects.”
— County Roads Engineer
