Shining A Solar-Powered Light On A Dark Path

Four solar-panel lighting poles equipped with phone charge boxes line a path from building M to building N at Kendall Campus. Benches next to the poles allow students to sit while accessing the chargers capable of juicing up iPods, Tablets and Cell Phones. 

The project is part of an effort to improve lighting and make the campus more environmentally friendly. The Hialeah-based manufacturer and distributor of sustainable and Eco-friendly lighting technologies, Coinlighting of CoinVet, Inc., installed the solar posts in mid-January.

Each pole has a bank battery that gets energy from the sun during the day and those energies get charged. Even if it is cloudy the entire day, the pole still receives heat from the atmosphere which charges it.

“The cost of each pole was $2,500, which is half the price of a conventional pole,” said Marlon Miranda the Chief Electrician for Miami Dade College. “This is beneficial because the school is saving money and getting free energy.  We wanted to make it quick and efficient, so we decided to do a sustainability initiative which is supposed to improve the campuses lighting systems. They are changing lights around the campuses to improve energy savings. That is the beauty of this system, because the light still works even if the sun hasn’t been shining all day.”

Administrators were responding to concerns from students about safety issues due to lack of lighting. There are hip-high lighting fixtures alongside the pathway, that only created enough light to see the immediate path.

“I think the new solar paneled lights are very good because I come with my sister to her night classes, and it used to be pitch-black around there at night which is really scary,” said Renee Etienne a psychology major.

Kendall Campus is the first campus that has installed a solar powered lighting system. College administrators said they are waiting for additional funding for more poles at Kendall and new ones at North Campus. Those poles will be placed in the parking lots to improve lighting.

“I appreciate that this public institution is taking interest in conserving energy and reflecting the ideals of their students such as preserving the environment,” said Joel Acosta a theater major at Kendall Campus.