Cal Poly Pomona makes dark bus shelters safer at night with new Leadsun solar LED street lights

Cal Poly Pomona improved safety for students and staff commuting by bus by installing solar led street lights in three bus shelters on West Temple Drive, Pomona. Mounting the solar lights on a pole was not possible, so custom brackets were engineered to attach the lights to the curved roofs of the bus shelters. The end result was a tailored lighting solution that significantly improved visibility and security for Cal Poly Pomona students and staff.

Mar 22, 2023

California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona), is a public polytechnic university in Pomona, California with 30,000 students. Even though criminal offences at Cal Poly Pomona are broadly in line with other campuses, the University wanted to further improve safety for students and staff commuting by bus with the introduction of better lighting at several bus stops.

Although the bus stops were all relatively new, none had internal illumination and ambient lighting from nearby street lights was inadequate. The University contracted Walter’s Wholesale Electric Co. to install solar led street lights in three shelters located at two separate bus stops on West Temple Drive, Pomona.

Project Challenges

Initially, the design team considered mounting the solar lights on a pole. It seemed like a good solution—some of the bus shelters already had existing kerb-side sign posts that could be used. Unfortunately, not all of the shelters had these. Another solution was needed. It was decided that the shelters themselves would have to be used instead. However his was not without its challenges either. The curved shape of the roofs meant that custom designed fixings would need to be engineered.

Solar LED street lights with customized mounting brackets

Leadsun collaborated with Alfie N Design to engineer and fabricate customized brackets to attach the solar engines to the bus stop shelter roofs. Leadsun Business Development Manager Walter Terella explained, “there was an existing screw pattern on top of the shelter roof, so it worked nicely to take advantage of that to allow the brackets to mount at those points and then have an aluminum L-Channel mount to those, which in turn clamps the AE2 Panels.”

Three, 40 watt AE2 solar engines with on-board batteries were installed onto the roofs of the three bus shelters. Low voltage DC cables connected each solar engine to two 5 watt LED Link Lights mounted to the underside of the shelter roofs.

A safer commute

The new solar LED street lights have significantly improved illumination for students and staff commuting by bus to Cal Poly Pomona. Leadsun
Ontario Office Manager David Pineda said, “this is a great example of how Leadsun’s innovative products and approach to area lighting can make our communities safer”