There are several new advancements in solar powered signs that help  technological advances, making it easier to harness the suns energy to make electricity or power something smaller such as an LED light.

Solar powered changeable message signs or CMSs and solar powered arrowboards have been increasingly used by highway departments and street departments all across the country. The reason for this is that they are an alternative to electrical signs which typically require miles of electrical wiring at dangerous levels of voltage.

The first thing highway departments, construction companies and street departments ask is how much do solar panels cost.  The fact that improvements in manufacturing of photovoltaic cells, the devices that generate voltage when exposed to radiant sun energy, has resulted in lower costs of the cells, has made solar panels and solar power more affordable than ever.

The initial cost of solar energy and solar panels may give some people ‘sticker shock’ however the solar panel installation is the biggest cost one would encounter and after that, the solar panels begin to pay for themselves in lower utility bills.

Changing society’s views regarding the environment and their duty to become environmentally conscious, in addition to technological advancements have led to the increase in solar powered CMSs and solar powered arrowboards; proving they are worth more than their diesel or gasoline counterparts.  Older signs use fossil fuels in an engine and a generator to produce power for the lighted signs.  And that is not all, there is manpower needed to fill the fuel tanks in addition to more moving parts on the sign which could be the cause of more break down where as the solar powered signs are very limited in the moving parts they have.

Convincing the local city council to switch out the outdated CMSs and arrowboards to the more cost-effective solar powered signs may take a creative presentation because they are going to cost a community slightly more money in the beginning; however they will pay for themselves within a short period after installation.