Seasonal maintenance of solar street lights in Morocco

Maintaining a solar street light in Morocco comes down to four actions a year: clean the panel after every Chergui and before December, check the LiFePO4 battery after the summer (records of 49.6 °C in Marrakech and 50.4 °C in Agadir), inspect fixings and corrosion on the coast (2.1 to 8.4 µm of zinc lost per year in ISO 9223 classes C4–C5) and verify the controller settings before December, when Casablanca receives only 2.99 kWh/m²/day. A solar street light not working most often has a dirty panel, a misadjusted sensor or a battery emptied by a week of cloud, and rarely a dead LED module.

Why does a solar street light need maintenance in Morocco?

Because the panel is its only source of energy: every percent of shade or dust on the glass is a percent less in the battery that same evening. Morocco receives from 2 916 hours of sunshine a year in Rabat to 3 467 in Ouarzazate (Wikipedia climate tables, NOAA 1991–2020), but that resource comes with dust, sand, heat and, on the coast, salt.

The Moroccan draft standard NM 06.8.001 (2024) draws two conclusions. Clause 10 requires an operation and maintenance manual, at least in Arabic, with cleaning instructions and the expected performance by season; clause 9 requires a marking with a unique ID, the year of manufacture and the battery identification. That is the backbone of the maintenance log: one number per light point, a cleaning date, a switch-off time, a battery voltage.

What does the Chergui do to a solar panel, and when should you clean it?

The Chergui, the hot, dry wind from the east and south-east, pushes the thermometer past 40 °C a few days a year and deposits fine dust all the way to the Atlantic coast. When dew or Casablanca's humidity (≈ 82 % all year) wets it, that dust dries into a crust the next rain no longer removes. LALOGO's sizing assumes a system efficiency of 0.70 to 0.75 (cell temperature, soiling, MPPT, battery); a crust several weeks old pushes the panel below that assumption. The loss percentage depends on the site: compare the switch-off time before and after cleaning.

• When: after every Chergui episode, after nearby construction or harvesting, and always in November, before the December month in which the panel receives only 49 to 64 % of its annual daily mean.
• How: clean water, a soft brush, a microfibre cloth; never an abrasive, a solvent or a pressure washer on the gaskets; early in the morning, on cold glass.
• Access: a telescopic pole for an all-in-one at 4–6 m (LS-A60); on a split kit the LS-B tilt bracket (15 to 45°) sheds dust and rain better. Use the visit to spot new shade and retighten the bracket.

How do you check the LiFePO4 battery after the summer?

Summer is the battery's real test: a mean daily maximum of 37–38 °C in Marrakech in July and August, 38.8 °C in Ouarzazate, and a sealed all-in-one head in full sun runs well above that. A study published in 2024 on prismatic LiFePO4 cells measured a predicted life 23.2 % shorter at 45 °C than at 25 °C; the industry rule of thumb (an order of magnitude, not a standard) is that every 10 °C above 25 °C halves the cycle count. LALOGO batteries (−20 °C to +65 °C) are replaceable; a check in September costs less than a replacement in January.

1. Switch-off time. At the default profile a light runs up to 12 h per night with 3 to 5 days of reserve; autonomy depends on irradiation (sized on December) and on the dimming profile. A 3 a.m. switch-off in September signals lost capacity or a changed profile.
2. Voltage at the box. On a split kit (LS-S60, 12.8 V battery at the pole base or at the top of the pole), a voltmeter reading at dusk and at dawn gives the real state of charge; NM 06.8.001 allows the box at the pole base or in the foundation, the easiest position to maintain.
3. Appearance. Oxidised terminals, a loose connector, swelling, a smell: replace.

Winter poses the opposite problem: battery management systems block charging below 0 °C, and dawns in Fez (−8.2 °C record), Ouarzazate (−7.0 °C) or Ifrane (−23.9 °C) freeze the first hour of production; the December reserve there is calculated with that hour missing.

What should you check on the coast: corrosion, gaskets, fasteners?

Sea air attacks metal at a rate that ISO 9223 quantifies by class: 0.7 to 2.1 µm of zinc lost per year in C3 (urban, 1–30 km from the sea), 2.1 to 4.2 in C4 (industrial, or less than 1 km from the shore), 4.2 to 8.4 in C5 (a few hundred metres from the sea). An 85 µm hot-dip galvanised coating (the ISO 1461 minimum for steel ≥ 6 mm) is therefore consumed in about ten years in C5 (85 ÷ 8.4 ≈ 10) and in 20 to 40 years in C4. Hence the rhythm: two inspections a year on the Corniche, in Mohammedia, El Jadida or Agadir, one a year in Bouskoura or Settat.

Look for red rust (steel under attack, to be treated; the white rust of zinc is normal) at welds, at the base and at the access door, retighten arm and bracket bolts, check gaskets and drain holes, and rinse with fresh water after a spray storm. On the coast LALOGO recommends A4/316 stainless steel and the IP66 coastal version with marine-grade coating, salt-spray test report on request.

Can you programme when a solar street light switches on and off?

Yes, with neither a ladder nor a tool. LALOGO lights carry an MPPT controller, a dusk-to-dawn sensor, a PIR sensor and an infrared remote to select the time and dimming profile; the NM 06.8.001 draft requires 0–100 % dimming, an astronomical clock and automatic weather-adaptive dimming. Every season: return to the default profile after a battery replacement or after someone has played with the remote (a “100 % all night” profile set in June empties the battery in December), check that the PIR is not triggered continuously by a hedge or a full car park, and that the dusk sensor is not masked by another luminaire.

Do solar street lights work in winter or in cloudy weather?

Yes, if they were sized on December and not on the annual average. In December a flat panel receives 2.58 kWh/m²/day in Tangier, 2.99 in Casablanca, 3.46 in Marrakech and 3.81 in Ouarzazate (PVGIS-SARAH2 2005-2020, JRC), for a night of 13.8 to 14.3 h at the solstice (astronomical calculation). LALOGO computes its autonomy figures on those values and on the 40 % reduced flux that NM 06.8.001 uses for its 16-hour test. After a week of cloud the controller reduces the flux rather than switching off, and ≈ 8 h of full sun recharge an empty battery.

If a light switches off in January although it lasted in October, look for the low sun's shadow, for dirt, then for tilt (a separate panel at 32° harvests +62 to +68 % more energy in December, at equal Wp). The autonomy calculation guide walks through the method.

My solar floodlight no longer switches on: what should I check before calling for service?

If the fault persists, the LED module, controller or battery is at fault: a warranty case (LALOGO warranty: see conditions), traceable through the unique ID of the NM 06.8.001 marking.

What is the season-by-season maintenance schedule?

Times for simple access; a box at the pole base is checked without access equipment.

Key takeaways

• Cleaning the panel after each Chergui and before December is the most cost-effective maintenance action.
• Check the battery every autumn: at 45 °C a LiFePO4 cell loses about 23 % of its predicted life (2024 study); on the coast (C4–C5), two inspections a year, stainless fasteners, the IP66 coastal version.
• Profile, PIR and dusk sensor can be checked without tools and explain most “not working” calls.
• Sized on December, a light works in winter; ≈ 8 h of sun recharge an empty battery. Keep a log per unique ID (NM 06.8.001 marking).

Sources

• IMANOR, NM 06.8.001 “Lampadaires solaires LED pour l'éclairage public – Exigences générales”, draft submitted to public enquiry EP 52/2024 and catalogue entry of the standard
• IMANOR, Guide “Application des normes dans les marchés publics – Éclairage public”, February 2026
• PVGIS 5.2, SARAH2 database 2005-2020, JRC (European Commission)
• Wikipedia climate tables (NOAA 1991–2020, DWD): Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, Agadir, Ouarzazate, Tangier, Fez; La Vie Éco, national record of 50.4 °C
• Zinc corrosion rates by ISO 9223 class (American Galvanizers Association); ISO 9223:2012
• International Journal of Sustainable Energy, 2024, cycle-life testing of prismatic LiFePO4 cells, DOI 10.1080/14786451.2024.2337439; temperature and cycle-life rule of thumb, no charging below 0 °C (vendor source)
• LALOGO 2026 datasheets (controller, sensors, battery, temperature range, IP66 coastal version).