All-in-one vs split solar street light: which one?

The difference between all in one and split solar street light designs is decided by the site, the December sun and the summer heat, not by the wattage printed on the label. An all-in-one packs panel, LiFePO4 battery and LED module into a single 5.4–23.9 kg unit that mounts with no wiring on an existing or Moroccan-made 4–10 m pole: it is the format for douar streets, housing developments and car parks. A split kit tilts its panel to 32°, harvests +62 to +68 % more energy in December at equal Wp (PVGIS-SARAH2 2005-2020, JRC), keeps its 12.8 V battery at the base of a Moroccan pole, and is the right answer on main roads, in the north and along the coast.

What is the difference between an all-in-one and a split solar street light?

An all-in-one solar street light houses the photovoltaic panel, a 3.2 V LiFePO4 battery, the MPPT charge controller, the PIR and dusk-to-dawn sensors and the LED module with its 70° × 140° road optic in one die-cast aluminium body. The LS-A60, for instance, measures 790 × 430 × 55 mm and weighs 8.2 kg, with 60 Wp, 192 Wh and ≈ 6 000 lm from a 120 W nominal LED module; it slides onto a Ø 60 mm spigot on a 4–6 m pole. The panel stays close to horizontal: the adjustable bracket gives a few degrees, but the optic must remain parallel to the road.

A split solar street light separates three parts: a 50–120 W LED head, an 80–300 Wp panel on a 15–45° tilt bracket (LS-B) and a 12.8 V LiFePO4 battery of 30–100 Ah in a pole-top box or buried in the foundation. The LS-S60 kit combines a 50–60 W head, an 80–120 Wp panel and 30–50 Ah (12 Ah economy version) on a 5–6 m hot-dip galvanised conical pole made in Morocco.

Moroccan standard NM 06.8.001 (2024) covers both formats, including all-in-one modules retrofitted on existing poles, and allows the battery in the luminaire, at the pole base or in the concrete foundation.

Why does a tilted panel produce more in December?

Because the December sun sits low over Morocco: a flat panel receives only 49–64 % of its annual daily average, while a south-facing panel tilted at 32° recovers most of the gap. The PVGIS-SARAH2 (2005-2020, JRC) December figures leave no doubt:

In June and July the gap vanishes: 7.3–8.2 kWh/m²/day everywhere, flat or tilted. Since a solar street light is sized for December (13.6–14.3 h of night at the solstice, astronomical calculation), a 100 Wp split panel in Casablanca delivers in December what a 165 Wp flat panel would (4.93 ÷ 2.99). That is the decisive argument in Tangier, Rabat, Casablanca or Fez, where an all-in-one has to compensate with a larger panel and deeper dimming; in Agadir, Ouarzazate or Laayoune, December irradiation is high enough for a well-profiled all-in-one to hold its 12 h per night. The full calculation is in our autonomy guide.

Which format copes better with the heat of Marrakech, Fez or Ouarzazate?

The battery is the component that ages with temperature. In July–August the mean daily maximum reaches 37–38 °C in Marrakech, 35.1 °C in Fez and 38.8 °C in Ouarzazate; records run from 43.6 °C (Ouarzazate) to 50.4 °C (Agadir, 11 August 2023, national record). According to a study published in 2024 on prismatic LiFePO4 cells, predicted life drops by 23 % at 45 °C compared with 25 °C (0.8 C, 80 % depth of discharge); the industry rule of thumb, which no standard sets, is that every 10 °C above 25 °C roughly halves the cycle count.

In an all-in-one the battery is sealed inside the head, under a panel heating in the sun. This is LALOGO engineering reasoning rather than a standardised measurement, but in summer in the inland south you should expect a battery well above 45 °C and therefore a shorter life than the 25 °C catalogue figure. Our all-in-one units are rated −20 °C to +65 °C with a replaceable battery. In a split kit the 12.8 V battery sits in a box at the pole base or buried in the foundation, two positions explicitly allowed by NM 06.8.001, and the ground smooths the temperature peaks. On a main road in the Haouz or the Tafilalet, where you want the 5-year battery service life the standard requires, that is a serious argument for the split design; on a douar street running at reduced flux for much of the night, depth of discharge is low and the all-in-one remains acceptable. Our LiFePO4 and heat guide goes further.

Theft, vandalism and maintenance: which one is easier to operate?

The all-in-one has nothing at ground level: panel, battery and electronics sit 4–10 m up, and NM 06.8.001 in any case requires the lower edge of the PV module to be ≥ 3 m above finished ground. The trade-off is that every battery replacement happens at height, from a bucket truck or a ladder, and a flat panel holds more chergui dust than a tilted panel washed by rain.

The split kit puts the battery within reach at ground level, which simplifies seasonal checks and the maintenance record the standard requires (unique ID, year of manufacture, battery identification, an operation manual at least in Arabic). The box, however, becomes a target: bury it in the foundation, lock it at the pole top, or watch the douar square with one point fitted with a 4G camera (LS-C100). The panel bracket must also be checked for wind load with the pole maker; bracket wind ratings are available on request.

How much does an all-in-one or split solar street light cost in Morocco?

In September 2026 the Moroccan market shows "80 W" all-in-one units at around MAD 3 100 incl. VAT, road-class "80 W / 120 W" units at MAD 5 000–6 000, and ABS "1000 W" all-in-ones at MAD 1 299–1 300 that carry only 30 Ah and 2 300 lm. The number in the name tells you nothing: compare panel Wp, battery Wh, lumens and nights of autonomy, as explained in our guide on nominal versus real power. LALOGO prices are quoted per project.

The split kit costs more per installed point: add the tilt bracket, the box, the cabling and above all the pole. Imported poles carry a 25 % safeguard duty (HS 7308.90.10, all origins, definitive since March 2025, amended in June 2026); the LALOGO kit is therefore designed around a Moroccan pole, and we supply the LS-P6 drawings (hot-dip galvanised Q235 conical pole, 5.7 / 5.8 / 6 / 6.8 / 7.8 m, 1.5–2.75 mm wall, anchor cage included) to local fabricators. The pole is of Moroccan origin (25 % safeguard duty on imported poles, HS 7308.90.10); the customs classification of the luminaire is confirmed by our freight forwarder. The all-in-one, by contrast, makes do with an existing pole or a lighter local one, which makes it unbeatable on first cost per point.

All-in-one or split: what does the point-by-point comparison say?

Autonomy depends on irradiation (sizing on December) and on the dimming profile.

Which solar street light for a douar, a housing development or a main road?

One Moroccan in three (33.7 %) lives in a rural area, and that is where most solar street light projects are decided; the format follows the target lighting class (indicative selection per CEN/TR 13201-1):

Simple rule: north of a Casablanca–Fez line and along the whole Atlantic coast, the tilted panel makes up for a December below 3 kWh/m²/day; in the south (Marrakech, Agadir, Ouarzazate, Laayoune) the all-in-one is acceptable on streets and housing developments, and the split keeps its edge on main roads where the battery has to last.

Key takeaways

• The all-in-one mounts with no wiring on an existing or Moroccan 4–10 m pole: lowest first cost, ideal for douars, housing developments and car parks.
• The split panel tilted at 32° harvests +62 to +68 % more energy in December at equal Wp (PVGIS-SARAH2): the choice for the north and the coast.
• Heat shortens battery life (−23 % cycles at 45 °C according to a 2024 study): a battery at the pole base or buried stays cooler in the inland south.
• NM 06.8.001 accepts both formats and all three battery positions; it requires 16 h of autonomy at ≥ 40 % flux at 25 °C.
• The pole is Moroccan in both cases (25 % safeguard duty on imported poles); LALOGO supplies the LS-P6 drawings.
• Compare Wp, Wh, lumens and nights of autonomy, never the "W" in the commercial name.

Sources

• PVGIS 5.2, SARAH2 database 2005-2020, JRC (European Commission)
• IMANOR, NM 06.8.001 "Lampadaires solaires LED pour l'éclairage public – Exigences générales", public-enquiry draft EP 52/2024 and catalogue entry
• IMANOR, guide "Application des normes dans les marchés publics – Éclairage public", February 2026
• Temperatures: Wikipedia climate tables (NOAA 1991–2020) for Marrakech, Ouarzazate and Fez; La Vie Éco, national record of 50.4 °C
• 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 (vendor source)
• Le360, safeguard measure on imported lighting poles
• EN 13201-2:2015 class values
• DataReportal, Digital 2026 Morocco
• LALOGO 2026 datasheets (dimensions, Wp, Wh, lumens, poles and spacing).