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Solar Powered
Pay and Display Machines
Following discussions on the CMA e group on member’s experience with solar-powered Pay & Display machines, Simon Heney of Durham County Council offered the following experience from his council.
The machines Durham County Council operates over 100 solar-powered pay and display parking machines throughout the City of Durham. The machines are called “Stelio” and were installed in 2000. These were chosen because they require a minimum of ground works to install them plus there is no disruption to power supplies. The machines were supplied by Schlumberger (now called Parkeon) who are a major player in this market. They cost approximately £2100 each in 2000, but this was a negotiated rate because of the size of the order. Individual machines cost in the region of £2700.
Operational Experience
The machines are equipped with various layers of physical protection, together
with security devices to safeguard their operating capabilities and the contents
of the cash boxes. We have had occasional attempted break-ins on some of the
more remote machines, but in nearly four years since installation none have
been successful –that’s not a bad record! There have been a couple
of instances of vandalism however where the solar panel has been damaged. One
was where a paving slab was dropped onto the panel and the other where paint
was poured onto it. Despite a number of the machines being under full tree canopy,
we have not had any failures in power supply.
Conclusions
There are a number of advantages to using solar-powered P&D machines. As
there is no need for a power supply or underground ducting there is no disruption
to power supplies. They can be easily installed in any location and they have
removable component packs for ease of maintenance plus reduced operating costs.
In particular a point of note are the ones placed on the Durham Riverside. As
the river is prone to flooding we needed a machine that we could easily enter
and remove the important electronic components so that they are not damaged.
These machines met that requirement and all in all we are very satisfied with
the overall performance of the machines.
Simon Heney : Durham County Council