Carmanah has come out with a bunch of really interesting solar powered road signs. Here is a taste of some of the more interesting. (we have talked about some other Carmanah products before)

Because these signs can achieve such a dramatic savings on energy costs (PDF), they can often pay for themselves in just a couple of years. More pictures after the fold.

We have already seen that LED’s make a great replacement for Neon signs. Well now the good people at Carmanah have come up with some pretty nifty LED illuminated road signs. (technically not a solar gadget, but I added it in because it was interesting)

From the site

Carmanah’s LED Edge-Lit technology provides a rugged, no maintenance solution for internally illuminated street-name signs and other traffic signs. Designed with high-flux, ultra-brite LEDs, Carmanah’s LED Edge-Lit signs will operate maintenance-free for over 50,000 hours, with no bulbs or ballasts to replace.

Carmanah’s edge-lit technology is extremely energy efficient. A six foot sign requires less than 15 Watts, compared to 192 Watts for a fluorescent sign, and 88 Watts for a LED retro-fit sign.

Compared to traditional fluorescent signs, both the maintenance savings and energy savings are substantial.