Behind the glow
Can solar power Long Beach’s brightest holiday lights?
It’s a fair question. We’ve got a lot of lights.
“How do you afford the electric bill?” has always been part of the conversation on Falcon. This year, it’s also the beginning of an experiment: bringing solar power, battery storage, and a little builder curiosity into a neighborhood tradition.
We’re following the energy from daylight to after dark, sharing what works, and making the parts behind the glow a little easier to understand.
The sun clocks out. The show clocks in.
Solar panels gather energy while the sun is up. Batteries can store energy for later. The inverter and energy-management equipment connect those pieces with the house and the grid.
Live readings are taking a breather.
The energy connection isn’t sending fresh readings right now. We’ll show them here when it’s reporting again. In the meantime, meet the system and follow the story below.
These readings will describe the energy system at the Falcon house. Show-only energy figures will be identified separately when that measurement is available.
Meet the crew behind the current.
Signature Solar
The solar foundation
Signature Solar helped make the solar and system foundation possible through equipment access, partnership support, and an ongoing relationship with LightLab.
EG4
Connecting the pieces
The EG4 FlexBOSS21 inverter and GridBOSS energy-management equipment are at the heart of the build, connecting solar, battery storage, loads, and the grid.
RUiXU
Energy for later
Two RUiXU Lithi2-16 batteries provide the storage side of the system, carrying energy into the hours when the sun is down and Falcon comes alive.
Built with our Founding Light partners: Signature Solar, EG4, and RUiXU. This project combines partner support and purchased equipment.
One system. A lot of things to talk to.
Panels, batteries, inverters, and meters all have a piece of the story. Getting them to tell it together is where the LightLab Energy Gateway comes in.
We’re developing a way to bring those observations together locally, so we can understand the system, explain what changed, and share useful information without sending visitors through a stack of equipment dashboards.
For Falcon, that means a clearer look behind the glow. For LightLab, it’s also a chance to turn a real build into something people can learn from, question, and help improve.
A few things we’re curious about.
- How much energy did the roof gather today?
- What happened between sunset and the last song?
- How much energy did the show use?
- When do the batteries fill up, and how long might their stored energy last?
Those are better questions than a big, mysterious number on a screen. As the measurements and models are ready, we’ll share the answers here, along with how we worked them out.
Come for the lights. Leave a little more curious.
The project gives us a practical way to talk about solar, storage, electronics, and the work behind a neighborhood light show. We hope to share what we learn through LightLab and future hands-on learning opportunities.
There’s room for the person who wants a quick explanation and the person who wants to know what every wire does.
A little glow beyond Falcon.
Lights on Falcon is part of LightLab Community Arts Foundation. Contributions help improve the show and support more community events, workshops, and creative projects in the new year.
The show is free to visit. Come for a song, bring your people, and enjoy the evening.