Solar Devices To Power Wireless Access in Square

Three solar Wi-Fi-powered devices were installed in Harvard Square last week, with plans to increase this number in the near future.

These solar devices, produced by wireless network provider Meraki, were conceived as part of a Ph.D. project at MIT in 2006. They boast their own solar panel and solar-charged batteries and aim to improve the operation of large outdoor wireless networks, such as the one installed in Harvard Square last summer.

While the appliances are intended to increase speed and efficiency of the Square’s Wi-Fi network, they will also further the area’s efforts to be more environmentally friendly.

“All the lighting we use for our holiday decorations are LED lights. We are now going with solar units, and it’s all been an effort to work towards sustainability,” said Denise A. Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association

Cambridge City Councillor Henrietta Davis also said that she thought solar-powered Wi-Fi would be particularly effective at raising the Square’s sustainability profile.

“It’s wonderful to do something like that in such a visible place as Harvard Square,” she said.

“Anytime you can harness the power of the sun to do something that needs to be done instead of using fossil fuels is a great idea,” she added.

Jillson said that solar Wi-Fi was part of a larger project to reduce the Square’s carbon footprint.

But the price of a single Meraki Solar ranges from $848 to $1,497, depending on the size of the panel required, according to a press release issued by HSBA.

For this reason, HSBA chose not to replace existing electronically-powered equipment with the solar-powered devices immediately but to gradually phase out the older appliances.

But Josh Zaretsky, Meraki, Inc. director of Product Marketing, said that the cost is reasonable for such a “sophisticated” product.

“The wireless radio is sophisticated, and the battery uses the latest technology,” he said. “It’s an expensive solution but the other option is to create [new electrical infrastructure] and lay new power lines to get it up on top of roofs. The solar is very cost-effective.”

The price aside, Jillson said that the devices would also be less intrusive for Square property owners and managers.

“The existing conventional units required our partners to have a rooftop with an electrical outlet,” she said. “So because the solar unit doesn’t need that, it’s much easier.”

—Staff writer Betsy L. Mead can be reached at emead@fas.harvard.edu.