The City of L.A. Lights Its Streets with FLT Solar
How Los Angeles is replacing theft-prone wired street lights with self-contained SCL3 solar street lights.
in Los Angeles
Overview
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SCL3 Solar Streetlight
The SCL3 is FLT's brightest self-contained solar light. It arrives fully assembled, mounts on existing mast arms in under 30 minutes, and lights streets and large areas with a clean, minimal design.
Los Angeles Faced a Common Lighting Problem
Like many large cities, Los Angeles depends on a wired street light network that has become a target for copper thieves. Thieves strip the wire, the street goes dakr, crews rewire it and the new wire becomes the next target.
In March 2026, Mayor Karen Bass launched a citywide initiative to repair and replace up to 60,000 street lights over two years using solar lighting. Her office tied it directly to safety: working street lights shape how safe residents feel in their neighborhoods. FLT solar lights have no copper to steal and no grid connection to lose.
Fox 11 Los Angeles covered the City's solar street light installs in Hollywood in October 2026, with FLT lights featured in the segment. Watch the FOX 11 report.
over the past decade
planned citywide
L.A. Chose the SCL3
In October 2026, the City began converting its streetlights to FLT's SCL3 self-contained solar luminaires as part of its citywide streetlight conversion.
"FLT is proud to illuminate the streets of Los Angeles with technologically advanced, reliable and efficient solar lights."
Solar Lighting Simplified for L.A.
Public Works crews reported a straightforward install. The SCL3 goes exactly where the old cobra head was: on the end of the existing mast arm. Crews can leave the arm in place and one bucket truck does the job. There is no need for a crane, a second truck or collection of adapters for every pole type. That's thow the City is able to retrofit wired poles, including poles with overhead power lines.
Each SCL3 arrives fully assembled, with no on-site assembly and no left-or right-side configuration. A single fixture installs in under 30 minutes.
Watch the Install
Same Light, Same Street Design
The SCL3 sits in the same spot as the luminaire it replaces, so the original lighting design carries over with no unexpected dark spots. It mounts the same way on both sides of the street, in any street direction and its full-cutoff optics keep light on the road and out of resident's yards.
The self-contained design keeps poles clean, too. With no separate panel or battery box, the SCL3 lights the street without adding visual clutter to L.A.'s streetscape.
Advanced Solar Lighting Technology Makes the Difference
FLT solar lights combine FLT Active Cell™ solar panels, the FLT ChargeLogic™ MPPT charger, and the FLT All-Weather™ LiFePO4 battery in one self-contained fixture. The FLT Adaptive Intelligence™ Lighting Controller optimizes output, so L.A.'s strong sun is captured during the day and used to light streets through the night.
With FLT Link, an optimal remote monitoring add-on, City staff can manage fixtures from a web app over LPWA cellular connectivity, including:
- Time-based or duration-based lighting profiles
- Astronomical timing for dawn/dusk thresholds
- Motion sensing settings
- Fixture performance data, such as battery state of charge and output power
FLT and the City of L.A.:
What Comes Next
As Los Angeles continues its citywide initiative, SCL3 fixtures are giving Public Works crews and residents street lighting that stays on, with no copper to steal and no grid connection to fail.
FLT designs every fixture around two things: how efficiently it stores and uses solar energy, and how well it lights the ground. In Los Angeles, that shows up as faster installs and streets lit the way they were designed.
Planning a street lighting upgrade? Request a free solar lighting consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Copper wire theft has knocked wired street lights offline across the city, leaving the streets dark and driving up repair costs. Solar street lights like the SCL3 have no copper wire to steal and no grid connection to lose.
Yes. In Los Angeles, crews mount the SCL3 on the end of the existing mast arm, in the same spot as the cobra head it replaces. It also works on poles with overhead power lines. No trenching or new wiring is needed.
Under 30 minutes per fixture. Each SCL3 arrives fully assembled, and one bucket truck does the job, with no crane, no second truck and no mast arm removal.
No. The SCL3 sits where the old luminaire did, so the street's original lighting design carries over with no unexpected dark spots. Its full-cutoff optics keep light on the road and out of residents' yards on either side of the street.
Nothing changes. Each SCL3 runs on its own solar panel and battery, so grid outages don't affect it.
Yes, with FLT Link, an optional remote monitoring add-on. City stagg can adjust lighting profiles and motion settings and check fixture performance from a web app.
Yes. Along with SCL3 street lights, the City uses FLT's RSL, BFL, SCL2, SCL and PLB.