Out of all the different kinds of lighting that you can install around your home, outdoor solar lighting is by far the easiest and safest to install. That makes it an ideal first project for the do-it-yourself outdoor solar lights enthusiasts.
The good thing about outdoor solar lights is that no wiring is involved
With low voltage landscape lighting, wires need to run from the lights to a main power source in order to function. Even though the voltage level is very low and relatively safe wires must be concealed and secured. Solar lighting is powered entirely by sunlight. That means no wires!
With outdoor solar lights, each light contains a specifically designed solar panel which gathers energy during the day and stores it up in rechargeable batteries. That stored energy powers the lights at night. This means they are perfect for solar security lighting or just any other application that you can think of.
The best places to install outdoor solar lights are the darkened areas of your walkway or steps
It is nice to see where you’re walking at night. Solar powered lights can easily illuminate the entrance of your driveway or simply decorate your wood deck or landscape. They can also highlight and bring attention to a particularly appealing architectural feature of your home.
You can install solar shed lights to extend the use of any outbuildings you may have. You can even light up your backyard BBQ area with solar patio lights. Whichever purpose you choose, one of the big advantages of using solar outdoor lighting is that you don’t have to worry about running cables or wiring of any kind. You simply install the light itself by pushing it into the ground in the location you desire and let the sun do the rest! Just make sure that each light is in a location where it gets an adequate amount of sunlight during the day to properly charge the batteries.
Most good solar lights are able to last up to 8-10 hours on a fully charged set of batteries.
One thing you should know before you choose outdoor solar lights is that the light produced is not always as bright as other forms of outdoor landscape lighting.
Whether or not you consider this a disadvantage will probably depend on your individual taste. Many prefer the soft, more subtle light that these fixtures put out and feel it actually helps set the mood better than incandescent lighting. There are a lot more choices in color tones as well. LED technology can create almost any tone or color. With these choices come the freedom to explore more and more front and backyard landscape ideas.
Another benefit worth mentioning is that solar lights require almost no maintenance
If a light fails, you simply replace the batteries. If it still doesn’t work, in most cases, you just replace it. Individual lights are becoming less and less expensive, and can be found at most home improvement stores.
So as you can see, a solar outdoor lighting system is quick and easy to install. It adds mood and character to your home at night, is easy to maintain, inexpensive to buy, and cost virtually nothing to run. Like all things solar, solar lights are also good for our environment.
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