Solar LED lighting fittings are gradually
becoming more popular as a mainstay in homeowner's landscape lighting designs. Today's outdoor solar lights are globally friendly, come in a wide
range of attractive styles, and are constructed of high-quality materials
capable of withstanding all of nature's forces.
It's easy to think of the obvious usages for solar LED garden lights. They are most commonly used as accent lighting for pathways and driveways, where the main goal is either security or safety. Yet solar LED lighting can successfully be employed for many other purposes as well.
It's easy to think of the obvious usages for solar LED garden lights. They are most commonly used as accent lighting for pathways and driveways, where the main goal is either security or safety. Yet solar LED lighting can successfully be employed for many other purposes as well.
All outside solar lights are popular for the following reasons:
(1) they're reliable,
(2) safe,
(3) easy to install,
(4) versatile,
(5) and a great source of renewable energy.
The use of free solar power to recharge LED light bulbs and batteries, which only need a fraction of the amount of electricity to deliver just as much light as traditional lights bulbs, gives solar landscape lights an overwhelming advantage over traditional bulbs in terms of both energy savings and a clean environment.
(1) they're reliable,
(2) safe,
(3) easy to install,
(4) versatile,
(5) and a great source of renewable energy.
The use of free solar power to recharge LED light bulbs and batteries, which only need a fraction of the amount of electricity to deliver just as much light as traditional lights bulbs, gives solar landscape lights an overwhelming advantage over traditional bulbs in terms of both energy savings and a clean environment.
How To Install Outdoor LED Solar Lights!!
If you want to get the most out of your garden lighting system, it's important to consider a few major factors before taking the plunge and buying and installing solar LED garden lights The most important factor by far is sunlight.
Rechargeable batteries are what power your solar garden lights. How long the bulbs remain switched on at night is roughly same to the amount of sunlight the solar charging panel has been uncovered to during daylight hours.
As you can imagine, people who live in northern latitudes during winter months are going to have a problem getting enough sunlight to sufficiently recharge their solar garden lights.
This problem can be resolved by doing one of two things:
(1) Turn off the lights for one or two nights. Doing this will support your solar panel to fully recharge the batteries.
(2) Remove the batteries and recharge them using a old-style battery recharger.
An initial primary objective when installing solar garden lights is to situate the solar panels (also known as the Photovoltaic (PV) cells) in an area that receives an abundance of natural daylight. Ideally, you want them to absorb as much sunlight as possible to ensure optimal performance. But the solar panels are able to gain a reasonable charge even amid overcast days.
Buildings, trees and other obstructions are
naturally going to limit the daylight recharging cycle. Consequently, this is
going to limit both the duration and brightness of the outside solar lights once evening lands.
Another point to consider is whether your solar LED garden lights have a central solar panel or an essential solar panel. Whichever type of panel you have, the solar panel combines a slight tilt that enables it to face the most amount of sunlight during the day.
(1) Turn off the lights for one or two nights. Doing this will support your solar panel to fully recharge the batteries.
(2) Remove the batteries and recharge them using a old-style battery recharger.
An initial primary objective when installing solar garden lights is to situate the solar panels (also known as the Photovoltaic (PV) cells) in an area that receives an abundance of natural daylight. Ideally, you want them to absorb as much sunlight as possible to ensure optimal performance. But the solar panels are able to gain a reasonable charge even amid overcast days.
Buildings, trees and other obstructions are
naturally going to limit the daylight recharging cycle. Consequently, this is
going to limit both the duration and brightness of the outside solar lights once evening lands.Another point to consider is whether your solar LED garden lights have a central solar panel or an essential solar panel. Whichever type of panel you have, the solar panel combines a slight tilt that enables it to face the most amount of sunlight during the day.
Solar LED lighting that connects to a central solar panel has two distinct advantages:
(1) Since only one solar panel wants sunlight, the lights can be placed without regard to the amount of sunlight they will receive during the day.
(2) All of the solar garden lights can be controlled from one central location.
But, to complete this, you'll need to connect each of the lights to the shared solar panel through the use of wires.
Exterior solar lights that use an integral solar panel do not require wires and are so much easier to install. All you need to do is locate each light where you want it to be placed. But, since there is no central solar panel, each light needs to be exposed to as much daylight as possible.
The Best Batteries for Solar Landscape Lights
Once you have factored in the amount of sunlight you can provide for your solar panel, you can then move on to choosing the best battery for solar LED garden lights.
Before you make a purchase of solar garden lights, be certain to check the type of battery that is supplied. If the supplied batteries are of low quality, you may want to consider purchasing higher-quality batteries. Not only will these batteries last longer, but they'll also improve duration and light levels.
Lead acid batteries have an extremely limited life span and are not very good at holding a charge. Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries perform better, but have the distinct disadvantage of being a fairly toxic heavy metal. This will cause troubles when it comes time to dispose of them because a number of US states and European countries mandate these batteries to be disposed at waste recycling plants.
Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries
are the best option today because they charge easily and have a terrific life
span. Some manufacturers of these batteries claim up 3,000 recharge life
cycles, with the range being between 1,000 and 3,000. This means that, if you
run a complete recharge/discharge cycle every single day, you can expect your
batteries to last 3 to 8 years. On top of this, you can expect your solar garden lights to last longer and look brighter. Even as this is the case, Lithium Ion (Li-ion) batteries are steadily advancing on and taking over from where NiMH batteries left off.
Just be sure to responsibly dispose your rechargeable batteries. A recycling bin is typically provided by stores that sell such batteries.
Just as with most things in life, if you decide to skimp on quality, it'll end up costing you in the long run. If you do your homework and insist on only the highest-quality solar garden lighting and batteries, you'll experience first-hand just how effective and enjoyable modern solar LED garden lights can actually be.
How to
Mix Solar LED Garden Lights with Low Voltage LED Lights
people believe it's not wise or even
possible to combine solar-powered LED lights with low voltage LED garden lights. But nothing could be
further than the truth. Combining the two very often produces superior results.
All you need is a good understanding of what differentiates solar powered
lighting from main powered lighting: namely the nature of the power source.
The two
main constraints of battery power are:(1) how much electricity it is able to deliver while discharging, and
(2) how long it can provide a charge.
One affects the other, so a battery will discharge more slowly with a lower load (dimmer light), and more quickly with a higher load (bright light).
Rechargeable batteries found in outdoor solar LED lights can discharge fully over a period of time of up to 12 hours (although between 8 and 10 hours is more common). And this affects how much power they can deliver to light up a bulb or LED light.
This is not a lot of power, and is the reason why the light source contained in many solar garden lighting systems is well below 1 watt. It also explains why solar LED garden lights are so prevalent these days: for the same amount of electricity, they are able to both last longer and deliver much more light.
To put it in simpler terms, solar outside lights provide a softer, more ambient light. While this isn't always the case, it is the case for the vast majority of solar garden lights bought in garden stores and DIY stores. For many spaces, this type of ambient light is perfectly suited for the environment it is intended for.
This goes against many people's objections that solar garden lights simply are not bright enough to illuminate their pathways or driveways. In thinking this way, they totally overlook one of the main advantages of solar LED lamps - a soft, low-level ambient light.
A well-made garden and patio lighting design incorporates varying illumination levels, colors and beam angles to create a eye-catching look and feel that is completely different from what the garden looks like during daylight hours.
This is the whole idea behind the proper implementation of outdoor LED lighting. You have the opportunity to give your garden its own distinct character when dusk arrives. You are only limited by your thoughts as to the kind of environment you choose to create. Being able to mix solar LED garden lighting with low voltage LED lights gives you the opportunity create a stunning and captivating display.
Choosing the right Outdoor Solar Lights involves a bit of time and reading. A great place to start looking for all sorts of Outside Lighting is checking out a website devoted to the topic.
