An elegant view of your lush garden is especially dramatic when lit at night by brilliant solar lights. It is the perfect backdrop for a quiet and scintillating dinner out on the patio under a starry sky.
But showing the beauty of your garden at night is just one of the many uses of outdoor solar lighting. The effect you can achieve with solar powered lights really depends on your own creativity and aesthetic sense. So instead of talking about uses, let’s review the types of lights available and leave the use to your own imagination.
First, we have the lights that are placed without pedestals on the ground, such as the flat, solar path lights that fit inside the base or sides of garden steps to provide interesting accent and illumination to a walkway.
Second, you have the hanging outdoor lights. These lights, blinking or not, are typically used to give a festive mood to the garden on such occasions as Christmas holiday or large formal and semi-formal parties. In this category, we also find solar lanterns that can be hung from a stake in the ground, a projection from the wall or suspended directly from a ceiling(of a pagoda or a patio).
Third, we have the solar powered lights that may be installed on the side of a wall or a fence and other such surfaces. This type of solar lighting has base fittings and attachment hardware.
Fourth, there are the lights that are equipped with mini solar panels usually attached to the roof. This type may be used as security lighting. They may be mounted on a wall or strategic areas of the grounds, and can be equipped with movement sensors for the complete surveillance of a garden. Another type of light with mini solar panel is the shed light which are also connected by wires to the solar panel on the roof.
The fifth general type is the category of lights which are fixed atop a stake driven into the ground. These staked lights can create an impressive effect to lit a walkway leading to the house. The main stake shaft may be made of hard plastic, wood or stainless steel.
Manufacturers of solar lighting purposely create innovative designs that blend some or all of the design functionality into their products. You may purchase solar powered lights that can alternatively be mounted on walls or atop posts or fences. Some stakes are adjustable in length so that you can display two or three such lights at different heights for dramatic effect.
In addition to their large diversity of effect and style, solar powered lights offer two main benefits: a simple installation and affordability. No dangerous wires have to be dug into the ground or embedded into a wall to power these lights. Just stick them into the ground or simply mount them like you would a portrait on a wall.
And because these lights are powered by the energy from the sun, what you pay for to get and install them is pretty much all that you will ever have to spend to use them. No extra cost will be incurred for powering them. Considering that the modern LED (light emitting diode) bulbs that are used for today’s lights can last from eight up to ten years, and that solar lights are considerably cheaper today than they were 20 years ago, enjoying the safety and pleasure of having a well-lit home at night is proving very reasonable in price.
Help us build our knowledge base for the benefit of all readers! If you have tried any of the above products or wish to suggest a better one, please send us your comments and suggestions. Thank you.
Return to top of Outdoor Solar Lights
Return to Solar Twitter home page
Follow @switch2solar
