Home & Outdoor Lighting » solar powered lights

Solar Patio Lights For Spring

Perry Latham — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:45:16 +0000

With spring on the way, many people begin to look forward to outdoor BBQs and other evening get-togethers. Such events usually take place in backyards or patio areas. If you are planning on having people over for a gathering, you will need to consider the importance of having enough light in the are to make the experience more enjoyable and safer for everyone involved. Installing solar patio lights can make all the difference in this case.

How is your patio lit now? Most people have a single light, mounted to the wall outside with a switch to control it from the inside of the house. It is not rare to see people actually cooking on the BBQ while holding a flashlight, so they can actually see what they are cooking! Even worse, is seeing backyard or patio areas being lit with the help of an electric extension cord. A cord running along the ground is a major hazard in dark areas. The cord could become easily trip someone causing serious injury. There has got to be a better way!

That batter way is with solar patio lights. These lights can be mounted just about anywhere and have so many styles and options to choose from that it is super easy to find the combination of lights that will give you exactly the light you need, where you need it. You can choose to mount several lights around the perimeter of your patio that give a soft glow to the entire area, setting a subtle and romantic ambiance. You can set up spot lights that cast more focused lights to highlight certain areas of your patio (even the BBQ!). You can even choose from different colors of light and different intensities to further develop whatever theme you want.

The best part about solar powered lights is that they require no electrical supply source. You should mount them in areas where they can receive direct sunlight to their solar panels during the day and when night falls they automatically switch on. They even come in a wide array of decorative styles that allow you to mix and match them to fit into your existing patio landscape. With solar technology continuing to grow and solar lights becoming less and less expensive, there is really no reason not to light up your backyard with solar patio lights.

Decorate Your Home and Landscape with Solar String Lights

Perry Latham — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:20:01 +0000

You can decorate with solar string lights any time of the year. The availability of red, blue, green, and clear make them a very popular choice for outdoor Christmas decorations. By using solar string lights, you are able to decorate areas that would normally be difficult or impossible to decorate if your lights required you to connect to an electrical outlet. You can use solar string lights across the top of your house or draped over bushes in your yard. You can even decorate your dog’s house for Christmas with solar lighting. If you have a garden trellis that is typically filled with flowers but is otherwise empty in the winter, you can easily decorate that as well. Put the lights on a small tree in your yard. Wrap the lights around your porch post if you have some. Outline the front door with a string of solar lights to draw attention to a beautiful wreath hanging on the door.

You can extend the use of solar powered lights throughout the winter in different ways. Instead of using the multicolored lights that give your home a holiday look, use solar string lights that are clear or possibly blue. Snowflake, icicle, and star designs can be used during the winter months to add a soft illumination to your home, patio, or garden area.

Instead of retiring your red solar light fixtures after Christmas, you could use them to decorate your yard for Valentine’s Day. If you have a garden bench, or possibly two chairs and a table, as a seating arrangement in your yard, wrap red solar string lights around them. The red illumination of the sitting area adds a romantic touch to your outdoor space. Placing string lighting around a topiary or a metal heart sculpture is also a good decorating tactic for the month of February.

Creatively use the green solar string lights for St. Patrick’s Day decorations. Perhaps you could light up some shamrock yard art with a string of clear solar lights. As you can see, the opportunities for being creative with solar powered lights are endless!

Solar Lights Offer Multifunctional Lighting Options

Perry Latham — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:31:42 +0000

Each solar light manufacturer uses different materials, technology, and manufacturing techniques in order to create solar lighting products. No two products or manufacturers are the same so you will have to shop wisely and patiently in order to get the best product, benefits, and value for your money. It is difficult to determine the quality and durability of a product simply by looking or touching it. Use the internet to find available products that meet the utility you need then look for positive feedback by previous customers and only shop from trusted and large online stores. Most large retailers also have a decent return policy just in case you decide that the product is lacking in any way. Solar powered lights need specific components in order to function. The components must be made with good materials that can last a long time under even most extreme outdoor weather conditions.

There are many types and sizes of solar lights to choose from including ground stake, hanging, and spotlights. Ground state lights are by far the most popular type of outdoor solar lights on the market today. Each fixture is very easy to install and simply needs to be pushed into the ground in a location where it can be most beneficial. Most homeowners install stake lights along pathways, driveways, and within flower beds to enhance the nightly landscape of their property. Night time illumination is also very beneficial in promoting safe access for pedestrians and vehicles to and from parts of your property. Direct sunlight is the only requirement for installation. Most fixtures are made of durable materials like copper, stainless steel, wood, or brass. Plastic fixtures are available but not intended for high traffic areas.

Hanging lights are used mostly for their decorative benefits during the daylight hours. Decorative examples include lanterns, candles, sconces, and post lamps. Most hanging solar garden lights offer decorative benefits during the day while still providing very effective illumination at night. As with all other types of light fixtures, proper installation and positioning is highly essential to getting the maximum benefit from each fixture. Hanging lights work well in areas of entertainment and in the areas of your landscape that are most attractive. Fountains, benches, and even trellis can be lit from above to create a night time focal point in your landscape.

Spotlights are also quite useful and can also be quite decorative when positioned properly. Small spotlights can be used to pinpoint light beams in the direction of the most attractive or interesting parts of your night time landscape. Water features, statues, and even exotic greenery can be illuminated and enhanced to show its beauty even when it is dark outside. There really is no limit as to the ways in which you can use outdoor solar lights for both their nighttime and daytime benefits. Each fixture must however, be exposed to direct sunlight for at least part of the day in order to provide reliable and automatic illumination at night.