What Is Solar Landscape Lighting?: Pros And Cons
When you think about harnessing the power of solar energy for your home, the cost point of solar panels may be intimidating. But, what about a low-cost way to use solar power? With solar powered landscape lights, it’s possible to illuminate your outdoor space without connection to a power source—other than the sun.
Both easy to use and eco-friendly, solar landscape lighting can be a great way to add lighting to your home’s exterior. Still, be sure to consider the possible disadvantages of solar landscape lighting to determine if it’s the right choice.
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How Can Landscapes Use Solar Power?
Picture how solar panels operate on the roof of a home: By capturing energy from the sun’s rays and converting it into electricity, solar panels can help keep the lights on inside the house—along with the other electrical needs. Solar powered landscape lights work much in the same way, only on a smaller scale.
Solar landscape lighting is available in numerous forms, from small walkway lights and floodlights to strands of bulbs and more. What they share in common is that all solar landscape lights use a small solar panel, which is often on the top of the lighting feature. Unlike grid-based electricity, solar power comes from a renewable resource. Shifting toward this is positive even if it’s on the small scale of landscape lighting.
Landscape lighting can help improve your home’s security, illuminate pathways, brighten outdoor living spaces and complement the overall landscaping. Solar powered landscape lights can do all of that with the added benefit of reducing utility costs and not relying on an electrical connection.
That makes adding solar landscape lighting a very simple DIY project for any homeowner. However, that doesn’t mean solar landscape lighting is the right choice for every space.
Pros of Solar Powered Landscape Lights
No Electrical Connection Needed
Because solar landscape lights are powered by the sun, you do not need additional wiring or an electrical connection. Not only is this convenient when it comes to installation, but it also makes landscape lighting possible in far corners of the yard where electrical wiring isn’t readily available. This also means you don’t have to worry about accidentally severing the power source to your landscape lighting when you dig into the ground.
Easy to Install
If you want to install solar landscape lights, there’s no need to call an electrician. Rather, the installation process should be as simple as assembling the light and then putting it in place, such as by staking it into the ground or hanging it. Because it takes a while for the solar charge to build, you won’t be able to test the light right away. But, depending on the unit and the amount of sun that day, wait a few hours and you should be able to appreciate the new lighting effects.
Long-Term Savings Potential
Unlike with wired landscape lighting, solar powered landscape lighting won’t affect your monthly utility bill. Those savings may seem minimal, but add up over time: For example, it could cost about $60 per year to power a 100-watt street light. If you use a solar version, that is an extra $60 you get to keep every year.
And, considering that solar landscape lighting can last for three to four years before you need to change batteries and even longer before you need to replace the LED bulbs, there is plenty of time to recoup the initial investment in solar powered landscape lights. Better yet, the cost of solar landscape lights continues to become more affordable as the technology advances.
Cons of Solar Powered Landscape Lights
They Need Sunlight to Operate
The biggest catch with solar lighting is that the units depend on sunlight to work. Because the solar panels are generally built into the lights themselves, that means you will only be able to rely on consistent lighting when the lights are placed in areas where they receive good sunlight—which means dark corners, covered patios and more may not be good candidates for solar lighting.
Inconsistent Lighting
As most of us know, sunlight also isn’t consistent from day to day. That means you may not get a good enough charge on a stormy day or on a day with shorter daylight hours; once the light is out, you’ll need to wait until it charges up again the next day.
The illumination from solar powered lights generally isn’t as strong as wired lights. If you are depending on the landscape lighting or security or safety purposes, you may want a more consistently reliable option, such as an electrical LED light.
Require Maintenance
To keep your solar powered landscape lights operating, the solar panel needs to be clear from debris, including leaves, snow and dirt. Although the lights themselves are quite long-lasting, that means you will need to check up on them regularly if you want to keep them in working condition.
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Bottom Line
You can consider solar powered landscape lighting on a case-by case-basis. These convenient, ready-to-use lights may work great in the part of your yard that gets consistent lighting. Then, you can stick with traditional lights in another part of the space that needs strong, consistent lighting.
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