Solar Lights Tips

Solar lights are an idea, who's time has finally come.  Actually, they came a long time ago, but it took a lot of green thinking these days to make them even more popular.  It seems, you can find them anywhere and everywhere these days.  By brother-in-law just added some nice ones to his backyard deck.  Just along the handrail.  They look nice, and are actually quite practical for evenings when you need just a little more light in the backyard to make sure you don't trip going down the steps.

What's nice about solar lighting, besides the obvious "green" advantages of using very little energy, is how convenient and low maintenance they are.  First of all, you don't need any outdoor timers or switches to turn them on or off.  You don't have to flip a switch, or remember to turn them off before you go to bed.  They're always smart enough to do what they're supposed to do, when it's time for them to do their job.  If only other things in my house we're so smart.

Solar garden lights, are just such a cool decorative piece for setting the mood in the garden.  They really do set a warm, romantic mood when placed appropriately amongst beautiful garden plants.  What I really like these days, are the variety of shapes and colors they come in these days.  You can get them in a clear glass, shaped like butterflies, dragonflies, flower petals, or just about any other kind of garden insect, flower, and small bird.  I do particularly enjoy the ones that shift from one color to another as well. Blues, greens, oranges and yellows combined with the playful shapes can really add a touch of whimsy to your garden. 

One other nice advantage of placing solar lights in your garden, is the absence of wires.  There's no need to be digging up your prize winning orchids to run wiring for your lights.  It also makes it easier to move them around, if you decide your first choice for them isn't to your liking.  Just yank them up, and push them into the ground a few inches or feet away.

Now solar Christmas lights have to be one of the best ideas I've heard of in a long time.  It always seemed to me, that not matter how beautiful my Christmas lights looked after they were hung, there was always that gaudy extension cord that run to the outlet, that I could never quite camouflage.  Nothing quite as ugly as orange and blue extension cords sitting in the snow.  Once again, outdoor solar Christmas lights often have light sensors, so they know when to turn on and off as the sun sets and rises.  No need for expensive light timers to program and fiddle with.  And, what could be a better Christmas present for the planet, then to use a little less energy with your lighting?  My Christmas solar lights look so good, I was thinking of leaving them up all year long.  I have a cool pergola over the back patio, that would look kinda neat with lights over the archways and trellises. 

So, you've got your self a brand new shed out in the back 40, where you can enjoy a little privacy, some quiet, and even get a chance to work on your latest projects.  Well good for you, but wouldn't it be nice if you could work out there after dark?  I guess so, but it probably means digging trenches, and running a bunch of wires from the main power grid in the basement all the way to the back.  Hopefully, you won't run into any cable or phone lines along the way.  I'm sure the miss's would be a little annoyed if she couldn't get her daily fix of Oprah. Well, have I got just the solution for you.  Thanks to the latest utilization of the suns energy, and a little green thinking, you can now just install and get yourself a solar shed light.  It's a little unit, with a battery that draws energy all day long with solar panels, dumps it into the batter, and just waits for you to come along after hours to flip the switch.  If you plan on spend plenty of twilight hours "working" in your shed, do make sure you get a unit with a powerful enough battery.  It's better to have more than not enough in this case.  Also make sure your unit has a controller on it that won't let the panels overcharge the battery.  Exploding batteries are never a good thing.

One of the best ways to deter burglars and vandals from valuable property, is with good outdoor lighting.  By eliminating shadows and dark spots from around your home, you make it tougher and less enticing for unwanted visitors to your home.  Most home break-ins, graffiti, and vandalism occur where the perpetrator can work without scrutiny.  The trick is getting lights to all those areas without running all kinds of wiring outside your home.  With the growing popularity of solar lighting, that problem is solved.  You can now place a solar security light just about anywhere around your home you like.  As long as you have a place you can securely fasten it to, you can install the lights.  Make sure you get lights that have a light/dark sensor included, so they will automatically turn themselves off and on.  Also be sure they have big enough batteries, to power the lighting through the entire night.  There's not much point, in having security lights that turn off after a few hours when their batteries die.