Monday, July 27, 2009

Solar Garden Lights - a Modern Way to Light up Your Garden

By John Monsholi

Solar garden lights are unique garden lamps, powered by natural solar energy. Solar garden lights do not require wiring, and thus there is no threat of anyone in your garden (i.e., pets, children, or, yourself) getting an electric shock. The lights help you save on the cost of electric, and are very easy to install.

Sunshine is the source of all of the natural energy on earth. Solar garden lights utilize the energy of the sun, free of charge, to emit light. The lights are made of special cells, generating electricity when exposed to the sun. Solar cells, a regular rechargeable battery and an LED special light emitting diode is all that is needed for these lights to shine, when an electric current goes through it.

Solar garden lights usually emit a moderate amount of light for a modest amount of time. However, due to constantly improving technology, the lights keep getting better, shining brighter and longer.

Advantages of solar garden lights include:

1. The lights are extremely easy to set up. When needed, solar garden lights can be also moved with the same ease. These lights can be placed anywhere throughout your garden, during the daytime hours in which there is sun.

2. Solar garden lights are much safer than regular lighting, since they operate with a very low voltage.

3. Solar garden lights are very energy efficient. They are powered by DC (direct current) electricity, i.e. common batteries being charged by the sun and thus giving electricity for the lights to shine. They allow you to save on electricity and fossil fuel costs.

4. Most of the solar garden lights come with a built in photo sensors, which make the lights go on and off according to if there is sunshine or if there isn't. At the same time, most of the lights have an on and off button for maximum convenience.

5. The lights do not produce pollutants, which are common for the electricity generating utilities.

6. Solar garden lights will create a unique pleasant ambiance in any garden. The lights are very stylish, nice-looking and compact.

7. Merely four hours of a direct exposure to the sun will provide your garden with up to nine hours of light in the evening. Good solar garden lights are also capable of shining even during the months with limited sunshine, such as autumn and winter.

8. One of the most common complaints of homeowners is that the wires in their garden get damaged, for example, by animals. Solar garden lights eliminate this problem due to not requiring any wires or electric sockets.

Before purchasing solar garden lights for your landscaping, please note the following:

1. Make sure that the spike of the lights, which goes into the ground, is either made of a durable plastic or is made of metal.

2. Some lights are meant for nice appearance rather than for bright light, and they may just glow instead of emitting a bright light. Other lights may be short lived in the evening. If you are looking for brighter solar garden lights, which would emit light for many hours, you should look for lights with a larger area of solar cells and higher capacity batteries. The light intensity varies from one type of light to another.

3. Ensure that the solar garden lights of your choice are waterproof and weatherproof. For example, if the water leaks through the solar panel of the lights, the lights may stop working.

4. You should also try to place your solar garden lights, where there is no shadow cast in your garden. Note that on the overcast days, the lights will not shine for so long and as bright as on bright sunny days.

5. In case the lights do not go on, you should look for one of the following: batteries leaking fluid, poor quality batteries, rusty batteries, or corroded battery terminals.

6. For most convenience, opt for solar garden lights that come with an on and off button.

The bottom line

Solar garden lights are a big step forward in the modern technological development. The lights help create a garden with an extremely pleasant and relaxing ambiance, as well as they are cost efficient and environmentally friendly. Solar garden lights are one solution to consider for any garden enthusiast.

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