Using outdoor solar lights to light up your garden

Outdoor solar lights are fast becoming the preferred option for landscape lighting designers and creative homeowners. These days, just about every type of outdoor lighting fixture is available as a solar powered product, and outdoor solar lighting fixtures provide an equivalent amount of illumination to their mains-powered counterparts.

Solar lights come in a wide selection of different styles and materials. By checking out what is available on the Internet or browsing your local garden and lighting store you are sure to fine one light that is perfect for your yard or garden. You can usually buy the solar lights individually or in packages of two or more.

There are two very good reasons to go solar:

All the energy required to power your outdoor lighting comes free from the sun, so you save on your power bills, and you help to conserve environmental resources.

Solar lighting fixtures are unbelievably easy to install. In some cases, installation takes about thirty seconds. You don’t need to set up a transformer, figure out how to connect your lighting fixtures to it, or hide unsightly wiring. All you need to do is choose a position for the solar panel which will receive the most sunlight, and fix the light in place.

Of course, the disadvantage of solar powered lighting is that your lights may run out of power if you have an extended period of overcast, dark or cloudy weather. If you live in a climate which does not receive a lot of sunlight, mains powered landscape lighting may be the better option.

Landscape lighting design tips using solar lights:

Use accent lighting to highlight key features of your garden landscaping design, like garden beds, feature plants, or sculptures and ornaments. There are many beautifully designed solar lighting fixtures which work as design features in themselves.

Use solar floodlights to throw a wash of light over a large area like a deck or patio, so it becomes a usable outdoor space in the evenings.

Light walkways, stairways, level changes and entrance ways, to make your outdoor areas safe and secure at night. You can either install the lighting fixtures alongside the area to be lit, or use recessed lighting, which is installed right into the surface of the walkway, driveway or patio.

For more information on solar lighting, please read this article on solar powered deck lights.

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