Solar yard lights are an amazingly useful source of lighting. They don’t require any wires, draw no electricity, and are wonderful for the environment. With the latest advances in solar cell technology, solar lights are more effective than ever.
Since you are already saving money on your ongoing power bills, it is worthwhile investing a bit more on exactly the right lights for the look you want to achieve in your garden.
Make sure that you place your lights somewhere that they will get a few hours of direct light every day. If they are in permanent shade, you may find that they don’t fully charge. If you want solar lights in an area that is always shady, look for solar rope lights or tube lights that allow you to place the solar cell and battery unit away from the actual light bulbs.
Spots with strong direct sunlight are great for your solar lights, but unfortunately not every spot of your garden receives the same amount of direct sunlight. You may wish to spread your lights out to get an even distribution of light throughout your entire garden. To do this without having to worry about your solar lights dimming or going out at night, you need to rotate your solar lights every so often. As long as you keep up a regular rotation schedule, you should never have to worry about dimming problems.
You’ll find that finding the best solar lighting scheme for your garden takes experimentation. The beauty of the light and the effectiveness of the lights in providing usable light at night depends in large part on how you place your light. A diffused, spread out scheme generally works best for most people. Experiment with staggering the height of your lights, using shadows, and varied concentrations of light to create a beautiful, dramatic effect in your garden.
Here is a couple of ideas that you might try:
- Use antique style lights to hang in the corners of your patio – here is an example of how these can look
- Use solar lights camouflaged as rocks to subtly illuminate features in a rockery or garden bed
- Use hanging solar lights in trees to create a fairytale scene
- Line paths with solar post lights for convenience after dark
If you’re really into renewable energy, there is no reason you have to limit yourself to solar lighting alone. Every part of your garden and landscaping has an environmentally friendly solution. For example, solar swimming pool covers are available in quite contemporary designs – and in fact you could combine solar rope lights with this for a self powered pool that really catches the eye!
