The benefits of solar lights are well documented. They are environmental friendly, can save you a loads in energy costs over the long run and are also highly attractive. There are abundant choices that can fit well in just about any location around the house. There are also styles that would look great in modern homes and there are designs that would look great in traditional landscaped homes. Knowing exactly where to place them will do two things for you. First they will give you ample lights during nights and secondly they’ll enhance the overall landscape of your house.
The approach in determining where to place solar lights should be based with normal electric lights in mind. This is true for the perimeter of the home. It will simply be a matter of replacement. All houses have lights on the front porch that are centered around the front door. This is common sense. Homes also have lights on the corners of the house as well as the side of the house and of course the back of the home. These are mostly for convenience but also security purposes. Ideal solar lights for the front door are timer lights. You can place security motion sensor lights at the side of the house, the motion detector will trigger the security solar lights on whenever someone or something walks past.
The front lawn is a bit more tricky. It is where you can redefine how your house looks and actually appreciate it’s value. There are literally no limitations to what you can achieve. But a balance of sufficient lighting and landscape beauty should be the goal to aim for. Having too many solar lights might look off putting but having just enough with the right spacing can transform the front of your home to a wonderful sight. Homeowners with very large lawns and want high intensity illumination could also place a floodlight in a strategic area to cover as much open space as possible.
The same principal should be used for the rear of the house. Solar lights should be used in locations that not only enhance the look of the home but also serve a security purpose. Many homeowners have this in mind but sometimes use the wrong kind of solar lights in the wrong spot. This is probably the main mistake and what this will do is it will limit the lighting for a specific area of the home. A smaller area will not require high intensity lighting. Larger areas will require either several units or fewer high intensity solar light units will appear less cramped. Solar lighting definitely requires some thought and a nice touch, and when you hear compliments on how beautiful the outside of your home looks then you know you did well.
Many of us are on the fence and are going back and forth about whether or not we should buy solar lights. I was in this situation but realized the benefits of solar energy and solar lighting to be exact are tremendous. I’m also the type of homeowner who is adamant about how my landscaping looks. I take great pride in having a garden, and backyard that look great. With solar lights you can greatly improve the way your home looks because let’s be frank they look much better than electricity powered lighting fixtures. I’m also a homeowner who appreciates quality and if something is promised to work an x amount of years then I expect the promise to be fulfilled.
Solar lights if installed correctly as well as maintained properly should work continuously without the need to do anything else. Yes you’ll have to make sure they are placed right and if something obstructs the solar panels from the direct view of the sun then you’ll have to take care of that. But that should be about it, they were not designed for you to go up on your roof to change their light bulbs, or LEDs every 6 months or so. This is not what these energy savers are all about. I would say the most difficult thing I was faced with was what kind of solar light units should I buy. Also how to position them and most importantly which kinds of solar lights should I buy. This can be overwhelming but I managed to get it right. The first thing that I did was set a budget for how much I was willing to spend on solar lighting. If I went over the costs then I was prepared to buy them in phases. The first lights I purchased were the ones that I deemed to be most important, these are ones that would go on my roof.
These lights were more important than landscaping lights because of several reasons. The first is to provide security and secondly also to provide lighting around the house. After all who wants to take out trash in pitch darkness. Selecting these outdoor solar lights were much easier choice than selecting solar yard lights for your home. Considering that I did not know a thing about them or what made them work, I first did a little research. I wanted to familiarize myself with how they function including knowing the most important parts inside the fixture. This is necessary because to visually comprehend how something works is important to me. Solar lights were becoming a part of my home and an important one at that and it’s only appropriate to know everything about them. There really isn’t too much to it. Out the box a solar light comes with the the solar light, solar panel which are also called solar cells, NiMh rechargeable batteries and a cord that runs from the solar panel to the light itself. Mentioning the cord I know some might have the wrong idea about wireless. This term is used to mean that wires are not necessary from an electric outlet. There are some designs that are completely wireless. These are the kind that have the light and solar panel in the same unit.
The solar lights I purchased came with a wire but this wasn’t a problem at all for me because the lights were atop my garage and the solar panel was installed on the roof which wasn’t visible. I did the installation myself and this saved me time and money. The particular brand I purchased was motion activated. It came with 6 LEDs, was weatherproof and I was able to set a timer for how long I wanted the lights to be illuminated when the motion sensor automatically turns them on. As long as you are getting sunlight then you don’t have to worry about anything else. The sun is important because that’s how the the batteries are able to recharge. So for me personally solar lights were a good choice. They gave me the lighting I needed, were easy to install and best of all there aren’t any operating costs.
