Going green is the new fad, and solar garden lights are a great way to do your part and accent the hard work you put into your landscaping. While thought of as being expensive and only good for soft accent lighting solar lights are ready for the primetime.
When it comes to finding the best fit for your solar garden lighting needs there are a few things to keep in mind. Typically solar lights are meant to be accent lights for walkways or garden borders. They come in a variety of styles both low to the ground stake lighting and higher lantern style or post lights. Most solar powered garden lights use led bulbs if you are looking for spot or flood lights then you will need to look for multi-bulb lights.
Accent lights are made or either plastic or several types of metal. There is no real advantage or disadvantage to either choice. When trying to decide on what type is best for you it is going to come down to a matter of style. If you are looking for lights to blend in and just accent a garden border or walkway plastic will work well for you. If you’re looking for your lights to be a part of the overall decoration of the landscaping then a copper or brushed metal solar garden light may give you the look you need. Copper over time with tarnish and give you a pleasant aged look to the garden while a stainless steel light will add a modern look to things.
Before you purchase solar power garden lights you are going to want to plan out where they will be installed. Because they usually have the solar cells on top of the lights you will want to make sure they are not always in the shade. If so this will cause the battery to not fully charge and the lights may be dim or not turn on at all. Also most solar lights have a photo sensor on them to turn themselves on and off depending on the lighting conditions. For brighter sport pr flood lights there may be a separate solar panel with a short wire so that you can put the lights themselves where you want them but still keep the solar cell in an optimal location. With proper charging the lights should last 8 to 10 hours during before needed to be recharged.
The main thing to keep in mind when shopping for solar power garden lights is to map out the locations of where you want the lights installed. Without this information you will have a hard time picking out the correct types of lights to purchase. If your garden is well shaded you will want to find lights that have separate solar panels so you can make sure they get enough sun to charge the batteries in the lights. The rest is easy, by the style of lights that best fits your personal style and the style of your garden and you will be happy with your purchases in the end.