You don’t really have much to lose with solar powered garden lights.
Think about it: These solar outdoor lights look great on your deck or in your yard, and they are also incredibly inexpensive.
Solar lighting for yards has been one of the most successful mainstream applications of solar power to date.
Two generations ago, solar power was literally a space age technology used for satellites that were orbiting the earth. Today, in any neighborhood you’ll see solar path lights, solar powered rocks, and even solar butterflies, ladybugs, and dragonflies.
Part of the reason for this is that small-scale solar applications became affordable long before it was feasible to cover your roof with solar panels.(This fact also allowed for the emergence of solar powered calculators on every desktop.)
The relatively long history of solar yard lights and other small scale solar applications is what allowed them to become more affordable. This is because economies of scale caused the production of solar lights and solar toys to become more efficient (something that is currently happening with solar panels for rooftops).
You can get a well-made solar yard light for a low price because the technology and production methods have been refined over many years.
Another bonus with solar powered garden lights is that you can put them anywhere you want without having to worry about any wiring issues. If your garden is at the back of your yard wiring could get very expensive and cumbersome. Solar garden lights are self-contained with nothing to plug in or trip over.
Not only do you save on wiring costs when you go solar with your garden lighting, but you also save on your electric bill. Once you stake those solar lights into the ground you’re ready for years of free lighting courtesy of Mr. Golden Sun. Your electric bill won’t increase by one cent.
Are you the kind of person who wonders how things work? Here’s a simple explanation of how solar yard lights work their magic:
- A small photovoltaic panel on top of the solar light collects solar energy from sunlight during the day
- This energy is stored in a small battery contained in the light fixture
- A light sensor tells the light to turn on when it gets dark enough outside
- The next day the whole process repeats itself
Are you also wondering how such a little solar panel can collect enough energy to power a light all night?
It’s because a solar garden light uses a solar LED light instead of a regular light bulb. LED lights are a solid state lighting technology that emerged in the early 1960’s. The high efficiency of LEDs allows them to run on very small amounts of power.
The bottom line is that solar garden lights are inexpensive, efficient, and long-lasting. If you haven’t tried them out for your backyard lighting needs, what are you waiting for?
Remember, you don’t have much to lose.