The Key Component in Solar Landscape Lighting
Outdoor solar lighting is advancing by leaps and bounds every year. New, more efficient solar cells let you generate more power from the sun’s rays, advanced batteries let you hold a bigger charge for longer, and new lights like LEDs use less energy and put out more lights than Edison could have ever thought possible. So what’s the key component in getting the most out of your solar lights? Quality solar cells? A quality manufacturer? Think again. The most important factor in how well your solar lights work isn’t how good the lights themselves are, but how much sun your yard gets. Even the best, most efficient lights won’t be able to hold any kind of charge if they are in the shade most of the day.
There are two factors that affect how efficient your solar lights will be, the length of time they are out in the sun and how intense the sun rays are that they receive. You cannot do too much about the first factor. Unless you live in the tropics, daylight is going to vary dramatically throughout the year, with long days in the summer and long nights during the winter. The longer the day, the more light your solar lights can absorb and they will have to emit less power during the night because they will not be lit for as long. If you’re far enough north, almost any solar light you get won’t be able to last the entire winter night, so make sure that you keep this in mind when you’re considering if you want solar powered or wired lights.
You can do something about the intensity of rays that your lights receive. Make sure that you always place your solar lights in areas of your garden that receive direct sunlight. Placing lights in the shade will cause them to absorb less light during the day and they will end up burning less brightly and for a shorter amount of time at night.
For more information on getting the most out of your solar lights, visit the Garden Lights Guru.