Now the clocks have gone forward, and the nights are getting lighter, most of us will be looking forward to spending more time in our gardens. This means people will start looking for new garden accessories and lights for the upcoming spring and summer months, trying to make the most of the extended evenings and their attentions to outdoor lights and solar garden lights. Here, we’re going to focus on outdoor solar garden lights, looking at how they work, why people use them and why others may not.
How do solar garden lights work?
Each solar powered lighting fixture has a solar cell, rechargeable battery, LED lights and a photoresistor. During daylight hours, when sunlight shines on the solar cell, it creates energy which then charges the battery. When there’s little to no light towards the end of the day, the photoresistor can’t detect light anymore so the battery is activated, and the LED light switches on. In summary, when the sun shines during the day, the solar panel collects and stores energy from the sun and the light is triggered to come on and use that energy once the sun goes down.
Why people use outdoor solar garden lights
They’re often as bright as mains powered lights: In the right conditions outdoor solar garden lights can provide a similar effect as mains or battery powered lighting. However, the light does need to receive an optimal amount of sunlight throughout the day to charge sufficiently.
Guaranteed efficiency: Solar lighting isn’t mains powered so there are great savings to be made on your energy bill. In addition, by using less electricity in your garden, rather getting its power from the sun, there’s little impact on the environment too. They’re versatile: Outdoor solar garden lights don’t need to be run via cables from the nearest power source so it means they can be easily installed throughout the garden.
When shouldn’t you choose outdoor solar garden lights?
Solar lights are a brilliant lighting solution for a lot of gardens, but they might not necessarily be the right solution for every space. If you have a north facing garden, and where you’re placing the light is a shaded area, it’s likely you won’t get the levels of brightness you’re looking for. When that happens, you’re obviously going to need a mains or battery powered alternative instead. And if you need a lot of light, for example if you’re illuminating a large space, a mains-powered option is going to be the best solution too.
Solar Lights at Lighting for Gardens
At Lighting for Gardens, we have the Elipta rechargeable lantern which can be charged either by a USB or from the sun, making it suitable to use in both summer and winter months thanks to its dual charging ability. It features a flush touch switch that also doubles as a dimmer so you can adjust the light to suit. A fully charged lantern will provide an impressive nine hour of light so more than enough to last the evening.