When considering harnessing the power of solar energy for your home, the cost of solar panels may seem frightening. But what about a low-cost way to harness solar energy? Solar powered landscape lights allow you to illuminate your outdoor space without relying on any power source other than the sun.
Solar landscape lighting is both simple to use and environmentally safe, making it an excellent choice for adding lights to your home’s exterior. However, before deciding whether solar landscape lighting is the best option, keep the potential drawbacks in mind.
How Can Landscapes Benefit from Solar Power?
Consider how solar panels work on a residential roof: Solar panels, which capture energy from the sun’s rays and turn it into electricity, can help keep the lights on inside the house—along with other electrical needs. Solar-powered landscape lights function similarly, albeit on a smaller scale.
Solar landscape lighting comes in a variety of formats, including modest sidewalk lights and floodlights, as well as bulb strands and other options. All solar landscape lights use a small solar panel, which is commonly located on top of the lighting element. Solar power, unlike grid-based electricity, is generated from a renewable resource. Shifting toward this is beneficial, even if it is only on the modest scale of landscape lighting.
Landscape lighting may enhance your home’s security, illuminate pathways, brighten outdoor living areas, and accent the overall landscaping. All of this can be accomplished with solar-powered landscape lights, which also save money on utility bills and do not require an electrical connection.
This makes installing solar landscape lighting an easy DIY job for any homeowner. However, this does not mean that solar landscape lighting is appropriate for all spaces.
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Pros of Solar Powered Landscape Lights
No Electrical Connection Required
Because solar landscape lights are powered by the sun, they do not require any additional wiring or electrical connections. Not only is this convenient for installation, but it also allows for landscape lighting in remote areas of the yard where electrical wiring is not readily available. This also eliminates the possibility of accidently cutting off the power to your landscape lighting while digging.
Easy to Install
If you want to install solar landscape lights, you don’t need to hire an electrician or a solar installation firm. Rather, the installation process should be as simple as constructing the light and then placing it anywhere, such as staking it into the ground or hanging it.
Because the solar charge takes time to build, you will not be able to test the light immediately away. However, depending on the unit and the amount of sunlight that day, you should be able to see the new lighting effects after a few hours.
Long-Term Savings Potential
Unlike wired landscape lighting, solar powered landscape lighting has no effect on your monthly utility cost. These savings may appear minor, but add up over time:
For example, it could cost around $60 per year to power a 100-watt street light. If you utilize a solar version, you get to keep an extra $60 per year.
And, given that solar landscape lighting can last three to four years before needing to replace batteries and even longer before needing to replace LED bulbs, there is plenty of time to repay the original investment in solar powered landscape lights. Furthermore, as technology progresses, the cost of solar landscape lights decreases.
Top Solar Companies By State
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Cons of Solar-Powered Landscape Lights
They need sunlight to operate
The main disadvantage of solar lighting is that it requires sunlight to function. Because the solar panels are generally built into the lights themselves, you will only be able to rely on consistent lighting when the lights are placed in areas where they receive good sunlight—so dark corners, covered patios, and more may not be good candidates for solar lighting.
Inconsistent lighting
Most of us are aware that sunshine is not consistent from day to day. That means you might not obtain a good enough charge on a rainy day or a day with less daylight hours; once the light goes down, you’ll have to wait till it charges again the next day.
Solar powered lights typically produce less illumination than wired lights. If you rely on landscape lighting for security or safety, you may choose a more dependable choice, such as an electrical LED light.
Require Maintenance
To keep your solar-powered landscape lights working, the solar panel must be free of debris such as leaves, snow, and dirt. Although the lights themselves are quite long-lasting, you will need to check on them on a frequent basis to keep them in working order.
Bottom Line
You can think about solar-powered landscape lighting on a case-by-case basis. These compact, ready-to-use lights may be ideal for areas of your yard that receive consistent lighting. Then you can use traditional lighting in another area of the room that requires strong, constant lighting.
