The most expensive part of the holiday season comes from the least expected place: your Christmas lights. Electric Christmas lights not only increase your electricity bill but they are also a power drain. One string of lights can easily use over 100 watts of power. The great thing is that there are now solar Christmas lights durable enough to replace your old electrical lights.
Solar Christmas lights use LED bulbs and they come in a variety of lengths and light bulb colors. The result is a clear, bright light that looks great. So you will not be sacrificing performance when you switch to solar Christmas lights.
How Solar Christmas Lights Work
Solar Christmas lights work just like solar garden lights. The wire/string is attached to an external board that contains everything: the solar panel, battery and sensor. It is pretty simple. The solar panel absorbs the sun’s energy and charges the battery. The sensor detects when it is dusk, and turns on the lights automatically.
On a bright sunny day, your battery will fully charge. The battery will also charge on overcast days, but may not completely charge. If you live in an area that doesn’t get 8 hours of sunshine on daily basis during winter, you should seriously consider getting Christmas lights with high efficiency polycrystalline solar cells. This would make it possible for the lights to operate even for a few hours a night.
External Sources:
How to set up your Solar Christmas Lights
Solar Christmas Lights Guide
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Solar Garden Lighing: A quick start guide
If you were thinking of using solar garden lights just a few years ago, it would have been unreasonably expensive and unreliable. However, most of those headaches have been resolved with new advances in solar powered lighting. As long as you keep the lighting fixture in direct sunlight each day, the batteries will receive a full charge. You don’t have to worry about digging trenches for wire cables to hook up to a transformer to power your lighting fixtures. You set them up wherever you want.
Here is a quick list of things to consider while selecting your solar garden lights:
•Brightness - Most solar lights are meant to be use as accents. They usually do not produce a light bright enough to really highlight landscaping features. However, they are great for lighting trails and walkways. For your brighter lighting needs, it is best to use a solar lighting system that uses a fluorescent bulb or two LED bulbs at least.
•Solar panels - The majority of solar lights have all of their components enclosed within the fixture. The solar panel is usually enclosed within the fixture too. Some solar lights are connected to an external solar panel. As long as the solar panel is placed in direct sunlight, these fixtures can be placed in the shade.
•Light sensors – The light sensors are usually built into the fixture and it detects dusk and dawn. The lights are then turned on (dusk) or turned off (dawn) accordingly.
•Light Placement – The lights can be placed anywhere as long as the fixture receives sunlight for the solar panel.
•Installation - Installation for most solar garden light fixtures easy pretty straight-forward. Simply stake it into the ground or hang it to a post. No need for an electrician, digging trenches, or dealing with messy wiring.
Your solar garden lights can be a safety tool for highlighting walkways, decks, pathways, and stairways. Or you can use them to softly light fountains or garden features. With such easy installation, you can pretty much highlight any landscaping feature you want.
External Sources:
Solar Garden Lighting Guide
Here is a quick list of things to consider while selecting your solar garden lights:
•Brightness - Most solar lights are meant to be use as accents. They usually do not produce a light bright enough to really highlight landscaping features. However, they are great for lighting trails and walkways. For your brighter lighting needs, it is best to use a solar lighting system that uses a fluorescent bulb or two LED bulbs at least.
•Solar panels - The majority of solar lights have all of their components enclosed within the fixture. The solar panel is usually enclosed within the fixture too. Some solar lights are connected to an external solar panel. As long as the solar panel is placed in direct sunlight, these fixtures can be placed in the shade.
•Light sensors – The light sensors are usually built into the fixture and it detects dusk and dawn. The lights are then turned on (dusk) or turned off (dawn) accordingly.
•Light Placement – The lights can be placed anywhere as long as the fixture receives sunlight for the solar panel.
•Installation - Installation for most solar garden light fixtures easy pretty straight-forward. Simply stake it into the ground or hang it to a post. No need for an electrician, digging trenches, or dealing with messy wiring.
Your solar garden lights can be a safety tool for highlighting walkways, decks, pathways, and stairways. Or you can use them to softly light fountains or garden features. With such easy installation, you can pretty much highlight any landscaping feature you want.
External Sources:
Solar Garden Lighting Guide
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