Solar Powered Security Lights

Written by Andy on February 25, 2011 · Leave a Comment

It’s important to secure your property.  You don’t want thrill-seeking teenagers in the neighborhood or potentially dangerous criminals just roaming around your yard when you’re on vacation or, worse, when you’re sound asleep.  The perfect way to keep all this from happening is by installing flood lights.  You may think to yourself at this point that that will flood your house with light too or drive up your electric bill, both things keeping you up at night.  But if you install solar powered flood lights, you can make all these worries go away.

Solar powered technology and options have come a long way since companies pioneered ways to cheaply produce photovoltaic cells in the 1970s.  One major application since then has been in security lights.  Companies have fine tuned the technology so that these solar powered lights only come on when they detect motion.  And you don’t have to worry about your pets setting them off, since they can be calibrated for detecting human sized motion.  For extra security, you can also get solar powered lights that are on all night, provided their solar panels get 4 or more hours of sunlight each day.

Solar powered lights also make perfect security lights because of the bulbs commonly used.  The LEDs, or light emitting diodes, used as bulbs take a small amount of electricity, which makes them ideal choices for solar powered lighting.  LEDs also produce a vast amount of light in proportion to their size, so they will be sure to light up your property and discourage anyone who might think of breaking in or vandalizing.

The cost of the solar powered lights also make it a good investment for your security.  The only cost to you will be the initial purchase cost and replacing the rechargeable batteries every two or more years.  You can install the lights yourself, and there are no electricity costs since the light is from the sun.

It’s time to secure your yard and home, and solar powered lights are the perfect way to do this.  You should invest in some today.

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Materials Used in Solar Lighting

Written by Andy on February 10, 2011 · Leave a Comment

If you have decided that solar lighting is the direction you want to take for your outdoor lighting needs, you must next consider what materials you want the lighting to be made of.  It’s important to make material selection a priority in choosing the perfect solar lighting for your backyard.  Materials set the tone for your lighting display.  Casual, austere, or extravagant – all this depends on what material is used.  Let’s take a look at the options.

It is no surprise that metals are one of the most common materials used to make outdoor solar lighting.  Metals are pretty weather resistant and should stand the test of time in your backyard.  Copper, brass, and stainless steel are all popular metal choices for solar lighting materials.  Each has their pros and cons.  Some like the look of copper as it brings an organic colored metal into their backyard design.  It does, however, scratch easily, which you will notice if you put it near a tree or bush with limbs that blow in the wind.  For some people, stainless steel can seem too clinical a look for their otherwise lush backyard.  Others like how it reflects light nicely and is a cheaper material.

Solar lighting can also be made of wood.  Some people like this material best because it looks like an organic outgrowth of their yard.  It can also be carved into neat shapes for a refined display for your lighting.

Finally, clear materials such as plastic and glass are common.  Plastic can be desirable because it is a relatively inexpensive material, but it can get brittle and, if colored, fade over time.  It is important, after all, for outdoor solar lighting to be weather resistant, unless you like changing your backyard design often.  In such a case, the affordability of plastic may be the perfect material for your needs.

It is important to consider not just the quality of the working components of solar lighting, but also the materials surrounding them.  The price and overall look of the lighting depends on them enough that you must consider carefully before rushing into the first material you see.

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Troubleshooting Your Solar Powered Lights

Written by Andy on January 24, 2011 · Leave a Comment

If you’ve found that your solar powered lights, once offering you bright and clear light all throughout the night, are now dim or even seem burned out, it’s not time to throw them away and buy new ones.  It’s time to troubleshoot and follow some easy steps to get your good old lights back to their former glory.  After reading this article, you should be able to rehabilitate your lights and enjoy the ambiance they give your backyard once again.

First off, it’s important to try the simplest – and free – solution.  That is to wipe with a damp cloth the solar panels.  It could be that over time rain and wind have left a dirty film over the panels and made them less able to soak up the sun’s rays that supply the power to the lights.  Try this solution first.  If your lights are still disappointing your expectations, press on with the next suggestion.

The next most likely problem is in the rechargeable battery of the light.  With the daily charge and discharge, the battery eventually wears out and needs to be replaced.  This usually takes two or more years.  If your light has failed before then, recharge the battery with a charger you can purchase online or at a local hardware store.  It could be that the battery is perfectly fine, but just isn’t getting adequate light from the sun throughout the day.  Fixing the solar powered light could then be as simple as finding a new place for it in your yard.

If recharging the battery doesn’t work, then you must bite the bullet and replace the battery.  The user manual that came with the solar powered light should tell you what batteries are appropriate for your light.  Never replace the batteries with typical alkaline batteries because they can ruin the photovoltaic cells of the light.

Maintenance of your solar powered light isn’t overly difficult and, as you can see, can be done by anyone.  So I encourage you to get out there and make your solar powered lights shine like before.

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Three Advantages of Solar Lighting

Written by Andy on January 9, 2011 · Leave a Comment

If you are a small business owner or perhaps the leader of a homeowners’ association, you know that lighting can be a real problem.  Perhaps you own a car wash, a miniature golf course, go karts, or batting cages and need to replace the lighting.  Or you need to pick the best street lights for your growing neighborhood.  If you’re trying to do any of these things or similar, the myriad of choices for lighting becomes your pressing concern.  In all these situations, solar lighting can be a real lifesaver and can save you time and money.

Solar lighting gives you lots of options.  They make solar lighting that comes on very high poles, if you want to install them that way.  Or you can simply attach the lights onto walls or existing poles.  Installation is easy and is a great do it yourself project.  Since solar powered lights don’t have wires, you won’t need to hire an electrician or worry about finding a way to hide any unsightly wiring.

You can also get your solar lighting in a wide variety of materials.  Especially if you buy online, you are sure to find the material and style that you are looking for.  That way it will match the design of your business or neighborhood, or even driveway basketball court, appropriately.

Solar lighting is also the perfect way to save money – for your business, backyard project, or in neighborhood dues.  Since you’re getting the power from the sun instead of the electric company, there’s no monthly fee associated with them.  And since the rechargeable batteries tend to last two or more years, you’ll find that the savings really add up.

As you can see, using solar lighting instead of conventional lights is one of the best ways to save money and avoid headaches on big projects.  Plus you can have the satisfaction that in addition to saving your wallet, you’re also saving the planet.

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Two Options for Indoor Solar Lighting

Written by Andy on December 23, 2010 · Leave a Comment

If you want to save money on your electric bill over the long run, you have two different choices for solar indoor lighting.  Both options have pros and cons that you will need to consider before making your final decision.  This article can help you sort them out and find the best option for your home.

Your first option is solar powered lighting.  This lighting choice works by the sun hitting a solar panel filled with photovoltaic cells.  The panel is attached to the LED lights which are arranged throughout your house.  The panel, however, will need to be on your roof or on a side of your house that gets adequate sunlight.  For most brands, this means four to five hours of continuous sunlight each day.  The downsides to this option are thus fairly obvious:  if your roof is shaded by trees or you don’t want to have panels on it which some people can consider unsightly, this may not be the choice for you.  Some people also consider LEDs to be too bright and have an unnatural feel.  There are definite pluses to this solar lighting option.  Once the panel and lights are in place, the sun does all the work for you, and for free.  You can also get power all through the night since the rechargeable batteries in the lighting system store the sun’s energy for whenever you need it.

The second option is solar tube lighting.  This lighting option functions by directing a stream of light from the sun into a room of your home and magnifying it with reflective material or optical fibers.  This provides natural light, which is a great help to those suffering from seasonal affective disorder.  Solar tube lighting, however, only benefits you during the day, so you will still need to augment it with conventional lighting for the evening and night hours.  You will also need a contractor to install solar tube lighting, since it’s a project that is beyond the abilities of most do-it-yourself types.

Solar lighting can be a highly beneficial addition to your indoor lighting set-up.  It’s up to you to decide which of the two major types is best for your particular needs.

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