Many environmentally conscious homeowners are using solar lights to add lighting to their home’s exterior. Not only does using solar lights lessen your home’s carbon footprint and help conserve the environment, it will also save you money since you aren’t using any of your electricity to power them. One of the best things about adding solar lighting to your home is that they are very easy to install, generally requiring no wiring or messy extension cords cluttering your lawn.
Two of the more popular types of solar lights currently available are:
Solar patio lights: This is a large category of exterior solar lights that encompasses everything from solar string lights to solar lanterns. These look just like standard lights except that instead of having a electrical plug to supply power, they have a small solar panel attached to them so that they can absorb sunlight. Usually, the solar panel is attached to the top of the light so the suns rays will shine on it and charge the battery for nighttime. If you’re using a solar string light the solar panel will be attached to the end of the string on a piece of electrical cable so you can place it away from the lights to get the best absorption.
Solar driveway lights: These are solar lights that are placed alongside your driveway so that when you come home after dark it’s easy to see (they are also helpful for when you have new teenage drivers at home so they don’t drive off the driveway into your yard). You can use two different styles; either the small foot tall pole type that you just shove into the ground or the kind you hang on a shepherds hook that is placed in your yard next to the drive.
When you pair these with a solar lamp post or two at the end of your driveway where it connects to the street you make coming home after dark much safer for your family and guests.
But be warned – you must place the lights where they will receive a good amount of sunlight. If parts of your driveway are completely over shadowed by a tree for instance, solar power will not be an effective method for lighting it.
Healthy Family | Healthy World
