Thursday, March 19, 2009

Solar Christmast Lights: A Quick Overview

Solar Christmas Lights are great for anyone looking to reduce the Christmas electricity bill, help the planet, but do not want to sacrifice their holiday cheer.

The neat thing about solar Christmas lights is that they add holiday cheer to your home without the hassle of extension cords and electrical outlets. Just place your lights where you want them (as long as they receive adequate sunlight during the day) and forget about them. Installation is really that easy. The sun does all the heavy lifting. The solar panels collect the sun’s energy and charges the batteries. When the internal sensor detects dusk, the lights automatically turn on.

If you do not live in a sunny locale, solar Christmas lights can still work for you. There are high output solar Christmas lights that come equipped with high efficiency polycrystalline solar cells make it possible for the lights to operate even for a few hours a night.

Once Christmas is over, pack them up or use them for other purposes. Use them for porch lighting, outdoor birthday celebrations, anniversaries, weddings, pathway lighting and any other events you can think of.

External Resources:
What are Solar Christmas Lights

Solar Garden Lights: Do they work?

If you are looking for landscape lighting options, you have probably come across solar garden lighting. You may have wanted to purchase them, but were hesitant because you have been told they are not as good as advertised. Frankly, most people who purchased their solar lights recently but were disappointed had unrealistic expectations.

They wanted a lighting system that produced light as strong as those powered by traditional electricity. Solar garden lights do not produce a very strong light, but they are perfect for highlighting garden features, walkways, and pathways. However, if you need a stronger light, you solar garden lights that use fluorescent light bulbs or a fixture that uses at least two LED lights. This will produce a much stronger light.

Furthermore, solar garden lights can be used in more areas than traditional electric lights, since you do not have to worry about wiring. Just stake your lighting fixtures in the areas you want to highlight and you are done. The only caveat is that the fixtures must receive a sufficient amount of sunlight to fully charge the battery. If you want your lights to stay on for the entire night, it is extremely important to keep your fixtures in the sun.

The life span of your lighting fixtures can be increased if you buy fixtures with a charge regulator. This will prevent the battery from overcharging, which decreases its life span. There is also a sensor that turn the fixtures on at dusk and off at dawn. I found these cool site that gives a pretty good overview of solar garden lights: Solar Garden Lighting Info and Solar Garden Lighting Options.