Someone asked me a question the other day about solar lights. I had no idea what they were, so I had to look it up. I probably could have guessed actually, because the name is pretty self explanatory.
Solar lights are those little lights you’ve probably seen on pathways around hotels when you’re on holiday. Very ingenious little devices they are too. Basically they have a solar panel at the top, which charges the battery during the day. Then, when night falls, the light comes on automatically and stays on until the battery runs out (usually six to eight hours or so).
Solar lighting is becoming increasingly popular these days. Whereas in the past you would only find them at commercial establishments like hotels, conference centres, etc, more and more people are now buying solar powered lights for their own gardens. This is probably due to a couple of reasons. First, solar panels and solar technology has become steadily cheaper over the last few years and second, recent advancements in LED (light emitting diode) designs enable LED lighting to be much more powerful than before. LED lamps consume much less power than traditional filament lamps, so are ideal for solar lighting, where the amount of power available is not great (particularly in the less than sunny climate of the UK!).
Outdoor solar lights are very easy to install and use. Typically they come on a stake, which you just shove into the ground. Of course, it goes without saying that you should never hammer the stake into the ground with a mallet while the lamp is on top, otherwise you will smash both the solar panel and the lamp itself. The lamps are usually detachable from the stakes, so make sure you hammer the stake in first, then attach the lamp.
Most varieties of solar outdoor lamps are automatic, i.e. they have a sensor so they can switch themselves on when light gets below a certain level. Some come with a switch that allows you to power them on or off yourself, but to be honest it is a lot easier to just “set and forget”.
Another popular application for this technology is with solar Christmas lights and solar fairy lights. These can look great when surrounding the trees in your garden during the festive season. Of course, the only problem is that in the winter months there isn’t ha huge amount of sunlight, so they may not stay charged for very long!
Solar lights are a great invention, and very environmentally friendly too!
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