When you think about lighting in your landscape you want to accentuate your home and yard work at
night and you don?t want the them to stick out or look out of place. It should illuminate and focus
on-lookers to the work you have accomplished. There are other uses though you may have
overlooked.
Energy Saving
Solar powered light use a natural source, the sun, to generate power. Photovoltaic, or solar, panels
inside the lights store energy to be used at night. There are no wires to connect, nothing to
plug-in and light intensity is comparable to low voltage lighting. For optimal operation that last
through the night, fixtures should be placed where they will receive full sunlight plus, units are
wired with automatic light sensors to conserve energy. Due to high demand, prices have fallen and
are much more reasonable.
Safety
Important places to use solar installations are the driveway, paths leading to your entryway and any
stairs on the way although they can be installed in water features and as spotlights. The show
factor is quite obvious but in addition, they add value to your home but more importantly, they
enhance the safety of it. Thieves and vandals are less likely to strike a well lit home and your
family and friends will be able see when walking around your property after dark.
Professional Tips
Make sure to use a maximum of 240 watts in each grouping, equal to 2-6 lights. This will prevent
over lighting any one area. Be mindful of your neighbors and make sure you are lighting your yard
and not keeping them up at night. Using shields will help you with this because you can direct your
lighting. If want to spotlight a landscape feature, use 2-3 fixtures instead of one bright light.
You'll get a softer effect and will minimize glare. Make sure to use different angles for optimal
results.
In your design sketches, include landscape elements, structures in your yard, the potential power
source, and where individual fixtures will go. By doing this will help you determine cable lengths
and which cable to use with different types of lights, unless you are using solar led landscape lights.
Areas that require low lighting should be placed at the end of your cables. There is a voltage drop
at the ends that will produce dimmer lights. As far as your transformer is concerned, calculate the
energy to be consumed then purchase one with a 20% higher capacity. Additional capacity will give
you the option of adding more lights if necessary.
Overall, solar lighting is energy efficient, gives you flexible installation, and yields an
appropriate return in value to your property.
