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A rather recent innovation in outdoor design, garden solar landscape lights are still seen as a doubt-inducing alternative to conventional outdoor lights. Do they really work? No wires, no outlets needed? They seem too good to be true. Thanks to green technology, this is no longer fiction. The following paragraphs will give an overview of how solar garden landscape lights work and a few tips on working with them.
Garden solar landscape lights use small photovoltaic (PV) or solar cells to charge a battery that may or may not be incorporated into the lighting fixture. This battery is charged by the sun during the day, allowing it to provide electricity to a landscape or outdoor space during nighttime. Some garden solar landscape lights are provided with their own batteries so using wires and installing outlets may be out of the question. A whole day of charging a solar battery can provide every fixture up to 10 hours of light. However, this is seasonally based. Garden solar landscape lights can provide a whole night of lighting during spring and summer. However, winter can give these fixtures very limited lighting time. A long winter night can provide solar lights with up to 50 percent operating time.
So, how do you know if garden solar landscape lights are for you? The key is location. Analyzing the geography of your home and the amount of sunlight your garden receives each day is the first step in determining whether your investment will pay off. Trees and buildings can prevent the solar batteries from getting enough sunlight to charge. If your yard is shaded by a number of trees, better think twice before installing solar garden landscape lights. When you decide to use them, make sure that their position is right. The PV panel should be directly under the sun to receive as much sunlight as it needs. A blocked PV panel can affect the run time of these garden solar landscape lights and can consequently reduce battery life. Some models separate PV panels from the light fixture, which may be the solution to gardens that are partly shaded. However, the inconvenience of connecting wires comes back hunting you. Wire-free garden solar landscape lights have integrated PV cells. Positioning them in an area directly under the sun will provide them with the maximum energy they need.
Some manufacturers of garden solar landscape lights now use light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs and nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal-hydride batteries for a lot of their models. A rather new technology, LEDs produce brighter lights while using less electricity. They even have a significantly longer lifespan than usual incandescent light bulbs. Batteries made from metal alloys mainly made of nickel are easier to charge and have a longer life expectancy. These innovations are become less expensive and more widely available in a lot of garden solar landscape lights. For this kind of technology, it is better to check with reputable manufacturers to make sure that your investment is put to good use.
So, before getting yourself hooked on these, make sure that your outdoor situation is conditioned. Ask questions from store managers and manufacturers regarding their availability, their suitability for your area, and the type of maintenance they will need. The last things you want are useless garden solar landscape lights for your home.
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Author Bio Box: Patricia Wainwright
Get all the facts about landscape gardening and organic gardening at GreenThumbArticles.com!
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