Landscape lighting can vary from creative and a cool idea to a necessary security measure. Outdoor lighting can improve the look, highlight a home, be a part of outdoor entertaining and fun, and give your family improved safety. There are a lot of solar lighting choices and products out there. Can you use solar power and fixtures for landscape lighting on your property?
There are three basic choices with landscape lighting: solar, LED and halogen. There are pros and cons to picking solar lights. We’ve also included some interesting ideas that might help you out.
Solar Landscape Lighting Pros
Let’s start on the positive side. There are plenty of pros to solar-powered lighting around walkways, stairs, gardens, driveways, patios and porches.
- There’s no wiring or components needed, so installation is typically easier to DIY it and it’s fairly inexpensive from start to finish.
- You don’t need another power source running from the house to a front yard, driveway or back yard.
- No additional electricity means no addition to the electric bill.
- There will be no electric components, cords or wires to be dangers to children or pets. There’s nothing to trip over, accidentally pull on, play with or chew.
- Once you buy and install the lights, there’s no more cost involved.
- Solar lights can go anywhere and in any design just so they get the solar energy they need.
- The lights can go anywhere, as in a flower bed, around a patio, in trees, and there are no wires to mess up the surrounding plants, walkways, stairs or look.
- The longer the sunny days, the longer the solar lights stay on with no added power use or cost.
- Solar-powered lights are environmentally friendly.
Disadvantages to Solar Landscape Lighting
There are drawbacks to solar lighting outdoors, or just situation which aren’t a good fit. It’s good to know this up front before going forward with your idea or project.
- Solar lights must get solar energy during the day, so there are places they can’t go and still function.
- You might need to clean the lights regularly. This isn’t just for looks, but to keep the solar panels clear, too.
- If you get cloudy, or in the winter shorter, days the solar lights will not last as long into the evening or night.
• The lights can go anywhere, as in a flower bed, around a patio, in trees. - Some solar lights might not be as bright as LED or halogen lights. This can change how you can use these as landscape lights.
- The lifespan of solar lights might be shorter, and you’ll need to replace them every few years.
Bright Ideas
Landscape lighting is a great addition to a property. Choosing the idea plan is part of meeting the goals and needs you have in mind. Here are some tips and creative ideas.
Highlighting the Home and Property
Solar landscape lights can improve the looks, and maybe even the property value, of a home. Lighting may highlight outdoor work, architecture, a feature such as a pool or patio.
Uplighting is a technique of lighting to highlight specific areas or details. Lights are put at the base or below a feature to make creative contrasts or highlights with the light at night. Common uplighting techniques include wall washing, shadowing, spotlighting and silhouetting.
You can try this out as a big, fun DIY project or this can be a pro project with a lighting pro, decorator or landscaping contractor. Adding spotlights at different spots and angles around a house may make the whole property look great. You can use softer, wider-angled floodlights for easier, more ambient lighting.
Lighting to Accentuate an Area or Feature
Landscape lighting can be added to just one area of your property for the look, function or just creativity. Is there a patio or deck you love using, and want more use from it? Pools, gardens, walkways and trees may look better in the evenings with solar lights.
Safety and Functionality
You want a nice look to the new outdoor lighting, but you’re caring more about the light itself rather than getting home décor accolades. Maybe more light is needed up and down a driveway or on walkways you use a lot in the night or early morning.
Downlighting is the best way to safely and consistently brighten walkways or driveways. You can put lights above tables and chairs on a deck or porch just to simply see better.
If kids play outside in the evening or night, more lights can make it better and safer. The same idea goes if you’re giving a dog a bathroom break just before turning in or first thing in the morning.
Hanging Solar Lights
Hanging string lights are often solar-powered and they are a popular, enjoyable addition to an outdoor space you already like hanging out in. Picking the right lights makes for an easy DIY project, usually an inexpensive upgrade and having a little more reason for family and friends to spend time on a deck or yard.
Using Trees
You can use trees as great places to mount or hand landscape lights. This can give a great look to a yard, garden area or walkways. There are a few things to remember, though.
Don’t use staples or nails in a tree. This can damage, or even kill, a tree. Putting nails or staples in a tree makes it more likely for insects or rust to set in. You can use zip ties or stainless steel screws.
You should use stainless steel mounting bolts to mount lights in trees. Mounting brackets can be damaged by insects, grown over by the tree trunk and they have no adjustability over the years.
Pay attention to the sun and shade. Solar-powered lights in trees will still need sunlight. Think about spots which get sun most of the day. If you install lights in the fall or winter, know the light and shade may change with the season, and as leaves grow back.
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