How To Save Money with Solar Lights

Having a well-lit house, as well the surrounding areas of the house (i.e. the garden, front porch or backyard) do not only make the place look beautiful and inspired but also make any person feel safe. However, with the relentless rising of energy costs and other utility bills, sometimes it is just more of a priority to keep the lights inside on and be able to do household activities normally than keep the outdoor lights on. Everyone is looking to save more in any way we can especially in hard times like these. 

There are a lot of simple ways to save electricity at home. One way is to make sure to unplug all appliances when not in use and another is to simply replace the big bulbs being used inside the house with the Compact Fluorescent ones. These tips are great ways to save on electricity but mostly deal with inside the house. How about for the lights found outdoors? Are they to be kept off until a miracle happens and energy prices drop?

Fossil fuels like coal and natural gas are the number one sources of energy but since we have been using these energy sources for more than 100 years, other energy source options are being researched to replace these non-renewable ones. Renewable sources of energy are the ones which are replenished naturally and are coming from natural resources like the wind or the sun. Solar energy is one of the top sources of renewable energy as the sun’s energy is very abundant, it is clean and easy to harness. Solar lighting is the simplest use of this type of energy and yes, that includes the garden lights which we almost thought we had to keep shut off.

How Solar Lights Work

Well, aside from the casing, its cover and the simple control board, these are the main components of a solar light and their corresponding functions:

1. The solar cell which is usually found on top of the lighting fixture to easily harness energy from the sun,
2. Long-life AA NiCad Batteries which store the energy after it is being harnessed,
3. A photoresistor to detect darkness
4. The LED light which will be used for lighting the lamp or fixture. The solar cells or panel collect the energy from the sun and store it in the NiCad batteries. Once it gets dark, the lights will automatically turn on because of the photoresistor which basically activates when there no light source found. One easy way to test the photoresistor is by covering it with your hands and checking if the LED light will turn on.

Solar lights are best used outdoors especially in a place where there direct sunlight. These are very easy to install and do not require wiring at all --- that means, no wires will have to be run all over your garden or backyard. They are mostly built to resist most weather types so they are very reliable and can last for a long time. This type of lighting can be used not only for the garden but also as solar post lights to surround your house and light the pathways, solar security lights to ensure porches are well-lit and solar deck lights for those evenings just lounging outside. We are now easily able to put up those outdoor lights and not have to worry about adding up to the energy bill. All we need to worry about is how to position these lights in the garden or the landscape that will create more areas of focus and interest. That’s when garden and  landscape designing come in.