Garden Solar Lighting: Ideas And Tips

The new trend in outdoor lighting these days is installing solar lights. This type of garden lighting is relatively new, but it had already gained popularity among homeowners and landscape designers. This is easily explained: solar lights don't consume electrical power, which makes them the most economical and eco-friendly solution; they don't need wires, so are easy to install; and last but not least - they come in a wide range of styles and designs to satisfy the most exacting taste of any designer, no matter is it a pro or amateur.

Knowing the basic types of solar lights will help you choose the best fixtures to illuminate your garden.

Border and driveway solar lights

These lights are mostly used to light up pathways in the garden and driveways. Stylish, practical and cost-saving -- they can totally replace the traditional electric lights. There are several main types of solar lights commonly used to illuminate driveways and paths:

• Stake solar lights. Such lighting fixture consists of a stake, a lamp on the top of it, and a solar panel. It's all-sufficient, you simply need to pitch stake into the ground and your driveway light is ready for work. These lights can be white or color-changing, the styles vary from classic to contemporary. The prices start from for a 2 feet stake light and up to 0 for a 7,5-feet Victorian solar lamp post with 3-lantern LED light fixture.
• Stepping stone solar lights. These lights are made to be installed right into the walkways. They have a light source inside and are strong enough to withstand people stepping on them daily. Prices start from about each if buying in online marketplaces such as Ebay, Amazon or AliExpress.
• Paver solar lights. These lights are even more stronger and are designed for driveways, so they can withstand the weight of a car. Made of acrylic or glass, these lights can be installed right into the pavement of a driveway. The prices are from about for each light fixture and higher.

Outdoor solar lamps

These solar lamps are great for the outdoor activities, adding a touch of style to the daily routine. And what is more important, you don't need to drag the electrical cable across the lawn or garden.

• Table solar lamps can bring stylishness and coziness of a living room to your patio. They are practical and fancy, and of course easy to use. Some of such lams may have an optional electrical connection along with the solar panel. This feature might sometimes be useful, although it will slightly increase the cost of a product.

• Solar lamp posts are great to illuminate walkways and driveways, garden benches, gates, etc. Just remember not to place solar lamps into shady places as they need to be under the sunlight for at least a few hours.

The prices for solar lamps start at and up, depending on brand and some technical details. Big lamp posts (8-9 feet) will cost from 0 to 00 and sometimes even more.

Glowing Solar Globes

These fancy orbicular lights can be used anywhere in the garden and will definitely add style and chic to any landscape design. They are even able to float in a pool creating absolutely unique ambience. Some models are white while others have both white and color-changing modes. There are also half-globe lamps used usually for illuminating pathways. The prices start from about up to and higher depending on the model, brand and characteristics.

String Solar lights

These lights are similar to the traditional string lights but are powered by the solar energy. They don't need to be connected to your home's electrical system, but they do have a wire to get the power from a solar panel. Remember to place this panel into a place where there is enough sunlight throughout the day.

String solar lights are usually used during the Christmas holidays, but the latest trend is to use the all year round. They come in a huge variety of styles, sizes and colors, with price tags starting from and up to 0 for multiple lights looking like a work of art.

Security and Safety Solar Lights

There are some types of security and safety lights that can use solar power. The most obvious use of such lights is sunlit address and house number. It has not only decorative functions but practical too -- the emergency services will be able to find your house at night in case of a power outage. These lights will cost you from about and up depending on their style and materials.

Another smart idea is to use solar power for motion-detector lights that turn the illumination on only when the sensor detect any movement. They don't need to work all night long, actually they often shine only a few minutes per night, so there's a low probability that the battery will drain leaving you without this motion-detecting security light even if there will be a few sunless days in a row. Prices start from and up to 0 depending on features and technical details.