The power of solar is no longer just a pipedream. Solar panel installations are helping people all over save on their heating costs, but we’re finding more inventive ways to use them too.
When it comes to landscape lighting, they’re significantly simpler than other options due to a complete lack of wiring or need for outlets. What’s more, they provide a little saving power over traditional electric lights, not to mention giving you a more sustainable way to your garden looking beautiful.
Solar landscape lights are a great way to up the kerb appeal of the home, which also improves the value, as well as preventing trips, slips and falls, and even adding a little ambience to outdoor dining or social spots.
While they make for a fantastic alternative to traditional lighting, solar landscaping lights also require a little more finesse. Because they usually aren’t as bright as electrical lights, they need to be spaced a little closer together and used more inventively.
Here, we’re going to look at how close together your solar lights should be in the garden, as well as different lighting techniques you can use to achieve different looks and goals.
From the pathway to the outdoor dining area, here’s everything you need to know about solar landscape lighting.
Solar Landscape Lighting: Light & Space
If you want to keep the pathway or any other part of the exterior well lit, you are going to need to have a solar light every six-to-eight feet.
This is a general rule, of course, which means there are exceptions. You can easily place them closer together if you want a brighter, more defined look.
You should also consider what other lighting is already available to you. If you have a light fixture on the front of the home, or the pathway ends at a street lamp, you can use fewer lights or space them out further there
Solar Garden Lighting: Safety Matters
Safety is one of the key reasons to install landscape lighting. You don’t want people fumbling and tripping their way up your path.
To that end, it’s important to recognize that solar lights are dimmer than traditional electric options.
For that reason, for areas where safety is a concern, you might want more lights spaced more closely, such as every five-to-six feet, instead.
What If It’s Just Not Sunny Enough?
Solar landscape lighting doesn’t necessarily need sunlight to work. However, high-quality lights are going to make better use of a few hours in the sun every day.
So, if you want them brighter but you can’t place them where they get enough sun or you simply don’t get a lot of sun, what can you do? You can instead make use of a remote photovoltaic panel.
Solar panels can be placed anywhere on the home, including the roof or the garage but they can just as easily be placed at ground-level where you might get a little more sun.
The solar energy connected by these panels can then be converted to power your solar lights and give them the extra little kick they need.
Get in touch with a solar landscaping professional and get those panels installed
Different Ways to Use Your Solar Landscaping Lights
Keeping your pathways bright and safe isn’t the only way to make use of your solar lighting.
Lighting, in general, plays a huge role in shaping the aesthetic of any environment and that improves the exterior. The fact that solar lights don’t have any wires or any needs for outlets means you can get even more inventive and find new ways to use them to create different lighting situations.
Here, we’re going to look at just a few of the ways you can use your solar landscape lighting to achieve various different effects.
Uplighting is the practice of situating lights in the ground, but directly at the feet of towering features such as tree trunks and walls to create a burst of light that makes those features all the more impressive.
If you’re using more textured, grainy walls, it’s known as grazing, creating a play of shadows and contrast across the surface.
Conversely, downlighting is about angling lights down from a height, often used to provide a little extra light to outdoor social spaces like patios.
Solar landscape lighting instantly adds safety, style, and comfort to any exterior space. It can be used to light pathways, outside dining areas or just to add a touch of class and atmosphere to your outdoors, so they’re well worth considering.