DIY Solar Lighting Tips – Solar Lawn Lights

Edison's invention of the light bulb took place about 100 years ago. Maybe it's time this little piece of technology was upgraded a bit.

In reality, Edison only improved the light bulb, developing one in 1879 that burned for about 40 hours. A year later, that number rose to about 1220 hours, which is a bit more than the 750-1000 hour bulbs of today. Tungsten-filament bulbs were patented by GE in 1906.

Even with all of these advancements, a source of electricity is still required. This is where batteries came in, but even they need replaced from time to time. As nice as they are, though, batteries are not the best for certain uses, such as outdoor lawns, where they could possibly get wet.

Solar-powered lawn lights
Even though these lamps are a bit more costly at first, the advantages make them well worth the investment. First of all, no wiring is required for their installation. Also, there is no need to find a way to plug them into the house. Since they are designed for outdoor use, they are sealed well, and won't be damaged by water.

All of these factors allow them to be used anywhere. You also get the convenience of being able to stick more of them into the ground should you ever decide to expand the lawn. Another advantage is that you can easily pull them out of the ground and move them if need be.

The fact that they can be easily moved or replaced is enough to make them worth it. They can burn for 10 hours a night for almost three years, adding up to about 10,000 hours. These too will have to have their batteries replaced at some time down the road. Fortunately, it's just a matter of pulling out the old one and popping a new one in. All of this adds up to them probably lasting as long as you live in the house.

Ni-Cad or NiMh batteries are used in this type of light, and they have almost no memory to speak of. What that means is that they will recharge fully over and over again, even if the light never has a chance to run out of power during the night. This is nice for those who live in areas where the nights do not last that long.

The only potential problem is if you do not have enough daylight to fully recharge the batteries. This will not allow them to burn all night. This may not be an issue, though, because you may not want them to run all night anyway. As is the case with most things, personal preference will be a major deciding factor.

Another advantage is that you don't have to worry about turning them off and on or setting them on a timer. They won't turn on until it gets dark enough, and they will continue to charge as long as there is enough daylight to allow it. They only use high efficiency LED bulbs that produce 7 watts per 8-10 hours of use.

You should definitely give these attractive and convenient lights a try.