Solar Landscape Lighting Ideas

Solar landscape lighting can free you up from the creative constraints of connected electrical wires. Well-placed foot lamps can line a path for added visibility. Solar-powered spotlights can shed light on your best landscape features. Larger ambient solar landscape lights can turn night into day in your own backyard.

Foot Lamps

Solar landscape lamps can be placed along the outside edges of a backyard path for added visibility and safety. Even an unpaved path or one leading far away from all electrical sources can be illuminated with solar lamps. Stake the lamps into the ground during the day to be sure they are not in a shadow. Without direct sunlight the lamps will not be able to power up for night use. Lamps should be placed between six and eight feet apart. Place lamps near any tripping hazards along the path. Wireless solar power gives you the ability to change your lighting design without the commitment of laying underground wires. Lamps can be moved to better positions if parts of your path still appears dark. A well-lit walkway will illuminate your way to fewer trips and falls.

Spotlights

Solar-powered landscape spotlights will light up and show off your yard's best features. Small focused solar spotlights can be placed below trees and bushes to illuminate them from below. This type of lighting will cast long dramatic shadows across your yard. Landscape spotlights can also be used to bring attention to a favorite flower garden or yard sculpture. Spots can be relocated around the yard with ease to feature whatever is in bloom.

Spots can also be used for added security. Spotlights can be placed at the edge of the property to send a beam of light along the fence. This will help create an additional visual barrier and can provide light for closed-circuit security cameras.

Ambient Lighting

Larger ambient lights like solar light posts can illuminate an entire yard for an evening event. These larger solar lights require larger solar panels to power them. Mounting them on a post affords you plenty of room for both the lighting element and the solar power cell. Having the solar light up on a post will also allow the lights to extend their reach over a greater distance. Digging a hole and cementing a large post light into the ground is a more permanent commitment than other types of solar landscape lighting. Test the range of your post light before you set it into the ground. Two or three of these stronger lights can keep a garden area bright enough for a night meal or garden club meeting. This option, although more expensive than most solar choices, still has a lower final cost than running electrical power wire all over your yard.

References

• Solar Landscape Lighting Tips
• Solar Landscape Lights