Solar Lighting System vs Low Voltage Landscape Lighting
While considering adding a solar lighting system to your home, you have likely done research that has led you towards either solar lights or low voltage lighting.
If you have read any of the other posts on my blog site, you likely know how fond I am of low voltage lights. Be that as it may, it is important that you understand the benefits (and drawbacks) of both. The last thing I want you to do is go out and buy a bunch of solar lights that are not going to work for you, just based on my assertion that they are the best thing since sliced bread.
Low Voltage Lighting
I am going to low voltage lights over solar lights. The good thing about them is that they will work anywhere that you have something to plug them into which I use an extension cord coming around the house. Contrary to a solar lighting system You don’t really need to worry about whether or not you get enough sun to charge the batteries, because they do not have them. I have bought a light sensor which comes on at dusk and goes off at dawn for $18. The lights cost around $15 to $20 dollars (I got mine for $10 clearance at Walmart).
That being said, they are also more difficult to install. I just dug a small trench where they are going to run the wires and lay the wires in the trench and covered it up with mulch. I do not recommend this. You can with a couple of dollars to buy some small diameter PVC pipes, glue, and fittings. Use the pipe as a wiring conduit. This will protect the wires from being gnawed on by pests and being accidentally cut with a gardening tool.
The benefits of using low voltage lighting in your garden is that they work well for areas that need a lot of light. They are much brighter than solar light especially good for paths. The floodlights are a great deal brighter than the solar equivalent. Also you do not need many lights for an area. I have one light for every 6 feet. They will have a small impact on your energy bill.
Solar Lights
It means that it cost literally nothing to run as long as the solar powered lights get enough sun to keep their built in batteries charged. They will turn off during the day and turn back on at night. They will stay on all night, until they detect morning sunshine. This makes them easy to forget about until you go out in the dark and see them lit (or trip over one while gardening).
The “pitfall” in all this is that if you do not get enough sunlight, they will not work. Most solar garden lights have pretty efficient solar panels, so they can collect a pretty decent charge during overcast days.
Solar lights need to be able to charge to full capacity from time to time or the batteries’ life is reduced. If you plan to place them in the shade (like under a bush or something), make sure you get a fixture that has a remote panel that you can mount in a location where it will get enough sunlight.
Another point to consider is the bulbs themselves. Most solar powered garden lights use LEDs as their source of illumination. While this makes them virtually maintenance free, they are not as bright as other types of garden lighting. LEDs are manufactured to last for a very long time. Usually, the fixture itself will wear out before the bulbs do. They are also much more efficient. Incandescent bulbs convert energy into two things: light and heat. LEDs do a much better job of converting the energy into light, and create very little heat.
That said, they are still not quite as bright as other types of landscape lighting. This is due to the fact that they must focus on staying lit for 10-12 hours on a single charge. That longevity comes at a cost – they cannot be as bright. They also have batteries that need to be replaced. That are solar batteries and you can not use regular batteries in their place. Some lights the batteries are easy to replace, others you need to get the smallest phillip screwdriver you can find. Most are rather brittle with the weather and myself breaking them.
Hybrid Systems
Hybrid systems for landscape lighting do exist. A hybrid system uses primarily solar power and supplements it with low voltage electricity when the solar batteries run low. The biggest problems here are price and installation. You still need to run electrical wires with this kind of system. You also need to have a voltage sensor and relay system that detects when the batteries are running low, so it can start using electricity. While this obviously solves some of the problems associated with both solar and low voltage systems, they are not yet popular enough to be priced at a range that is comfortable for most people who are just looking to add some lights to their garden.
Battery Lights
You know, these are lights that you place batteries in whether AAA or AA. I found these lights last around a week before the batteries state to deplete, so you put more batteries in. After time, I found this starts to get rather costly. Some of the lights will start when you place the batteries in and will run 6 or 8 hours then shut off until the cycle starts the next day the same time.
The Verdict
I think that if you live in an area that gets plenty of sunlight throughout the year, and you do not need a TON of light, solar lights are the way to go. If you think about it, there are not many applications where you need a lot of light. I think the two areas where they do not work as well as low voltage lights are floodlights and spotlights for garden walkways.
If you need lights that are just too bright for solar lighting to facilitate, or if you live in an area that does not get much sunlight, low voltage lights might be what you need. Be careful with the usage though. I would recommend having them on a timer to allow them to run only at certain times of the evening. Leaving them on all night long could cost may be a waste of money.
As for variety and style of difference lights, both comes with a large assortment to choose from.
Have I forgotten anything? Well, here you have it then. Solar lighting system vs. low voltage lighting. Which way will you go?