Tuesday, August 16, 2011


Why Solar Powered Lighting Is a Good Idea

There are many different reasons to buy solar powered lighting. One is that there are an abundance of different kinds of solar lights, from strings of lights for decks and patios, stake lights that can illuminate a dark pathway, solar powered flashlights, as well as many others. There are numerous advantages to buying these kinds of lights, and while you may think the initial costs are more than standard lighting, over the long run, they can be much less expensive, and in fact save you a lot of money.

Let's take solar powered lighting stake lights for an example. These self contained units can be placed pretty much wherever you want, as long as they get at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day. The solar panels, batteries, and lights themselves are all independent of the other lights, even though most are sold in packs of four to six units. During the day, the solar panels absorb the sun's energy, storing it in the battery, when the sun goes down, the bulbs light up, getting their power from the fully charged batteries. Unlike a car battery, these are rechargeable batteries, and can be drained an charged up hundreds of times in their life span.

The first advantage of these solar powered lighting systems is that they don't need any external power source. You don't have to plug them into a wall outlet, so they don't use your existing electricity. Other than the light strings themselves, you don't have to worry about running dangerous cords that can be tripped on, damaged by weather or pests. This means that you are not restricted in where they are placed. You can have them in the garden, to light up a certain area on your property, just to name a few locations.

Because they use the energy from the sun, these solar powered lighting systems are environmentally friendly. Solar power is free, it is abundant, and totally renewable. There is not combustion, you can take it anywhere, and because the batteries are rechargeable, they don't have to be continuously replaced. For an example, if you buy a solar powered flashlight, you can use it for five to six hours at night, then let it sit in the sun during the day to recharge, using it over and over without having to replace a single battery. Because of this, these flashlights are lighter and easier to carry, because you don't need to pack batteries with you.

Okay so now you're interested in buying solar power lighting, and want to know where you can buy them. You may also want to find the most efficient ones available. Again, while some initial costs may seem high, in the long run they will save you money. Now days, the types of lighting systems you want have to have either florescent bulbs, or the newer LED light bulbs. Incandescent bulbs produce more heat than light, which wastes a lot of energy. LED lights give off no heat, but produce and intense light. While these are a bit more expensive, your bulbs will last longer and have over 80% efficiency.

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