Solar lights make beautiful accents to any garden or walkway. No longer do you need to pick your way cautiously toward the house or turn on bright spotlights while you enjoy an evening on the patio. Spreading a soft light, solar lights are easy to install and provide six to eight hours of light at night. During the day, the lights recharge through small solar panels. Path lights and garden lights are the most common solar lights, but there are also spotlights and specialty versions, including Christmas lights, rock lights and address markers. Here are some tips on solar lighting types and installation.
Path lights and garden lights usually come in sets that stake into the ground. Most have a hooded light atop the spike and each light has a solar panel on top of the hood. This eliminates the need for any wiring; each light can simply be pushed into the ground where it is desired. However, some of these light types, as well as many spotlights, have an external solar panel that is wired to the lights in series. For spotlights, which have no place for a solar panel, these external panels are necessary, and they can also collect more solar power. This becomes an issue as lights become more powerful; full-strength floodlights are also available in solar varieties and they require larger external solar panels. Most other styles have integrated solar panels, including small solar stepping stones, wall-mounted lights and string lights.
Installing solar lights is a very easy process. They do not require any connection to an external power source, and do not require any wiring. For lights that connect to a small external solar panel, most wires come pre-connected or easily snap together. For the rest, which have integrated solar panels, there are no wires at all. The lights are simply placed where they are desired. The only consideration is to give the lights as much direct sunlight as possible, though most can charge even in the shade.