Buying solar lights for your garden

Spotlight on solar lights for garden

No electricity? No problem.

Consider going solar and save not only the environment but a plenty of cash over time.

Not long ago solar lights were nothing more than driveway markers – and weak ones at best. Heck, our local fire flies gave off more light than those early inexpensive plastic solar lights.

Those days are gone. Today’s high-quality solar lights are not only aesthetically pleasing, they can rival very expensive low-voltage lighting systems installed in many high-end landscapes at great expense to homeowners.

Hiring lighting experts to bury miles of low-voltage wire throughout your landscape just to get a spotlight on that lovely birch tree in the corner of your yard is a thing of the past. So too is the need to hire an expensive electrician to bring full electrical service to several areas in the yard so you can power your low-voltage system.

The garden is the perfect place to use solar energy whether it’s a couple of spotlights to light up a tree in the back of the garden, or an off-grid installation with solar panels to power appliances, lights, pumps etc.

Why do we even need lighting in the garden?

Every garden, big or small, benefits in some way from garden lighting.

A good, well-thought out lighting plan certainly provides an essential function by illuminating walkways and providing a safe passageway especially for elderly visitors. The real benefit to a lighting system however, is its ability to focus on the key features of the garden and create an enticing atmosphere that might be quite different from the one the garden gives off during the day.

Dinner parties become magical, BBQs on the patio become an experience more in line with a favourite vacation experience, and special events take on a more elegant atmosphere.

Heck, even taking the dog out for its nightly duty is easier and safer. You, at least, have a fighting chance of seeing that skunk before it unleashes on Fido.

Solar light batteries

Most high-quality solar-powered batteries will last between 5-8 hours on a full charge. Be aware, to fully charge the batteries, the solar panel will need at least 4 hours of direct sunlight. This could be a problem for Woodland or shade gardeners where sun is at a premium.

Thankfully, most good solar powered units come with a long wire allowing homeowners to place the solar panel and batteries quite a distance from the actual lights. (For those new to solar lighting, the solar panel charges internal batteries in the unit during the day providing the power needed to operate the lights during the day. Most units automatically turn on at dusk and remain on for a number of hours before automatically turning themselves off.)

All good reasons to invest in a solar lighting system.

Low voltage lights still have their place

Now don’t get me wrong, there is still a place for low-voltage lighting in a landscape. We have our entire front landscape lit by low voltage lights that I installed maybe 15 years ago.

The low-voltage system has performed magnificently during that time. All it has required is the replacement of a handful of bulbs. It throws a beautiful warm light in every season, and because it is low-voltage, the cost of running the system is reasonable. We have a combination of spotlights (focused on two Japanese maples), pathway lights guide visitors to the front door, and a couple of tulip-type lights are used to focus on key plants in the garden.

We love our low-voltage lighting system. But if I had to do it again today, I would likely go solar.

In fact, our entire backyard is lit by solar lighting and we couldn’t be happier.

Three solar-powered spotlights illuminate our birch clumps in the back garden.

Lighting our birch grove with solar

Three solar spotlights by Alpan, putting out 50 lumens of warm white LED light, are used to light up our three multi-stemmed birch trees that form a mini birch grove beside the patio. Another spotlight is focused on our large yellow magnolia that stands over the patio. The lights are bright and throw a clean white light that automatically turn on at dusk and stay on until well past 2 a.m. (5-6 hours) providing a lovely view from both inside and outside the home. In addition, the solar spotlights can be focused from a narrow beam to a wider one depending on your needs.

For more suggestions and some of my favourite garden things, be sure to check out my Favourite Things post.

And once installed, it’s literally free.

I have, however, a confession to make. We have the solar lights in the backyard because I never bothered to run electricity back there. For years we made do without it, now there is literally no need for it. I did bring in an electrician a few years ago to quote me on running electricity outdoors. The quote was enough to convince me solar was the way to go. I would rather spend the money on trees than electricity anyways.

But what are the best solar lights? Well, that depends. (As noted above, the Amazon.ca solar lights featured in this posts were considered best in their class by Renewable Resources Coalition after testing them on a number of criteria.)

Installing a complete off-grid solar system provides gardeners with a host of alternatives from adding garden lights to powering small appliances in a she shed or garden greenhouse.

Consider installing a high-end, off-grid solar power system

If you are like me and don’t have electricity in your garden, or at least don’t have it in the far reaches of the garden, consider installing a complete off-grid solar-powered electrical system like the American-based Shop Solar Kit company.

Maybe you have a pergola in the back of the garden, or even a she-shed that you would like to have full power running a small refrigerator, sound system or full-size lamps and lighting. If you need to run pumps and lighting to a garden pond, you can do it with one of these highly capable systems that, once installed, operate at no cost to you at all.

There are complete DIY kits available for approximately $1,500 and up.

Before buying solar lights ask yourself a number of questions:

1) How big is your garden?

2) How will the lights be used in the garden and how often?

3) What type of garden features will you be highlighting?

Lumens (a measure of brightness) will be important if you are hoping to light up a large yard. There is a big difference between lights that simply create ambience and ones being used for more practical uses. If you have a large garden and need plenty of light look for lights above 15 lumens. Pathway lights that are often grouped together do not need to be this bright.

Some solar powered lights are sold in packs of 2 or more. You may need both lights to illuminate a large tree properly so it’s important to check the pack count when purchasing the lights.

If you are putting lights into trees or highlighting an arbour, string lights and lanterns will go a long way to create the ambience you are hoping to create. In this case, you would not want a bright light. Stick with lights that throw off a warm (yellow) light with low lumens. These expandable solar string lights from Amazon with a contemporary flair provide 100 lumens in 10 lights on an 18 foot nylon-braided chord. They also come packed with a number of additional features.

These solar orbs (Amazon link) are a good example of using lights to create ambience rather than providing a main source of light.

If you are looking for more information on purchasing solar lights, this outsanding guide by Renewable Resources Coalition will provide you with everything you will need, including recommendations on some of the best solar lights for different uses in your garden.

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