Solar Landscape Lighting Installation - Part 1
Two objectives when designing a landscape outdoor lighting system are to enhance the utility and security of your property. Solar landscape lighting has the utility benefit that the lighting can be set up to be independent of the grid supply.
Some design objectives for landscape outdoor lighting:
- Organizing and developing an outdoor area for maximum use and pleasure
- Creating a visual relationship between the house/buildings and the outdoor area
- Minimizing maintenance
- Planning landscape outdoor lighting that blends with and enhances the landscape
You can design the system so that each light fitting has its own mini solar panel and battery, or you can centralize the power source using readily available, larger 12V batteries. Either way, the system will function as long as the batteries are sufficiently charged.
The batteries can be charged from solar panels, or charged/topped up from the grid using a standard 12V charger.
LED (light emitting diode) outdoor lights are recommended for solar installations, because they generate a lot of light from a low power input. This means they run longer and brighter for a given battery size and power input.
LED lamps are also an economical replacement option for existing incandescent and halogen lamp applications. Some light fixtures are specifically built for LED and are only available with LED. Others can also use LED, halogen or incandescent lamps. Compared to halogen lamps in particular, LEDs give off much less heat and are more reliable.
In general, LED lamps are durable and shock resistant and you can expect a lifespan of 40,000 to 50,000 hours of operation from a lamp. As mentioned above, LED lamps also run much cooler and more efficiently, using up to 85% less power, thus saving on energy costs when compared to equivalent halogen or incandescent lamps.
When designing new landscape lighting systems, LED lamps allow you to use lower wattage transformers, batteries (if used) and wiring, saving you more money.
Summary of LED Lamp advantages:
- High efficiency, Low energy consumption
- Low heat output
- Low maintenance
- Long lasting
- More lamps can be used per circuit
12 volt LED lights are a popular option and 12V is well supported by commonly available solar panels and battery systems.
