Harnessing solar energy is now the light of fashion. Why waste money on huge electric bills when you can brighten the outside of your home using natural resources? You spend a lot of time and money on your yard; why not show it off at night? There are several ways to incorporate solar lighting into your exterior design.
Summer daylight in Washington lasts over 15 hours a day. (In winter, the sun is out for about 8 1/2 hours). Energy-saving outdoor solar lights will convert all that sunlight into some stunning nighttime views.
6 Easy Ways to Incorporate Solar Lighting Into Your Exterior Design
Landscaping
It takes a lot of time and energy to keep your home’s landscaping looking nice, so why not light it up for all to see at night? Creative landscape lighting ideas include placing solar sticks along the driveway and inside flower beds and large planters, front yard highlighting, and walkways. Solar lighting boosts curb appeal, too … place a few sticks around the mailbox.
Layering light sticks among the trees in your yard gives it a unique design, and you can place them anywhere you want (direct sunlight is best). Add some backlighting to small trees and shrubbery to make the greenery stand out. Vary the levels of light, dark, and colors.
Cascading solar lights twinkle in the backyard. Enjoy your custom-built deck with festive theme lighting for holidays, favorite sports, or hobbies. LED lights are helpful on days when the sun is hiding.
Sparkle!
Backyard gatherings are fun, but you don’t have to have a big soiree to keep the solar lights shining. Decorate trees, shrubbery, branches, decks, and pergolas with strings of solar lights that don’t need electrical outlets. Drape hospitality sheds and gazebos with fairy lights.
Flower Buzz
Show off the colors in your yard at night; solar-powered LED spotlights brighten up yellows, reds, oranges, pinks, and purples. Move the sticks around as the daylight hours change. One great thing about solar lighting in flower beds is that bees, butterflies, and other insects will stick to their business of pollinating and not gather around hot lightbulbs.
Water Features
Waterfalls bring landscapes to life, especially with flickering solar lights around the setting. Underwater lights for ponds and solar-powered pool lights give the backyard a magical feel, as if you’re living in a fairyland. Specially-designed underwater lights can change colors — control them with an app on your cell phone.
Security
Protecting the house with rechargeable solar flood and searchlights gives would-be burglars a heads-up that someone is watching. Motion detectors prompt floodlights to turn on when someone is lurking about after dark.
Above-ground and mounted lighting on vertical surfaces (exterior house walls, fences, etc.) add more security to outdoor storage spaces and garages. Jazz up solar security lighting with colorful stained glass covers and suncatchers.
Behind the Science
Solar energy is a combination of the sun’s force and intensity converted into thermal power, mainly using photovoltaic processes. Cell components embedded in variously-sized sticks and light fixtures soak up the sun’s rays. Well-charged solar lights can last for hours.
With so many types of solar lights on the market for front landscaping, backyards, and swimming pools, it won’t be hard to find something that strikes your fancy. Daytime sun brings a sweet nighttime glow all year long.
Author Teri Silver is a journalist and outdoor enthusiast who spends her weekends mowing her 5-acre lawn. She’s an avid do-it-yourselfer who loves to garden and refurbishes anything she can get her hands on.
Contact SK Home Design for all exterior lighting and remodeling in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Hollywood and surrounding areas. Exceptional home renovation and remodeling experts in Los Angeles County.
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