Solar Lights- Do you like them?

[Mockingbird]

Everyone I have seen gives off a sorta blue-ish light, which I really don't care for. Do they make them with a different color spectrum bulb?

We have solar garden light here, and probably available online in just about any shade you can imagine. I like the little flower star-like ones that actually change colors , they rotate through about 5 different shades and look lovely. I like the blue ones, they are a bit scary but they are effective as far as a driveway edging goes.

I love those little butterfly light, what a smart idea, I have been thinking about what I want to do in a bed that will be next to my pergola and the one design I found has a nice bird bath, what a great flower idea because I did not want to be to classic looking. I love the whimsical nature of that design idea with the solar butteries. Very sweet!

 

[hummingbird]

I love them. They create a lot of drama and depth in your yard when you shine them on focal points and trees. I would suggest, though, that you seal all the joints with caulk when you get them. Too many times have I gotten "waterproof" solar lights that have gone out after the first rain. On a side note, I had bought one solar light from the dollar store to try it out. It did incredibly well in our 110 degree weather all summer. We moved to a new house and it ended up in a drawer. It took THREE WEEKS for that light in the dark drawer to finally turn off. For a dollar, I was shocked. Those are better in groups, though, because they don't put off a ton of light.

 

[kevinkimers]

Another thing that creates drama and depth in your yard that can be set up to be powered by solar is fiber optic lights. You can create a Pandora look like from the movie Avatar.

@Mockingbird... you can create your own if you can not find what you like. Just get a white light one and either spray paint the covering you want it to be or you use colored gel sheets over the dome. It can be any color you want.

 

[Tradewinds]

My wife bought several solar lights five years ago and 70% of them are still going strong.

 

[kevinkimers]

I find the plastic ones don't last very well but the ones with metal and glass casings seem to work for a long time. I guess because the plastic ones are cheaply made. Sometimes you just can't skimp, get the good stuff or in the end you wind up paying more.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

I do like solar lights.
Solar Owl accent lights

 

[Bethanyo721]

I love lights in the garden, they give a magicial atmosphere in the evening. In addition to solar lights I also use hanging candlesticks

 

[Sean Regan]

We've about a dozen solar lights "the cheap ones on a chrome stick." But lately only use seven.

They are a bit of a pain as the rain gets in them and the contacts can go rusty and not work without having a scrape. Every year I put them away in the Autumn having taken the batteries out and sprayed the contacts with switch cleaner. I give the metal tubes a spray with WD40 and they go into three big polystyrene boxes in the garage. I put the batteries in a cardboard box in a drawer in the house, then take them out in the Spring, charge them up and put the lights out again.

You've got me started now.


I like having lights in the garden, we've a lot of them, but we don't have them on that often, but they are "there."
Four switches on the wall behind the curtains next to the French windows control all of them.

One of them works the porch light on the back wall of the house (house ring main)
The other three, via an armoured cable that runs from the house under the patio and the path, go to the garage. These lights are on the garage supply.



These three sockets connect to;

Mains voltage
4 porch lights.
a 15w striplight, on the ceiling behind the tea-house doors

Low voltage
2 spotlights
2 Japanese lanterns
The fountain with its light.
Three sets of fairy lights,


Only the lights on the side of the house, garage, shed and tea-house are 240v, the rest are low voltage.

I won't say it's bright in our garden when they are on, but there are two PIR security lights, one on the side of the garage and one on the side of the shed, don't come on!
To be honest, I mostly only turn them on and off before we go to bed just see that "all's well" in the garden and that the garage circuits haven't tripped out so the two freezers and a fridge in there are still working.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

They have their place. like the ones with a purpose, to light areas. The little small ones, not so much, too much to keep track of already.

 

[Sean Regan]

Electricity is quite "neat."
The cable from the house to the garage has four four wires plus an earth, The current comes from the mini breaker in the garage consumer unit to one side of the three switches in the lounge, the other three wires connect to the other side of each switch and go back to each live side of the three sockets in the garage. The negative side of the three sockets are connected to the negative side of the consumer unit. So you have power traveling in both directions in different wires down the same cable.

 

[Nataliee]

Excuse, I have a problem. My solar lights have been outside for a while and I can notice that their plastic components aren’t as pristine as they were. In fact, they had been a yellowish color, making them visually unappealing. So how to clean it?

 

[Mrsclem]

Most solar lights are made from cheap plastic that degrades after time. Its possible thats what has happened with yours. If its plastic, probably not able to clean it. How old are they?

 

[David Tom]

We can clean the yellowed solar lights with 2 steps:
Part 1: Cleaning the Surface of your light( Wipe it with a dry cloth, dip your sponge in soapy water and wipe the plastic again, repeat the cleaning process, Pat it dry with a dry cloth )
Part 2: Removing the yellow stained appearance( Safety first, fill your bowl with the hydrogen peroxide, Add ¼ teaspoon of your oxygenated laundry booster per gallon of peroxide , Keep it soaked for several hours under UV light/sunlight)

 

[mermaid21c]

nice. should definitely get some cute solar lights for my yard!

 

[Hardy]

Using solar-powered products can offer you ample benefits, and the impressive lighting they provide is simply irresistible. These lights are bright enough to illuminate and highlight the place that you want to decorate.