Solar Garden Lights vs Low Voltage Lighting
a guest post by Ezra Makey
Out of the two options for landscape lighting, most people will find themselves choosing between solar garden lights and low voltage lighting. Both have their upsides, as well as their drawbacks, so which do you choose? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and pitfalls of each, so you can make up your own mind as to which will work best for you.
Solar garden lighting is best used if you plan on having the lights stay on all night. The main reason for this is that, since it is completely powered by the sun, they don’t cost you any money to run. Although they usually cost a little more than low voltage lighting to purchase, they more than pay for themselves with the savings to your energy bill.
These fixtures do come with their drawbacks, however. The two biggest of which are light output and the fact that they rely on the sun. If you need a fixture that puts out a lot of light, or have issues with lacking enough sunlight to be able to recharge the on-board batteries, solar garden light will likely not be your best alternative.
Low Voltage Lighting
Low voltage lighting has the ability to put out a lot more light than solar lights, due to the fact that they do not have to worry about running the batteries dead. They can also be used in areas that do not have access to a lot of sun. They do, however, have an impact on your electrical bill, and some models can influence your bill significantly. They are also much more difficult to install, since they must be wired to a power source.
If you are looking for accent lighting to add beauty to your garden, or another type of light that does not need to be too bright, AND you get regular sunlight throughout the year, solar lights are probably your best bet. If, however, you need more light than the solar fixtures can create, or don’t get much sunlight, you may have to opt for low voltage lighting.
There are actually hybrid systems available that can offer the best of both worlds, but these systems are in their infancy and still out of reach of your average do-it-yourself homeowner. But once they do come onto the market it will be interesting to see how effective the combination of low voltage and sun-powered solar lights for garden budget lighting will be.
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