The first type of active solar lights are defined as those that are powered by one or more solar panels.  The solar panel can be small and designed to power one light or they can be large and wired to power a  array of lights.  These types of solar lights will most likely come equipped with a battery to store the power until the light is needed. Common active solar lights are solar decking lights, solar oudoor patio lighting, solar porch lights, solar garden lights, solar rock lights, and solar driveway lights.

The second type or passive type is a basically a skylight.  A simple skylight provides light from the sun during daylight hours only.  There isn’t any way for them to store the light for use after dark.  Some passive systems are actually long tubes of mirrors that are capable of reflecting light from the roof of a building, through the attic and ceiling and into a living space.  Some passive solar lighting systems come equipped with shutters to control the amount of light that is being let into the building.  Others do not.  These passive systems are simple but they can actually end up saving the homeowner a lot of money in electricity since no electricity for lighting is being used during daylight hours.

Outdoor solar lights are usually small self contained units.  They are equipped with a tiny solar panel, a rechargeable battery, a small charge controller circuit, and an energy efficient light bulbs.  Many outdoor solar lights utilize LED or light emitting diode bulbs.  LED’s are small energy efficient light bulbs that when used in an array can put out plenty of useful light.  Outdoor solar lighting may be simple solar driveway lights or they may be powerful motion detected spotlights.

In some applications, solar lights are used for street lamps.  These street lamps are equipped with more powerful solar panels than simple solar garden lights.  In addition to having larger, more powerful solar panels, they are equipped with larger batteries capable of storing enough electricity to keep these larger street type lamps lit throughout the night.

Another type of solar lights is solar decking lights that has a solar panel which can be placed several feet away from where the light is actually needed.  In this type of lighting system,  a solar panel is mounted in a location where it will receive continuous sunlight.  The panel is connected to the light fixture via long wires.  The light fixture will generally contain a rechargeable battery inside its housing.

Both active and passive solar lighting systems save electricity and are good for the environment. Thanks for visiting my lighting website. Perhaps you would enjoy reading an article about patio umbrella lights, solar pathway lighting, or walkway lighting before you leave.