When it comes to electricity, one can’t be too careful.  Unless you are a qualified electrician or have the help of a qualified electrician, it’s generally not a good idea to do you own electrical work. This is also true for outside lights.  Installing solar lights may be the exception to this rule depending on what type of solar light fixture you are installing.  Some types of solar light fixtures are very simple to install.  I’ll take some time in this article to discuss solar lights installation.

An example of solar lights are simple driveway lights.  These outside lights couldn’t be easier to install.  No electrical experience is necessary when installing solar driveway lights.   Solar driveway markers are designed to simply be taken out of the package and pressed into the ground.  They consist of a post that is driven into the ground, the solar light fixture housing, an energy efficient light bulb, a rechargeable battery, a small solar panel, a small charge controller circuit (to prevent the battery from being over charged), and a photo electric eye (to automatically switch these outside lights on when the sun goes down).

There are really only two main things to keep in mind when installing this type of outdoor solar light fixture.  The first is that the posts that you are supposed to drive into the ground are often made out of plastic.  Care should be taken to avoid bending or breaking the post if you are driving it into hard soil.  You may have to use a small shovel to dig a hole for the post to go into.  The second thing to keep in mind is that the fixture must be installed in a location where it will be exposed to enough sunlight for the built in solar panel to fully charge the battery each day.  Plan out where you would like the solar driveway lights to be and then watch the area periodically throughout the day to see if there is an adequate amount of sunlight in the location.  These solar lights don’t have to be in direct sunlight all day but the longer it is exposed to the sun, the better chance it has fully charge.

Another type of solar light fixture is composed of a solar panel that is connected to the light fixture via a long cord.  Outdoor flood lights fall into this category. These porch lights are much more flexible in where you can install it.  A general rule of thumb when installing solar panels is to install them facing South.  With this type of solar light fixture, you can mount the panel in a location where the sun will shine on it for the majority of the day, and you can install the actual outdoor flood light in a shady location.

Solar patio lighting is also easy to install.  You generally just mount the solar panel in a sunny location and mount the solar light fixture in the area where you will want to have light.  Patio lighting can not only light up your patio, it can also be a real mood enhancer if used properly.  Might I suggest that you install patio lighting on a dimmer switch so you can turn down the lights to set the appropriate mood.  This will give you much more flexibility in how you can use the patio lighting on your patio.

Another very common type of solar lighting is solar garden lights.  These clever light fixtures can really change the mood of any garden when used properly.

As you can see, these solar lights can be easily installed by inexperienced people.  Most are designed so that no wiring needs to be done.  This means there is no need to hire an electrician and therefore they make perfect DIY’er projects.

Solar decking lights are also easy to install and can save you quite a bit of money on your electric bill. After the initial purchase, you’ll never have to pay a penny for the lighting that they give you.

After taking on the job of installing solar lights on your home, you can relax in your rocking chair under you patio umbrella lights and feel satisfied that in a small way you are doing your part to help save the planet.

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