Solar yard lights are designed with ease of use in mind. Unlike wired lights which can require the work of an electrician to install, solar yard lights are built for the average consumer. Creating a well-lit yard is as easy as setting a light module into place.
The fact is, yards are dynamic places and no two are quite the same. There are many different areas of a yard, each requiring a different type of light for best results and stylistic taste.
Whether you’re lighting up the garden, bringing clarity to a patio deck, or making a garden more enjoyable to view at night, there is a solar light to fit your needs. Browse below for a detailed list of several types of solar yard lighting available.
Garden and Natural Themed Lights
Around the garden and in the yard, natural looking lights work best because they blend in with nature. Companies have crafted beautiful lines of natural looking lights in the likeness of animals, plants and cool shapes like glass spheres.
Such lights include realistic lily flowers with stems and petals.
Other lights models creatures like bugs and garden gnomes. Users place the light into the ground using a stake. Solar garden yard lights are bristling with color and vividness.
Colors of blue, red, orange, purple and every other color of the rainbow give a distinct charm to any yard and allow users to express their creativity.
Path Solar Yard Lighting
You don’t need to have a path of stepping stones to enjoy the benefits of solar path lights. Crafted to look like miniature pole lights, a path light serves the purpose of guiding the way at night.
Even the most well-kept yards can be plagued with cracks and uneven surfaces which people can trip over.
When set at an equal spacing and used in numbers, path lights can provide the light needed to safely negotiate the yard. Each light is powered by a solar panel and can be moved to a new place on the fly.
They usually come in the colors of yellow or white, but some are more exotic, such as blue.
Their decorative exteriors make them pleasing to look at during the day, too. Users can select from styles like stainless steel modern to weathered rustic.
Solar Spot Lights
It used to be that yard owners had to route an ugly extension cord across the yard if they wanted the awesome power of a spotlight.
Now with advances in solar power, we have lightweight spotlights which require no cords. It is important to note, however, that solar spotlights are not as bright as corded models, but can still serve to brighten up large areas of a yard quickly.
Spotlights are, by nature, designed to light up a specific area with bright light. Their beams are more focused than a flood light, making them suitable for accenting specific yard strictures such as ponds.
A specific type of spotlight known as an accent light is designed to accent objects in the yard like plants and rocks. They stick into the ground or mount to a wall with screws.
Post Lights
Do you have a fence bordering your yard? Even fences can become sources of light. Post lights fit snugly over your fence posts and secure into place with a screw.
Any fence with uncovered square posts can support a set of fencepost lights. Colors can be selected to match your current fence, assuming it is a standard stain or paint.
Why Go Solar?
Solar yard lighting has swept the nation for several clear reasons. Solar lights are extremely flexible because they can be placed anywhere that the sun reaches.
Yard owners are not limited by cords, nor do they have to dig up the yard to install a low voltage power line.
Batteries in each fixture hold the sun’s power every day and can be recharged hundreds of times. The LED bulbs in solar systems come in every color and last a lifetime.
Cheap solar yard lighting is becoming easier to find as manufacturers refine their methods.
Exterior Accenting with Solar Post Lights
There are several different views of what a solar post light is.
This guide talks about three different light fixtures that could be considered a post light, and what the applications of each are. Post lights are designed to accent areas of a yard with light.
These lights sit atop a post, elevated above the ground where they can be seen. Because they have this high vantage point, they work well for defining boundaries and lining borders.
Large post lights can be installed into the ground just like a street light. Small post lights such as the ones that stake into the ground can be used to line a driveway entrance.
Those who have a wooden fence can install post light caps onto each beam of the fence to border their yard. Solar technology makes these lights easy to install.
They require no external power source, using a solar panel to gather energy during the day.
Fence Solar Post Lights
Fences made out of square wooden beams can be accented with post lights on every post. These lights fit snugly over the top of the fence post and stay in place with a screw or two.
They come in many designs ranging from traditional to contemporary.
Colors can be matched to the existing fence as to appear that they are a part of the fence. Designer materials ranging from plastic to copper give these lights a stylish touch.
Since fences border the outside of a property, they make the perfect mounting location for post lights.
At night, the solar post cap lights turn on automatically and stay on for several hours, clearly defining the boundaries of your property.
An opening on each side of the light allows the illumination to be visible in all directions.
Path and Stake Post Lights
Path post lights consist of a solar-powered light pole with a stake on the end. They can be placed into any soft surface such as soil or grass and are ideal for bordering walkways or gardens.
These pole lights shine their light to the side and onto the ground to maximize visibility at night. Each light has its own solar panel built into the top which provides power to the unit.
Since each light is independent of the other, they can be moved and adjusted as needed without disturbing the others.
Stake lights work well as borders to places such as driveways, paths, garden edges, and property limits. Their glow is not designed to illuminate an entire area, but to guide the way with power in numbers.
Full Sized Posts
Full-sized outdoor solar post lights can be likened to a miniature street light in your own yard. Suitable for use in both front and backyards, these lights are tall and impressive structures.
A tall light post holds up one or more lantern-like fixtures with a light bulb in each.
They work well when placed next to an outdoor sitting area or prominent feature. Some post lights sit on a stand, while others install permanently into the ground with concrete.
A removable solar lantern fixture perches at the top of the post, shining down below. Solar lamp post lights are the biggest light in the post style.
You also might be interested in Solar Patio Lighting.