What Is The Nature Of Consumer Grade Solar Lights
- The economics of solar lights don't work. A $300 hard-wired low-voltage system with LED fixtures can last more than 15 years with minimal maintenance. A $50 solar installation will require $50 in replacement batteries every 2 years plus labor, which will cost more over time.
- Solutions:
- 1. Calculate the total cost in 10 years
- 2. Make rational choices
- 3. Make cost comparisons
- 4. Choose the more economical option.
- I have been professionally installing landscape lighting for 15 years. The only solar lights worth specifying are commercial-grade fixtures with large, self-contained solar panels, appropriately sized battery packs, and adjustable lighting hours. Consumer solar lights are toys, not lighting.
- Solutions:
- 1. Listen to professional advice
- 2. Refer to professional advice
- 3. Choose a reliable solution
- 4. Ensure long-term use.
- The fundamental flaw with solar landscape lights is that they are optimized for beauty rather than function. They have small decorative panels and do not generate enough power for reliable nighttime operation, especially in areas with shade or northern climates.
- Solutions:
- 1. Prioritize functionality over aesthetics
- 2. Choose practical design
- 3. Ensure system performance
- 4. To meet actual needs.
- Low voltage LED landscape lighting has become extremely affordable. A complete system costs $200-$400 for a medium-sized patio and will outlast generations of solar lights. Wiring is a one-time job and the results are dramatically superior.
- Solutions:
- 1. Incorporate this budget into planning
- 2. Select DC independent power supply solution
- 3. Evaluate cost-effectiveness
- 4. Ensure long-term use.
- The promise of “once and for all” solar lights is wrong. Every spring, half of all solar lights suffer from dead batteries, corroded connections or cracked casings. Spring maintenance is inevitable if you want your springs to work properly.
- Solutions:
- 1. If solar energy is used
- 2. Undergoing spring maintenance
- 3. Make a maintenance plan
- 4. Ensure proper operation.
- Over the years I have seen customers spend thousands of dollars on solar lighting, constantly replacing failing fixtures. By comparison, customers who invested in a suitable low-voltage system 10 years ago are still using the same fixtures, only replacing the LEDs occasionally.
- Solutions:
- 1. learn from the experiences of others
- 2. Refer to real cases
- 3. Choose a more reliable solution
- 4. Avoid repeating mistakes.
- Solar lights gradually fail in a gradual, inconvenient way. Over the course of a few months they dim and their battery power dwindles, until one day they die completely. Unlike wired lights that fail all at once, solar failure is a gradual and inconvenient decline.
- Solutions:
- 1. Test the brightness regularly
- 2. Replace in advance
- 3. Do a good job in maintenance
- 4. Ensure normal use.
- The LED chips in cheap solar lights are of the lowest grade - they fail to meet brightness or color standards within seconds from the factory. They start out dull and then get worse. Within a year, two lamps in the same group looked completely different in color and brightness.
- Solutions:
- 1. Select the nominal grade LED when purchasing
- 2. Choose high-quality LEDs
- 3. Ensure quality
- 4. Choose reliable products.
- Our purchasing consultants consistently recommend low-voltage LEDs over consumer solar lighting. The energy savings from solar are real, but so is the maintenance burden. Field observations over a 10-year period show recurring customer frustration with consumer solar lights, while converted low-voltage installations deliver reliable performance.
- Solutions:
- 1. Follow the choices of professionals
- 2. Select DC independent power supply solution
- 3. Refer to professional advice
- 4. Ensure long-term use.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.