Cable Lighting Kits For the Modern Home
Cable lighting kits are a great option for both home and business decoration purposes. Once you have decided on a cable lighting kit for deco rational purposes, the next step is to look for an appropriate lighting kit. Do not worry; there are many options to choose from, these days. The kits available these days are prepared from supreme LED technology. The best part is that these are available for both residential as well as commercial purposes.
Solar Deck Lights – 4 Disadvantages to Using Solar Deck Lighting
How do you make an enlightened choice regarding which type of lighting is best to use? How do you know if you would be better off using Solar Deck Lights or Electric Deck Lights?
A good way to start is to find out what are the advantages and disadvantages of using solar lighting for your deck or patio. If you search the available topics, I know you will be able to find an article that is similar to this one only identifying the advantages of solar deck lighting and not the disadvantages of them.
The Disadvantages of Solar Deck Lights…
Does not operate after dark- In order to use Solar Deck Lights after dark, your lights must have some sort of storage container to store the power that it collected from the sunlight of the day. Cost- There is a rather large start up cost of using solar deck lighting Solar Panels will not work on cloudy days or in bad weather. Solar Panels can be damaged in storms or buy hail.
When it comes to using Solar Deck Lights, there are a number of advantages and a number of disadvantages. The secret to making an enlightened and informed decision on whether or not Solar Deck Lights are the right option for you, you must seriously weigh the pros and cons of using them and decide which ones are of the most important to you. See if your initial cost to install and purchase the lights and solar panels is worth the savings you will have using a free source of energy.
Whether you decide that the Solar Deck Lights are a good decision and you are going to buy them, or that they are not right for you, at least you know the information you have aided in your decision.
Solar Solutions For Landscape Lighting
Outdoor night lighting along paths and stairways provides safety, beauty and convenience. It directs company to your door, keeps guests from stumbling in the dark and can highlight an artistic landscape.
Getting electricity to appropriate places in your yard can be a barrier to installing landscape lighting. It can be costly and time-consuming to dig trenches and gardening tools can cut through buried wires. Improper electrical connections are another potential hazard.
Solar-powered lights, which use DC electricity generated from sunshine, are a great landscape lighting option (Figure 1). They require no wiring and can be easily relocated. They have photo sensors and automatically switch off and on, day and night. Best of all, solar-powered lights require no burning of fossil fuels and generate no carbon dioxide or pollutants.
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) ELECTRICITY
Beach sand is made of silicon, the second most abundant element on Earth. Many PV cells are made from a purified form of silicon.
PV cells have two sides, one with extra electrons (negatively charged) and one with a shortage of electrons (positively charged). When sunlight hits it solar energy detaches electrons from the negative side of a PV cell to its positive side. This begins a flow of electrons through tiny wires connected to each cell.
Electrons flowing from all the PV cells form one circuit, generating direct current (DC) electricity. This energy is used to recharge batteries built right into landscape lights, where it is stored until night and then used to power the lamps.
Electrons are the only things that move in a PV cell. Because there are no moving parts to break, cells can last over twenty years.
SOLAR PV LIGHTS: TYPES
There are many kinds of PV lights. Use small, red-glowing safety lights to line driveways and brighter, 4-watt florescent lights (comparable to 16-watt incandescents) to mark gates or dock ramps (Table 1). For shady spots there are lamps with detachable PV panels. There are even PV security lights that are triggered by heat or motion. Choose those that suit your landscape and your needs.
SOLAR PV LIGHTS: TIPS
To work well, PV cells need as much sunlight as possible during the day. Most current PV landscape lights have cells built into their lamp. These must be positioned to receive the fullest sunlight. Walk through your yard several different times during a sunny day to ensure that your selected installation sites receive enough sunlight.
Install lamp stakes firmly in the ground before attaching lamps. Never apply force to the PV panel itself.
PV lights are easy to install – and easy to remove. If theft is a concern install your lights securely. Drill two or three holes, large enough for a 3-inch galvanized nail, through the stake near the pointed end. Fill a wide plastic pot with cement. Stand the stake – with the nails – in it and wait for the cement to harden. Bury in the selected site and attach the lamp appropriately to highlight pool plants for example.
PV landscape lights should come with at least a 12-month warranty.
Solar Path Lighting
The weather is starting to warm up and people are getting out of the house and into their yards. It is time to get the yard in shape for summer entertaining. It may also be time to upgrade your solar path lighting as well. If you have a walkway or pathway in your yard that gets used at night then you must have it lit for your family and your guests. The light emitted is not too bright so do not worry about altering the tranquility of your peaceful garden area.
After a long hard day, many homeowners retire to their peaceful gardens or backyards for some relaxation and quiet time. The peaceful glow of solar path lighting adds to the ambience and mood of the garden. They are also great for lighting up other areas of your yard, such as a flower garden. You can also use these lights for spot lighting on a gazebo or a park bench.
The main reason for installing solar path lighting is to prevent people from stumbling in the dark. They are good safety features in your yard. These lights are great for any yard regardless of the amount of landscaping you have. In the last few years, the advancement in technology in solar lighting has improved quite a bit. The solar lights are self contained which means there are no wires buried in the ground or strung across the lawn for someone to trip over.
When you purchase your solar path lighting kit, there is nothing to setup except the positioning of them. The rechargeable batteries are much better these days and last quite a bit longer. During the day, the solar cells charge the batteries and store the energy for use once the sun goes down. The lights turn on by a sensor that senses when its start to get dark at night. Once the light of dawn starts appearing they shut off and begin the same cycle over again. A good quality solar light will provide enough light for you to read.
Solar path lighting can be found at most lighting stores, hardware stores or big box home centers. You can also find them available online from many different online retailers.
Do-It-Yourself Pendant Lighting – Install Like the Pros Do
There is nothing more gratifying than a home improvement project that goes well, and nothing more frustrating than one that goes wrong. The key to successfully installing pendant lighting in your home is being prepared before taking on the project.
Go into the room where you have decided to install the pendant lighting. It’s time to look around and make sure this is an appropriate lighting option for the space. First take note of how much light you really need in the room. Will one pendant light do the trick? Or will you need a series of lights to offer the illumination you want.
Next, consider headroom. If you have very high ceilings, this is not a problem. But if you have lower ceilings, you should make sure that the area where you put pendant lighting is not a high-traffic area, or those lights could become a battering ram when you have a tall friend to your house. Take measurements so you know how long the lights can be to do the job, but not be a head-bumping hazard.
Now it’s time to make some style decisions. Look at the d
Deck and Patio Lighting Thoughts
One of the primary motivators for the homeowner in considering a patio or deck area as an add-on to their home is its entertainment value. Cruise the neighborhood during the day and you will more than likely see only a few people using the patio or deck. However, as evening approaches the story changes. When parent(s) come home from work or when it’s the right time to plan a party for friends and relatives, the patio or deck is frequently used as the center of festivities that often last well into the night.
During the planning stages, it’s important to include a lighting plan to make sure that the patio and deck area are not only well-lighted but that the lighting design creates a magical effect for its visitors.
Starting with the most elegant (and usually the most expensive) deck and patio lighting we can take a look at lights that are built-in to the foundation elements of the patio or deck. These lights provide a soft uplight glow that can mark a pathway or just provide a non-functional source of beauty. The lights are generally installed by contractors during the patio and deck construction and are generally not a project that the average DIY should consider tackling. I’ve seen this type of lighting done in a variety of colors and have even seen systems that automatically change the colors during the course of the evening, providing a mood-altering effect.
Dimmers are also a worthwhile investment for ground level lighting, allowing the host to increase or decrease the intensity of the lighting depending on the mood desired. Ground lighting is very safe since the lights themselves are never in contact with the visitors. Contractors will make sure that the process for changing the bulbs is simple and straightforward.
Speaking of dimmers, it’s generally a good idea to keep your entire deck and patio lighting system under dimmer control. Bright moonlight can allow you to turn the lighting down a bit while dark moonless nights can prompt you to boost the light up a bit.
Ground level lighting can also be used to frame the patio or deck area particularly if you’ve planted shrubbery or other low plantings around the area.
Down lighting is another type of deck and patio lighting. As the name implies, this is lighting from above and can be used to simulate moonlight. Besides being a natural lighting source, down lighting also enhances the security of the area because a lighted deck or patio usually leaves the impression the there’s someone at home.
A creative way to use this as a security feature is to have your doorbell circuit tied into a switch that at least temporarily turns the down lights on.
Most down lighting is accomplished by the use of either or both floodlights and spotlights. The floodlight will provide more ambient lighting by illuminating the entire deck or patio area while spotlights can be used as task lighting to highlight such areas as stairways and entryways. Spotlights can also be used to accent special features such as fountains, plantings or cooking and eating areas.
Many deck and patio lighting is installed at the waist level to keep any glare away from the face and to provide an elegant touch. Some lighting can also be installed at the top of posts that are at the top of stairways or other areas that separate one part of the deck or patio from another.
Some homeowners use strip or rope lights to highlight the porch or deck railing or other areas that need special attention such as stair risers or seating areas. If you live in an area where you can use a deck or patio during the winter holiday season, give some thought to decorating the area with lighting that can be used year-round.
Have fun with your lighting plan for your deck or patio. Most of the lighting is relatively inexpensive and can be removed or modified relatively easily. You may want to divide your plan into lights, which need to be permanently installed, and lights that are movable and optional.
Please don’t get carried away with deck and patio lighting plans. This type of lighting is best understated although some decorative lighting such as hurricane lamps or tiki torches (used in moderation) are OK.
Bugs are often a problem at night and several manufactures offer lights that discourage or repel flying pests. Sometimes a bright light, strategically placed in a tree a bit away from the patio or deck will help keep these insects occupied elsewhere rather than with your guests.
Above all, keep in mind that you want to create a magic environment that will encourage visitors to congregate and socialize late into the evening.