Adding lights into the design of your landscape can create a unique and awesome visual effect, especially at night-time. Light features assist with highlighting specific features in your yard and can also increase the security of your home at night. When deciding between different types of landscaping lighting styles available, you will have a selection between solar-powered lights and low voltage led lights. Perhaps you want to include both. Before deciding on which lighting option to choose it can help to understand the pros and cons. In this article, we will help you decide which landscape lighting option is best for what you want to accomplish with your landscape design.
Landscape Lighting: Solar or LED Lights?
What Is Solar Lighting?
Solar lights draw energy generated by the sun for power to illuminate the lights. In order to capture the sunlight, solar lights have solar panels that are attached to them. The energy is stored in a battery until it is time for the lights to turn on. Some solar landscape lighting options automatically turn on when the light starts to fade from sunset, making them low maintenance.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Lights in a Landscape Design
The main advantage of solar-powered lighting is that it will not affect your electricity bill and are easy to install. Solar-powered lights have their own battery for storing power provided by the sun. Because these types of lights use solar energy this also makes them an environmentally friendly option for your landscape design. A further advantage is that there are a number of solar-powered light designs that can meet any budget.
The main disadvantage of using solar-powered lights is that they will not work well during days of cloudy weather. Another disadvantage of solar lights in comparison to LED-powered lights is that the solar lights will not shine as bright. Although the solar-powered lights include LED lights, the power is not enough to provide as much light.
The Cost of Solar Powered Lights
There are two main types of solar-powered lights to choose from. There are cheaper options that can be found at local stores which may last a few seasons before starting to dull. These types of home exterior solar lights are easy and cheap to replace when necessary.
The other option is more expensive alternatives for solar-powered lights. These solar lighting options are designed to withstand different weather conditions. The battery can also be replaced when needed, unlike other, cheaper options. Although the upfront costs will be higher, the lights will be cheaper in the long run as you won’t have to replace them frequently.
Low Voltage Led Lights
LED voltage LED lights are used similarly to solar-powered lights. However, these lights are connected to the main power source and draw a small amount of power to provide maximum brightness. LED lighting options can also come in different hues depending on what you achieve for a natural twilight and night-time look.
The Advantages and Disadvantages Of Low Voltage LEDs
The main advantage of LED landscape lighting options is that they are dependable no matter what the weather conditions are like. LED landscaping lighting is also better for security requirements due to the fact that they are super bright.
The main disadvantage of LED lighting is that they are slightly more expensive to install than solar-powered lights. Installing LED lights in certain parts of your landscape can also be difficult as they must be near a power source.
The Costs Involved With Low Powered LEDs
There is no one way to say exactly how much you can expect to pay for LED landscape lighting. First, not everyone can install them because of the careful wiring they require. In fact, wiring LED lights for your landscape will usually require the help of a professional. The final cost will also depend on how many lights are going to be installed around the exterior of your home.
Installing more lights will raise the cost per unit, cost per yard of cable, and amount of time it will take a professional to install them. Pricing will also vary depending on the lighting style and design you chose to enhance and highlight the design of your landscape.
Additional Reading: Outdoor Solar Lighting – Energy.gov
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Arbor Hills Trees & Landscaping Services can provide you with everything from detailed maintenance programs to unique plant production, and other services in between. That means we build water features, walls, patios, irrigation, walkways, outdoor kitchens, lighting, and anything else you can help us dream up. Our professionally trained staff can build the landscape of your dreams and keep you from breaking any Home Landscaping Rules.
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