Solar powered lights add many features to outdoor landscaping, giving you more flexibility when designing your garden. To get the most out of your solar outdoor lights, you still need to maintain and use them properly. Outdoor solar lights can last for many years of continuous operation if properly cared for. Of course, it is also important to choose a high-quality brand. In this learning article, we present some tips to improve the life and performance of solar powered lights. a close-up of a clock
You have just installed solar lantern poles or hanging solar lanterns and you are now lighting up your garden at night. These solar garden lights work simply by using power from solar panels and one or more rechargeable batteries. Through the PV effect, the solar panels generate electricity from sunlight and thus charge the batteries during the day. When it gets dark, the energy stored in the batteries powers an LED light.
Solar panels can be found on top of solar garden lights. Although the geographical location and weather conditions greatly affect the efficiency of solar panels, you can always follow a few simple steps to optimize the performance of your lights. To fully charge the panels, you should place the solar lights in an outdoor space where there is 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Be aware of trees, walls or roofs that can shade the solar panels and lower their output during the day. In addition, the panel tilt angle of some garden solar lights, such as security solar or solar floodlights, can be adjusted to make the most of the sun. In the US, for example, you should set the tilt angle of the panels to about 30 degrees in the summer and 45 degrees in the winter. The panels must naturally also face south.
You may be excited after purchasing a set of solar panels and eager to install them. However, do not use them immediately. First, expose the lights to direct sunlight for about 5-10 cycles (charge during the day and discharge at night) to charge the battery to full capacity. Afterwards, you will find that the lights can last at least 8 hours in the dark, almost from dusk to dawn.
Most solar garden lights are turned on and off automatically by a light sensor that senses ambient light levels. At night, when the light levels are below a value in the sensor’s memory, the light is activated. Likewise, the light automatically turns off at dawn when it detects more light. For it to work correctly, the sensor must be correctly positioned. When choosing a location for your solar light, make sure the unit is not placed near night light sources such as porch lights or street lights.
If poorly placed near a light source, the sunlight sensor will react to both ambient light and artificial light source at the same time. Thus, the powerful porch or street lighting (compared to solar landscape lights) will reduce the sensitivity of the sunlight sensor and may even eliminate the automatic activation ability of the sunlight.