Does anyone have solar landscape lights.


 
JohnTak

JohnTak

TVWBB Pro
I had low voltage landscape lights installed when I bought my house about 5 years ago. Slowly they are going out and it’s not the bulbs. If solar lights are any good I figure it would be a better investment if 3-5 years is the life span.
 
I bought a bunch of cheap Hampton Bay solar lights from Home Depot a few years ago. Most of them still work. The key with those is that they need to get enough sun to recharge or they will just go out in a couple hours.
 
I've had both and the advantage of low voltage lights is you can control the on/off time the disadvantage
is they being hard wired and not easy to move them around.
Solar lights are relatively inexpensive, but usually not as bright as LV lights plus the inexpensive ones won't stay on all night depending on how much sunlight they get.
Some of my solar lights lasted a year or two some are 4-5 years old and still working fine.
What I have now is five LED porch lights that each have their own built in controller in the bulb that turns them on at dusk and off at daylight. I just leave the porch light switch on all the time.
Also some LED solar lights in the back yard for the pups.
Meets my needs just fine.
 
The heat and sun eat up the solar lights in 2-3 years. They are not as bright as hard wired low voltage lights. LV lights have an operating cost of electricity. 300W or 500W is common size for transformers. I need to redo mine too.
 
DanHoo said:
The heat and sun eat up the solar lights in 2-3 years. They are not as bright as hard wired low voltage lights. LV lights have an operating cost of electricity. 300W or 500W is common size for transformers. I need to redo mine too.
Click to expand...
I just removed the transformer from my basement that I assumed powered low voltage lights. There weren't any lights when I moved in and I didn't want to dig up the cable and redo the lights.
 
Gama Sonic makes a quality product, I have 6 of their post lights, dusk to dawn, 300 lumens.

Shop

Shop Gama Sonic's solar lighting for homes, businesses and outdoor spaces, including solar lamp posts, solar accent lights & more.
gamasonic.com gamasonic.com
 
Wifes got em all over the back and front yard.
Some you need to replace the rechargeable battery's every few years.
AA on some I'm doing today.
The ones on the fence were done last year.
tvwbb.com

Some outdoor pics.

Getting ready to remove the 24 year old deck and place concrete. Playing with solar lights now.
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
Last edited:
I'm not a fan. They tend to get in the way of the mower/trimmer and they also begin to bend over with time so that they're no longer vertical, which of course makes them look cheap and takes away from the general good looks of the home. You can straighten them, but that will get old quick. MHO. Good luck
 
I bought some REALLY el cheapo ones. As long as they got a little sun they'd work a few hours at night. Couldn't kill them. I ran a couple over with the tractor, and even though they were chopped up, the guts were still functioning. Like a Timex :D
 
I worked in the lighting department at Lowes for a few months. Other than shape, the differences I saw in the vast selection was:
  • Lumens 5 vs 10
  • Construction Glass and Metal vs Plastic
Personally I would try to find a set of Metal and Glass with 10 lumens. They come with rechargeable batteries that can be replaced.

Good luck!!
 
timothy said:
Wifes got em all over the back and front yard.
Some you need to replace the rechargeable battery's every few years.
AA on some I'm doing today.
The ones on the fence were done last year.
tvwbb.com

Some outdoor pics.

Getting ready to remove the 24 year old deck and place concrete. Playing with solar lights now.
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
Click to expand...
Thanks for the inspiration, very nice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top