How Solar Garden Lights Work

Solar garden lights are becoming more popular nowadays because of the environment-friendly aspect. These lights can be used for aesthetic appeal and safety as well. If properly installed, they can even supply an energy supply for your home. Let us find out how these lumens lighting work. You may also want to know about its installation.

How Solar Garden Lights Work

Solar lights require direct sunlight for them to function at maximum capacity. 8 hours of direct sunlight will enable solar lights to run for up to fifteen hours without recharging. Also, reduced sunlight because of cloudy or heavy shading will reduce daytime working hours by 1 to five hours, depending upon the drop in irradiance caused by such weather conditions.

The amount of light received is dependent upon the input factor, which may be a standard bulb or a photocell. In either case, solar lights are always equipped with sensors that will automatically adjust their angle to track the sun.

Photovoltaic Cells

To convert light into electricity, solar lights use one or more photovoltaic cells. These are the source of the electrical current. These cells, made out of silicon, are coated with an indium phosphide coating that causes them to absorb a lot of sunlight. As a result, light is absorbed and stored within the unit.

When sunlight hits the photocell, an electric current is generated. This current is then routed to a control box that converts this electrical current into a flow of light in the form of an electric current that can be used in the garden. Another option is for the light switch to switch on a battery, from which electricity is then produced. In this case, photovoltaic cells are also used. However, in this case, a separate water reservoir is needed for storing the electricity generated by the solar lights.

The Benefits

When used correctly, solar energy can provide both free and cheap electricity. By using just a few solar panels, you can completely eliminate your needs for conventional electricity sources such as power plants and gas-powered vehicles.

This in turn allows you to save money on your utility bills. Apart from being cheaper to run, solar energy also provides environmental benefits as solar energy does not produce any pollution whatsoever. Also, as most solar panels can easily generate enough electricity to run most household applications, solar energy is a viable option if you want to go 'green'.

They Work

Once the light is switched on, it starts to absorb light from the sun. The semiconductor material on the photovoltaic cell absorbs the sunlight and stores it in the unit. Then, the unit converts the stored energy into electricity, which can be used to power a variety of lights in your garden. In fact, a single unit can power about sixty LED lights.

Battery Recharge

When the full charge of the unit is exhausted, it will need to be recharged by the homeowner. Once the battery has been fully charged, the user can then connect the unit to an electrical current source. The electricity provided by the source is routed to the solar garden lights battery, which is normally a deep-cycle one.

Once the cycle has finished, the battery will need to be drained and then recharged again. Once this has been done a number of times, the battery will begin to hold a full charge.

How Your Garden Lighting System Works

To begin with, a homeowner needs to choose a suitable location for his or her solar garden lights. This location will dictate just how much power that unit is going to produce.

A good example would be choosing a location that would receive a lot of direct sunlight throughout the day. Additionally, the location of the solar panel will determine just how much electricity the unit is going to generate.