On Thu, 2 Apr 2009 09:10:59 +0100, ninatalover1
wrote:


Hi All,

I'm not sure if this is the right forum but I was wondering if anyone
had any tips on how solar garden lights can improve your garden over
and above their decorative value. I've been looking around the web for
solar lights (found a good UK site: www.blinkingsun.com) and there is
such a wide range I am tempted to buy some but I want to find out if
they can help in other ways, rather than just being environmentally
friendly. For example can they deter slugs? Do floating pond lights
help fish or not? Will pushing a solar stake light into a bed next to a
delicate roots be dangerous?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I'm thinking of putting together a
guide for this.

Thanks
Nina

My solar lights are strictly for illumination / decorative value. Some
are positioned next to plants without adverse effect. Exercise caution
to avoid disturbing the root ball.

I've never noticed a beneficial or negative effect on a plant... we're talking
very low levels of pinpoint illumination in the visible light spectum. Moonlight is a
lot stronger than most of the solar lights being used.

Pond lights seem to help cut back on algae, and, as noted by other posters,
will attract some night time insects to help round out the Koi diet.

The light given off by the led's does not seem to attract as many insects
as a incandescent. (for whatever reason)



Some thoughts....

Wal-Mart was selling Westinghouse Brand single LED Lights plastic
housing for $20 for a set of 8. Spots were 2 for $20.

Aluminum Housing 3 led spots are somewhere 70 -100 for set
of 6.. depending upon the style...pagoda style seems to be
more on the high side.

Installation - I used a 1" Auger Bit and a Brace to drill a
hole for the stake and tamped the dirt back into place.... seemed
to work rather well.

Solar lights have some benefits AND some drawbacks.

-Easy to install
-They are good for testing out lighting patterns
-Some models will only provide up to 6 hours of lighting on fully charged batteries.
-Extended periods of overcast skies or dense shade (summer decideous) will
prevent batteries from chaging fully.
- Ni-Cad batteries have an estimated lifetime of 1000 cycles. The batteries
are easy to replace, however something has to be done with the used ones...
don't throw them in the landfill.

Fwiw Solar lights will not produce satisfactory results under many of these conditions -
-safety lighting,
-security lighting,
-focused landscape illumination
- designs requiring a large number of lights in a designated area
- designs requiring consistent illumination over an extended period of time. i.e.
dusk to dawn pathway lighting every day.

Best to stick to hardwired professional equipment under these conditions.

I personally prefer the gentle glow of distributed lighting over an area rather
than having a single, bright spotlight or front yard light. The distributed
light provides a little more security without keeping the neighbors awake
at night. However security lighting is also essential in many cases.

Peter