i thought getting solar power for the garden and outdoor walkway would be simpler than running an extension cord from the power outlet on the house to the garden. But i’m realizing the obvious drawback to solar power– the places you want lights, because you know it’s going to be dark, …aren’t going to get enough sunlight to power them long into the night. so much for individual lights with their own tiny solar panels. So… my next thought was to get a medium-sized solar panel, set it up in an open part of my yard that gets plenty of sun, and run power chords from it to the various small lights that are set up, well, where there isn’t as much light? is this just a stupid idea? and if not, where can you buy a medium-sized solar panel that comes with a normal power outlet, that you can plug things into?
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Solar lights have rechargable batteries built in and the sun recharges them. They will stay lit most of the night.
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=solar+lights&ic=48_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=0
It would cost you a lot less to buy new solar lights. Just get rid of the low voltage cables and go solar. Solar panels would cost more and would mean digging up more of your yard to lay the cable.
Some of the newer solar lights have panels with cords that separate the light from the fixture itself. Cost a bit more, but these are the state-of-the art. But, with solar lights, you generally get what you pay for. Of course, they will never work well in shade, but you are misguided about how little some of the better ones work now a days.
And, newer solar lights have panels that are more sensitive — meaning they can work on less sunlight and many are “amorphous” meaning they can store energy on cloudy days or store more solar power for longer periods of time. We had 10 straight days of lights and most of our good solar lights worked for at least four days. True, by day four they weren’t as bright, but still worked. Read the articles below, have a lot of good information.