The Solar Garden

Solar lighting now a days is a common feature in our gardens. For many years our gardens haven’t just been about the flowers and shrubs, we have been adding design features to them just as we do with the inside of our homes. For many years though garden lighting was restricted to post lights to line the path to the shed or to place in the borders to highlight a particular plant. But in recent years modern technology has provided more efficient solar panels and battery storage that has allowed product designers to be more creative and offer alternative solar products that aren’t just about lighting.

The Solar industry now offers a wide choice of products for our homes and gardens that use the sun’s energy. From the original post lights that now include PIR sensors so the light comes on as we walk to our door, to solar powered water features and pond pumps that offer that tranquil sound of running water and encourage wildlife. Home security hasn’t been overlooked either with the development of Solar PIR Security Lights.

The post lights that originally brought our attention to using solar in our gardens are no longer just a plastic post with a light on top that only lasts a few hours; they are now also available in stainless steel or wood effect and come with colour changing light options. We can even line the entrance to our home with artificial miniature bay trees with solar illuminations or have our own solar powered lamp post in our drive.

As well as the solar lights designed to light up our home and garden at night, many products are now designed as features in themselves. Hanging Solar Garden Lanterns or Solar Table Lights are available to add subtle lighting around the decking or patio area, even garden statues now have solar lights built in so you can still enjoy them at night. And the shrubs can still take pride of place in the borders even at night when highlighted with solar string lights draped over them.

Nature and the water garden has also benefited from solar technology. Solar pond pumps and oxygenators with integral solar panels don’t require mains electricity fed with long cables from the home. Or even if we don’t have a pond we can still bring water into the garden with a solar bird bath, water pot cascade or natural slate fountain with an underwater solar panel.

There have been many improvements in solar efficiency over recent years, mainly through investment in solar energy generation to offset our carbon emissions, and these improvements can also be seen in the products we buy for our enjoyment in the garden. We can now buy products using Solar on Demand technology that allows us to store the sun’s energy during the day and turn it on when we want to enjoy our product at night.

Using solar in the garden also has practical uses. Solar Security Lights or Utility Lights are easy to install in the shed or those areas where you need light but don’t have mains electricity. Even if there is electricity, why pay for an electrician to install or pay to run the light when the sun’s energy is free?