Adequate lighting is a must for most people when it comes to the outdoor areas around their homes but it is not always easy to install it and it is certainly never cheap. When it comes to staging and selling a Waterloo Region home you may overlook outdoor lighting as many showings occur during the day.
However, potential buyers do not, and they will be on the lookout for such things. In addition, once a buyer is seriously considering making an offer on a home it is standard Realtor advice that they view the property at several different times of day, including the evening, so at that point lighting will help may the great impression that may push them finally make that offer..
if your current outdoor lighting set up is not quite up to par the good news is that you will not have to spend a fortune to remedy the problem. Outdoor solar lights are fast becoming the best alternative to traditional electric powered outdoor lights because they are more environmentally friendly, far more versatile, easier to install and save people a lot of money on their electric bills every single day.
There are solar outdoor lights available that are suitable for almost any use. Solar street lights and solar flood lights provide homeowners and business owners with an east and affordable way to light larger areas and solar spot lights, solar path lights and solar brick lights are all excellent ways to light outdoor smaller areas.
You can also use solar tree lights, solar panel lights solar sensor lights, solar driveway lights and even solar sign lights to add precise, targeted lighting wherever you might need it.
They can even be a selling point. Today’s home buyers are actively interested in green technology when viewing homes and being able to point out that your beautifully lit landscape costs zero dollars to illuminate is sure to be an appealing thought for the budget – and environmentally – conscious homebuyer.
Most Popular Types of Solar Lighting for The Great Outdoors
Decking Lights
Decking lights are a must if you really want to get the most out of having a deck at all. The problem is that if you rely on traditional electric decking lights installing them can be a real hassle and the placement of them will be limited to where they can be easily plugged into the mains power which usually means close to the building the deck is attached to, unless you are willing to pay an electrician to come and do quite a bit of extra wiring work before you ever even think about actually installing the lights themselves.
Solar Pond Lights
Ornamental garden ponds are more popular than ever these days and thanks to solar pond lighting they are also easier to decorate in just the way you want without a lot of extra expense and fuss.
Traditional electric pond lighting has improved with the introduction of more efficient LED bulbs, but nothing can beat solar pond lighting when it comes to saving money on your electricity bill, ease of installation, maintenance and flexibility of design as well as eco-friendliness.
You can buy solar pond lighting that is designed to float on top of the water or solar pond lighting options that are designed to be placed underwater as well. As long as sunlight hits the pond during the day these underwater lights can draw in all of the power they need and can be a great way to showcase an especially good collection of ornamental fish and plant life.
Solar Path Lights
There are lots of reasons to make sure that the pathways leading to and from your home are well lit, especially if you will be selling your home. Safety is probably the biggest reason of course, there really is nothing worse than trying to stumble your way along in the dark. Path lights can also be a great addition to your outdoor decor scheme as well and can boost your home’s ‘curb appeal’ .
In terms of style and design there are a great many different kinds of solar path lights to choose from. They can be small, flat, ground based and unobtrusive or they can be tall, stake mounted affairs in all kinds of styles and everything between the two extremes. Many options can either be triggered automatically to light up when dusk falls and then turn off again in the morning or can be manually operated by the property owner and used on an as needed basis.
Outdoor Solar Lighting FAQs
Just how do outdoor solar lights work?
As their name suggests outdoor solar lights harness the (free) power of the sun to charge battery cells that will then be able to provide hours and hours of bright light as soon as you need them to after dusk falls.
Are outdoor solar lights hard to install?
No, not at all. Unlike traditional electric lights you don’t have to to do any complicated wiring or rewiring. In the case of almost all outdoor solar lights, whatever type you choose, all you really need to do is take them out of the box, follow a few very simple instructions and you will have bright, long lasting light that is as good for the environment as it is for your bank balance in minutes!
Will outdoor solar lights still work if I don’t live in a very sunny area?
Whether you can see it or not during the daytime, wherever you live, the sun is always in the sky and outdoor solar lights do not need a lot of sunlight to charge. Instead they absorb the daylight that is around them all day long so even if its a rainy, cloudy day they should still be ready to light up the night by the end of it!
Are outdoor solar lights more expensive to buy than traditional ones?
No, in fact they are usually a less expensive option both to buy up front and to run and they come in styles and sizes that are in fact in some cases only possible to create because they do not need long lengths of wires attached to them to work.