Solar Panel Facts

I know I said my next article would be on solar hot water heating, but then I found this cool video on You Tube about a diy project connecting polycrystalline solar cells together to make your own solar panels. While this particular method may not be the best way to create home solar panels, it is really interesting to watch.

This is the final post in my 3 part series on residential solar lighting. I’ve already addressed outdoor uses for solar lighting, such as security lighting and solar sidewalk lights. But how can you bring the power of the sun inside?

Of course we all know that you can put up solar shingles or residential solar panels, but a lot of us aren’t ready to take that leap just yet. So, what options are available if you want to increase your use of solar power without moving your whole house off the grid? There are some easy, cost effective measures you can take.

One of the easiest uses of solar lighting for your home is also the most obvious– so bear with me. They get better. Almost every person in America with a home has the ability to make some use of solar in your house, and it won’t cost you anything. Utilize your windows. Now, you do want to be smart about this. If it’s blazing hot or freezing cold where you live, you may not be able to leave your windows completely uncovered all day every day. But for great amounts of the day, many of us could turn off almost every light in our house and utilize the power of the sun to light our homes. So, be smart and use what you already have before investing one additional dime in solar lighting for your home.

Now, if you want to make better use of your windows, there is an option you can look into. Called a light shelf, it is primarily designed for tall windows that get a lot of direct sunlight. It allows you to better direct the sunlight and get less glare while still lighting your interior with passive solar lighting. There are internal and external light shelves that both serve different purposes, but if you have really tall windows in your house and are interested in improving the use of passive solar lighting, you should look into light shelves.

While light shelves may be a fairly new idea to many readers, the next solar lighting option has been around for quite a while. Skylights are familiar to most of us as a way to bring the power of the sun inside. You might consider installing a skylight in your bathroom or some other room that lacks enough windows to effectively utilize solar lighting.

While skylights have been around for quite some time, there are some new twists on this familiar method of solar lighting. The first is the solar tube. Basically, these utilize a skylight type system on your roof and reflective tubing to bring solar into rooms where traditional skylights would not work. They provide much better and often more focused lighting than a traditional skylight and lack many of the drawbacks of older skylights (such as glare and heat). They are also a relatively cheap solar lighting option, usually more inexpensive than skylights or even new windows. They can be professionally installed in about half a day and don’t require major renovation. Plus, they may qualify for a federal tax credit.

This is a video about solar tube lighting, so that you can better picture how they work.

These are several ways that you can bring solar lighting inside without installing solar panels. My next articles will address another popular solar application– solar water heaters.

In my last article on solar lighting, I addressed using solar lighting for outdoor uses, including sidewalk lighting, driveway lighting and for decorative purposes. Now, I’d like to talk about other outdoor uses for solar lights: security lighting, pool lighting, and porch lights.

One of the best feature of solar security lighting is that it will work even in a blackout. When your security lighting provides its own power from the sun, you never have to worry about whether it will work when you really need it. Unlike solar sidewalk lighting or driveway lighting which can be fairly dim, solar security lighting is specially designed to be quite bright. In order to obtain the best results, look for solar security lighting that has a remote solar panel that is large enough to gather enough sunlight to power stronger bulbs and can also be moved to an optimal location for gathering sunlight during the day. Additionally, solar security lighting with a motion detector attached will provide the most efficient use of your solar power. You can find mini solar security lights for less than $50, and full size security lights run by solar power for less than $100.

Oneof the most beautiful and practical uses for solar landscape lighting is pool lighting. There’s nothing much more tranquil than looking out over your peaceful pool, beautifully lit at night. Of course, if you’re thinking about your electric bill at the same time, it won’t be nearly as peaceful. By utilizing solar powered pool lights, you can enjoy the tranquility without worrying about your electricity consumption. There are multiple ways to light your pool, but two of the most popular are floating pool lights and garden lights surrounding the pool area. Standard pool lighting requires that you run wiring or use batteries. Neither of these provide the money saving simplicity of solar lighting for your pool area. Prices for in pool solar lighting starts as cheap as about $8 for cute little LED balls that float in your pool. Larger floating solar pool lights will run about $20 each. Solar lighting for the landscaped areas surrounding your pool are similarly priced and styled to the solar sidewalk lighting mentioned in my last article. Prices range on how decorative you want your lighting to appear, but you can find lighting starting for less than $20. In the upper ranges you may pay $50 or more for each light. But remember, once you’ve invested in the fixture, you probably won’t have any additional expenses. One of my favorite applications are solar step lights, which can be mounted directly to your decking surrounding your pool. They run around $150 for 4, but they provide safety and look great. Most led lights have a life of decades even with regular use, so you’re not likely to need to replace them often. And the power for solar lighting is, of course, provided free by the sun.

Solar lighting for your porch means different things to different people. For some people, this means solar deck lighting for the back yard. For some, this may be a more stylish alternative to solar security lights for your front porch. For the front porch, many people may not like the stark look of a motion-sensor security light. Or perhaps they just enjoy the reassuring glow of a porch light. Whatever your reason, there are solar lighting alternatives for you. There are solar lights that can be wall-mounted, hang or have just about any other look. Since your front porch light is most likely shaded, you’ll again want to make sure that you get a solution that has a solar collector that can be located some distance for the actual light. Most of these lights will run between $50 and $100. For your back porch or deck, the possibilities for solar lighting are numerous. There are solar umbrella lights, solar accent lighting, solar flood lighting, solar lights that can go in your trees. If you can come up with a lighting solution for your back deck, there is probably a solar lighting alternative available. My favorites are the solar lights that can be deck mounted and the solar tiki torches. Prices range quite a bit on these products, but if you look around you can certainly find something that will fit in your price range. Even if you just start with a solar powered grill light (available for around $50), you’re making progress.

As you can see, there are many options for residential outdoor solar lighting. Whether you’re looking for something to improve the look of your yard, increase your security or simply help you enjoy your yard more, there’s a solar lighting alternative available. If you’re looking for how to bring the power of solar lighting indoors, my next article will focus on some indoor solar lighting options that don’t involve taking your whole house off the grid.