Landscaping solar light experience

CosbyWood · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:13 pm

Anyone have any suggestions on landscaping solar lighting? Which one's to look at, which one's to stay away from and whatnot? Want to get something, but want it to actually look like lights and not a small dim blur all night long.

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

the biggest mistake people make with solar lighting is putting them in places that never get any sunlight. I know, sounds stupid, but there are people in my neighborhood who put some solar lights UNDER A BUSH, and they wonder why they are so dim all the time.

Matthew Fortner · **Joined:** Sun Mar 21, 2004 12:21 am **Posts:** 384

I bought a set of solar lights from Home Depot. They sucked even with me adding an external power source. I ended up going the wired low voltage route. I'd love to know of a good one.

CosbyWood · **Posted:** Sat Apr 28, 2007 9:23 pm

Well I bought a cheap set and have been impressed with them so far.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=106566-59179-L4-12&detail=desc&lpage=none

That's the set, and the price that I paid. The only thing I'm not happy with is the "frosted" lens, but it still does what I was trying to accomplish.

My not so high quality picture of the lights that I'm happy with.

http://bp3.blogger.com/_bBX4N23gB4w/RjFQF2kBuiI/AAAAAAAAAFs/4u5LZkMrk0M/s1600-h/Front_after_night.JPG

So now you know. If later on I find that they end up sucking real bad, well I guess I'll post that experience and continue my quest.

Kevin Allen · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 6:42 pm **Posts:** 3479

Wouldn't you rather put them in a straight line?

CosbyWood · **Posted:** Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:38 pm

No I like my arcs!

Marty Howard · **Posted:** Mon May 14, 2007 3:34 pm

We installed a set and I just found them cold. The batteries dies in less than a year, and I think I am going to switch to the low voltage ones shortly.

I just can't get use to either the blue or really yellow lights.

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

the idiots on the board of my HOA had this bright idea to convert the gas lamps in our neighborhood to solar. Can somebody back me up here that no solar lamp will ever put out light similar in color to a gas lamp (not to mention, they will put out MAYBE 10% of the light output)? They also don't seem to understand that putting solar lamps in the shade doesn't work. Pictures are very helpful as well if you have them, I already used the one linked about to try and explain the concept of "color temperature" to them.

DanDurusky · **Joined:** Sun Apr 10, 2005 7:31 pm **Posts:** 686

^they should of used LEDs. downtown Raleigh is a test city for all LED public lighting. the transition has already begun. kinda neat

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

well, LED's don't exactly provide the "warm glow" that a gas lamp does. Our lamps don't serve any purpose other than ambience, there are regular street lights that actually provide light.

Matthew Fortner · **Joined:** Sun Mar 21, 2004 12:21 am **Posts:** 384

Tinted gels, filters?

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Tue May 15, 2007 8:42 am

BriceJohnson wrote:

well, LED's don't exactly provide the "warm glow" that a gas lamp does. Our lamps don't serve any purpose other than ambience, there are regular street lights that actually provide light.

If that's the case, why don't push getting rid of the lights altogether, so they're not a useless drain on our resources.

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

I'm all for it, but according to the bitchy women, old, single (probably for a reason) women who seem to run our neighborhood, they are a crucial part of the "charm" of our neighborhood. They are always yelling at me and my wife (as well as many other sensible people) cuz we turned ours off, as we thought $10/month worth of natural gas was kind of dumb just to add "charm".

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Tue May 15, 2007 10:52 am

BriceJohnson wrote:

:) I'm all for it, but according to the bitchy women, old, single (probably for a reason) women who seem to run our neighborhood, they are a crucial part of the "charm" of our neighborhood. They are always yelling at me and my wife (as well as many other sensible people) cuz we turned ours off, as we thought $10/month worth of natural gas was kind of dumb just to add "charm".

Become a board member of the HOA. Get all of the other sensible people to vote for you!

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

I was last year (president of the board), it was too much of a PITA to deal with people's stupid complaints (so and so needs to paint their mailbox post, so and so needs to remove this lawn ornament, etc. etc.) when there were much more important things to deal with. I got two big issues in our neighborhood solved (cars parking and blocking emergency vehicle access, an intersection that badly needed a stop sign), and I've had enough of it. My wife has already received numerous mean comments from people in our neighborhood as a result of those two changes, I don't wish to subject either of us to any further insults. I'll let them fight it out over the "ambience", I've got better things to do with my time. Now I serve as a "consultant" to the board, since all they know how to do is complain, and not how to actually get anything done. They asked me whether or not this can be done, I've given them some obvious reasons why its a bad idea (color temp, the fact that solar lights don't work in the shade, cost will be ~$8000 to convert the whole neighborhood), just curious if anyone else had some other good pictures of solar lights and their meek output.

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