In the last few years, there has been a real spike in the popularity of solar garden lights. There are many reasons for this. They are simple to install, are comparable to traditional garden lights with recent increases in technology, AND they save you copious amounts of money off your power bills.
People like the fact that there is no wiring that you have to navigate through during installation. Until recently, this type of light was not in the same ballpark as others that required wiring installation. The lighting was less bright, the batteries didn’t last long enough, nor did the solar panels transform enough of the sun’s light to last very long after dark, so they just didn’t really justify purchasing this type of garden lighting.
In the last 5 years, there have been a number of technological breakthroughs which have made solar lighting much more efficient, and yet still cost effective.
The first was LED technology. These greatly increased the brightness of any garden light, while using a lesser amount of power, which obviously plays right into the hand of any solar technology which needs to store power, as it lasts for longer. It also moves them into direct competition as your regular outdoor lighting.
The second technological advance was in power storage. Batteries which these lights use to store the power they receive from the sun have become much more cost effective, while becoming more functional. Once the batteries are fully charged, they are able to last longer until they need recharging, and can handle more charges.
The third breakthrough is in the solar panels. These have become much better at photosynthesizing the light (turning it into power), and the panels themselves have become much more competitive price-wise.
When you add these three factors up, you can see why solar lighting is now making significant inroads into the outdoor lighting market, as it is now a product that has comparable quality to normal lighting, and will actually pay you back for as long as you have them on your property.
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