Comparison of Solar and Low Voltage Landscape Lights

 

Advantages of Solar Landscape Lights

Solar lights can be relatively inexpensive in small sets and can be placed anywhere there are at least several hours of daylight each day, even in the winter. Since they don’t use household electricity, there is no need to bury wiring between the house outlet and the lights or to worry about keeping the outlet at the house waterproof.

 

Installation is generally as easy as pushing a small post into the ground and burying the wires between lights. The lighting can be used in locations far away from the house, such as around a pond.

 

The energy cost, other than battery replacement from time to time, is zero. If you want to use as little household electricity as possible, this method uses none.

 

Advantages of Low Voltage Landscape Lights

Low voltage landscape lights are more flexible for location because they don’t need to be in sunlight part of the day all year long.  They can put out a great deal more light than equivalent solar lights because solar lights operate off of small batteries.  Further, low voltage lights can operate all night with equal luminosity but solar lights generally start losing their strength within several hours. 

 

While the initial cost of equipment and installation of low voltage lighting is more initially, they can be put in relatively permanently and last many times longer than equivalent solar-powered lighting. Outdoor low voltage lighting can now use LEDs for very low electrical costs.

 

Summary

You might prefer solar lighting if you have no problem with sunlight during any part of the year in the locations where you need the light and if you are on a very small budget. You may also prefer solar-powered lighting in areas far from the house, such as around a pond.

 

However, if you can afford low voltage lighting, it will produce more light, more consistently, and with less maintenance. Further, the amount of electricity used will be minimal, especially if LEDs are used instead of incandescent bulbs. The environmental impact of solar vs low voltage lighting may be similar because, while the solar uses no household electricity, batteries do wear out and must be replaced.