Landscape Lighting

The past few years have seen big changes in the area of outdoor landscape lighting. Previously, homeowners who wanted to illuminate areas of their outdoor spaces had to rely on halogen or incandescent lights wired together and plugged into an outlet. Newer technologies like LED lights and solar powered-batteries are allowing for more creative possibilities, using less energy than ever before.

LED Lights

Earlier landscape lighting systems, even those of a few years ago, relied on halogen or incandescent light. As followers of green lighting technology know, these older forms of light consume quite a bit of energy. Newer landscape lighting systems utilizing LED light technology can provide the same amount of illumination while using up to 75% less electricity. (Click here for more info on LED lights.)Due to their energy-saving potential and ever-decreasing costs, LED lights are quickly becoming the standard in landscape lighting. For the homeowner, and the planet, that's a good thing.

LED lights have other advantages over traditional light sources; LED technology allows light to be created in almost any color, even changing colors, to beautifully and creatively light up outdoor areas. Their low power consumption also allows them to be powered only by the sun.

Solar Power

Due to the low amount of power required by LED lights, and the relatively low levels of light required in landscape settings, landscape lights are easily powered only by the energy of the sun. Walking through the outdoor center of any store and you'll easily see how quickly and thoroughly LED and solar lights have taken over the world of landscape lighting.

There are a few benefits to solar-powered landscape lights. The obvious advantage is that they require no electricity from any source other than the free power provided by the Sun. Most landscape lights that run from the suns' power contain batteries that store enough energy to run the lights for at least several hours each night, and often all night long.

By not having to be shackled to a power source, solar-powered landscape lights are free to be placed anywhere in a landscaped area the owner wants them. This allows for a much greater choice in light placement, which again lets the owner be as creative as they want to be.

Green Homes and Landscape Lighting

A homes' outdoor living spaces are an extension of the home itself. Yards, gardens, patios, and other outdoor areas provide families an opportunity to be closer to the natural world. The creative use of landscape lights can turn those spaces into a magical outdoor oasis at night; done right, they can use very little, if any, energy.

Landscape lights are quickly becoming 'early adaptors' of new LED and solar-power technologies, and as such they are helping to lead the way to a more energy-efficient, renewably-powered future.