Adding lighting to a home can make a dramatic effect on its appearance. Uplighting the front of a home, fixing lights to fences, walls or paths, can bring more benefits than just illumination.
One issue for many people would be the cost of adding lighting and for some, even the environmental impact this can have. Lights need energy to power them, and this has many effects including larger energy bills.
Some people may even question whether the outside of their home requires additional lighting, after all, they are probably spending the evening indoors, not outside. However, illuminating a driveway and paths can transform a home in many ways, and it doesn’t need to affect either the wallet or the environment.
Why should you consider illuminating your driveway?
The obvious answer to this question is that it will make your driveway visible at night. However, this is much too simple an answer. There are multiple reasons for lighting up the exterior of a home, and by using solar power the costs can be minimized.
Solar power is now more commonplace than ever in people’s gardens and on the exterior of their homes. These types of lights can be quite unobtrusive so it is possible that you haven’t noticed that your friend’s deck lights are powered by the sun.
Using solar driveway lights is just an extension of all the other ways that solar energy is being used to power homes and even vehicles such as RVs.
Carry on reading to you should think about using solar power and driveway lights in tandem for your home.
Why use solar power with your lights?
Using solar power saves the need for electricity, which in turn saves you money. The sun is a completely renewable, alternative, energy source. Many countries are now embracing solar power for a surprising amount of uses and with good reason.
Fossil fuels won’t be around forever, in fact, some of them might disappear in your own lifetime. When fossil fuels are mentioned, they generally relate to oil, coal, and gas. It is expected that all three will be gone this century unless new reserves are found. Coal is likely to last the longest and is expected to be around for another 70 years.
These fuels are used to power vehicles, heat homes, cookers, and many other daily activities. Most people probably don’t consider where their electricity comes from too often but it requires fossil fuels to be burnt to make it.
Solar power on the other hand just needs sunshine. The sun costs nothing, and it is expected to last 5.5 billion years more. So, there is no need to panic about that just yet.
Lighting your driveway will make your home more secure
When you are looking for ways to keep your home safer from burglars and intruders, lighting is one of the most effective methods you can choose.
Fortunately, burglary in the states is much less frequent than in the past. Although this crime has not been eradicated and will likely never be, it is now on a downward trend. This is likely to be caused, at least in part, by modern home security systems, and security lighting.
Another crime that home and car owners should be aware of is car theft. In 2019, there were over 720,000 cars stolen in America. Installing solar driveway lights can help protect your property by making it difficult for thieves to hide.
Make your home more attractive
While you can use solar driveway lights to make your home less attractive to intruders, you can also use them to give your home more ambiance.
There are many tips for selling a home faster, and one of them is to add curb appeal. This means that when a potential buyer pulls up in their car outside your home, the property should look attractive, or have curb appeal.
Adding uplighting to a home is one way to add ambiance, and simple additions such as driveway lights can do the same. Lighting on certain areas of a home such as paths and decking adds a touch of elegance, especially when the lights themselves are subtle.
It can make your driveway safer
Adding solar driveway lights can make your pathways and drive safer for you and your family. Many homes can be dark at night, with fences, walls, and trees creating shadows.
Adding in driveway lights can make a home less hazardous just by reducing the chance of tripping. These lights also make it easier for the driver to negotiate the driveway and avoid boundaries in the dark.
Solar driveway lights are environmentally friendly
Solar power is becoming more popular in the states, and across the rest of the world due to a few reasons. Firstly, solar power avoids the need for fossil fuels which, as you have already read, are running out. Because solar-powered lights avoid fossil fuels they will also cause no emissions or harmful pollutants.
Typically outdoor solar lighting uses LEDs to provide illumination as opposed to sodium, halogen, or incandescent lights. LED lights last longer than all of these, and therefore will need replacing less often.
LED lights last 25 times longer than incandescent light bulbs, and possibly even more than that. This has the effect of reducing how much waste ends up in landfills. LED lights can be disposed of easily and safely when the time comes, unlike sodium lights which contain mercury and need to be taken to a recycling center.
Solar driveway lights have a lot of other features
While adding driveway lights can make your home more attractive and illuminate the entrance, they have some surprising features too.
When choosing solar driveway lights, it is possible to get colored versions to add extra ambiance to the outside of your home. These can have a striking effect on the appearance of your home at night. The lights can also be unobtrusive and fitted into the ground.
Features to look out for in solar driveway lights might be any of the following:
- Pressure resistant
- Last up to 70 hours plus
- Long warranties
- Temperature resistant batteries
- Waterproof
- Color changing
As the lights will be used on driveways it is obviously important that they are pressure resistant. Even the most careful of drivers could easily catch one with a wheel at some point or other. They are waterproofed for obvious reasons too, but a couple of the other features may be more surprising.
One daily charge from the sun can mean more than 70 hours worth of energy is stored by some of these lights. Plus, temperature resistant batteries ensure that there is no overheating when they are charging.
Summary
In short, the reasons to use solar power are overwhelming. Using the sun’s energy means that your energy bills will be reduced. You will be avoiding fossil fuels that are harmful to you and the environment. LED lights create less waste by virtue of their longer lifespan.The reasons for installing driveway lights are also just as conclusive. Adding safety, security from intruders, improved ambiance, and your home will look more attractive. If you are looking to sell your home then driveway lights could be a simpler but effective way to add curb appeal.
