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Evaluation of Solar Yard Light
and Solar Spot Lights
With the increase awareness of solar, many of us have a solar yard light or two, a light up gadget or even a solar panel. If you don't have anything solar and wonder what the hype is about ...try out a small gadget or two. It's fun! And it is a great tool to understanding how solar energy works.
Here's some facts
The Availability of Gifts, Gadgets and Toys are increasing by leaps and bounds. Just about every retailer is offering mostly something related to solar...(not as much wind, though).
  The Cost of these products have been going down over the last couple of years. Imagine getting a decent solar light for as little as $3. Click on the Wal-Mart here and type is solar in their search bar. See the variety of solar items there are today.  
The Variety of items are unlimited...Awesome! Above to the left is a Solar Hanging Basket..click on the picture for more details, prices etc.and what other cool items they have available....for example, solar Christmas lights, solar bird feeders.
Also..Click on this Northern Link and plug in Solar in their search bar and check out what is available. For example, solar fence lights, shed lights, solar wind chimes etc... Awesome!
 No maintenance OR ELECTRIC is required and the light goes on automatically at dusk and off at dawn. They are great to use when you have a power outage (or camping). Just bring them in the house and they throw off more light than candles and are safer too ... And reading is easier then by candlelight!
Solar Products have come a long way
especially with the LED light bulbs most, if not all are assembled with. (This picture shows this light has 3 LED lights.) The longevity of the bulbs are near to life lasting. The LED lights burn a white verses 'yellow' light(Edison socket-the screw in kind) and may take some getting used to. The yellow lights do seems to brighten up the room more, but the industry is coming out with fluorescent bulbs with higher watts which is giving the yellow competition.
Solar Yard Lights
The amazing thing about the ENERGY of Solar is quite fascinating. These basic cheap yard lights can teach you plenty. For example:
It teaches you if there is full to 'almost' full sunny days the solar lights in your yard stay on until dawn the next morning, even in the winter months.
It lets you see that on cloudy days the lights still come on, (even without a lick of sunlight) but not as strong and not all night. A completely rainy day, with no sun, can still produce about a hour or two of dim light from that yard light.
It introduces you to how Solar energy works. On each yard light there is a small solar panel, 2 or 3 inches square. When you purchase the yard lights you have to place a new rechargeable battery (usually included-AA). This is where the solar energy is stored....
...So, the small solar panel (which is on top of the cap of the light in this picture, hard to see) captures the light from the sun, (if it be direct or indirect light). The solar energy has to be 'captured' (or 'held in bucket' with the bucket being the AA battery) until it needs to be used...or it will be lost. So each night, the light comes on and uses the battery to shed light. (Around 4-5 hours of sunlight provide enough energy for the solar light to function all night.) Yard solar lights, generally do not give off too 'useful' of light outside...as compared to their counterpart, the 'electric' wired ones. However, the Solar lights can be placed just about anywhere,is safe in the rain and all winter long...no wires needed. If you live in a city or suburbs and you display your solar lights on your porch or front yard, it is an invitation for someone to take them. So Beware. Some ideas to prevent theft of your solar lights are: You can place the light in a plant in a very sunny window in your house or you can wire the stake of the solar yard light into the ground...similar to the electric way to set up a walkway with light. (If you come up with idea, please be sure to hit the 'contact us' button and we'll share it!)If you buy a set of solar yard light (like Wal-Mart has 8 for $20) and you have them scattered around your yard, it is an awesome treat to watch them each come on "one at a time" at dusk.
Solar Spot Lights
The solar spot lights have some of their own special qualities.The Spot lights can start out costing $10. Wal-Mart has a set of two for $20 for the Westinghouse brand. Also Northern Tools has some nice quality ones.They are perfect as a spotlight for flag, to light up the side of a house or a tree or flower bed. The light have to be positioned so the light shines on an object. Otherwise, there is no noticeable light. For example, if you face it into your yard, or woods, it doesn't light up a thing. If the light faces into a window in the house, it lights up that room where the window is.They outshine and outlast the regular solar yard lights. The spot lights have more strength and will last all night even after a cloudy day, but will be dimmer than usual due to the lack of sunlight. A wonderful investment to shine on your shed, fence, yard, garage, garden flower, etc. Makes great gifts for parents and grandparents, too! To find some more unique solar items, click this link for Northern Tools and in their search bar around 100 items come up. Such as Solar Fence Light (29.99), Shed light, Garage Lights, Flood lights, and a 12 foot- 30 LED string of lights. FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of items at NorthernTool.com
Go to HomePage from Solar Yard Light - Click HERE
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