Outdoor solar lighting (house, landscaping, buy)

[Old Gal]

Finally getting some landscaping completed today. I was wondering if solar lighting has gotten to a point that it is actually good. Haven't tried it in quite a few years. I would like to do some lights in the backyard to light up the palm trees. Does anyone have any recommendations.

[Harbor Hopper]

It just keeps getting cheaper & cheaper, unless you buy the GOOD stuff (not sold in big box stores). For palm tree up-lighting, solar doesn't do well. Low voltage flood/spot lights do much better and with small bulbs & bases.

[convextech]

I've been using solar lighting for years and it's been hit or miss. I bought a bunch of hanging lanterns that do well, but I have to replace the batteries once a year. Then I have one solar light that I've had hanging for years, is the brightest, and I've never had to change the battery. The "copper" casing around this lamp is falling apart but that light keeps on shining...LOL

[Tujuleez1]

If you are looking for something powerful enough to do tree uplighting, forget solar. You'd need a huge collector and battery to provide the light necessary for uplighting a tree.

Low voltage LED landscape lighting is pretty straightforward. All you have to do is get the wire to it. After that, it can be pretty much maintenance free, depending on the brand used. My favorite is Malibu metal LED. Three years at the last house and almost zero problems.

[Messing About]

My experience says to avoid solar.

I have a handyman who did some great 120v landscape lights for us...we picked them out and he did the installation work of 5 lights, buried the cables properly and hooked up the transformer for $100. If you're interested, send me a PM and I'll share him with you.

I could have done it but at that price, why would I? We love, love, love the Wall Wash light we used on the Areca Palm. By the way, these are all LED from Lowes. The lights were about $300.

[Old Gal]

Originally Posted by Messing About

My experience says to avoid solar.

I have a handyman who did some great 120v landscape lights for us...we picked them out and he did the installation work of 5 lights, buried the cables properly and hooked up the transformer for $100. If you're interested, send me a PM and I'll share him with you.

I could have done it but at that price, why would I? We love, love, love the Wall Wash light we used on the Areca Palm. By the way, these are all LED from Lowes. The lights were about $300.

Beautiful!