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Solar powered garden lights are with out doubt one of the easiest ways to add some interest in to your garden when the sun sets. LiveIn|LiveOut have done some research in to solar powered garden lighting and would like to share with you five very good reasons why solar power garden lights are quite possibly the next best thing to sliced bread…

1. Solar powered garden lights can be positioned any where

The real beauty of solar powered lights comes in the fact that you have absolute freedom to position them wherever you want to. You don’t have to worry about getting power to them; all you have to worry about is that the solar panel can see some sun light every day. This flexibility in where you can position the lights gives rise to a wealth of opportunities and all you need to do is think creatively as to where and how you position them. Some types of solar garden lighting will in fact come with a remote solar panel and this gives you even more flexibility as to where you can place them. Having a remote solar panel means that you can position the lights in areas that do not get direct sunlight – such as under hedges or the eaves of your shed – but you can position the solar panel in an area that gets a maximum amount of sunlight every day. This flexibility of where you can position the lights gives rise to the next great thing about solar powered garden lights…

2. Solar lights cost little (if anything) to install

The very fact that solar lights have no power cables means that there is no expensive or exhausting landscaping work to carry out. There is simply no cable to bury and this means no expensive armored cabling or digging trenches across your lawn. Even if you decide to opt for a solar power garden light that has a remote solar panel (which will have a cable running between the light and panel) the cable does not necessarily have to be buried. It is only from an aesthetic point of view that you may want to hide it – from a safety point of view, the cable offers no threat of electrocution has the voltage and current needed to run a small solar powered led garden light is very small.

3. Most normal garden lights you can get as a solar powered version

Solar powered garden lights also come in a variety of different formats and this is good news for anyone that is designing their lighting scheme for their garden. Outdoor lighting design should – like interior lighting – revolve around having multiple light sources which give many different focal points and creates usable and ambient lighting. Solar outdoor lighting comes in the form of lanterns, string lights, post lights, pond lights, patio umbrella lights and bury in the ground lights. You pretty much have all the options that you would do if you were using regular mains voltage powered garden lights. However, unless you spend a significant sum of money it is unlikely that you will get a high powered spot light as these require larger and more sophisticated solar panels.

Another point to bear in mind when choosing a solar powered light is that some of the cheaper lights will emit a very cold (almost light blue) light, in some cases this may work well, but we tend to prefer the warmer white type lights. This type of light is more akin to traditional incandescent light bulbs and gives a much warmer feeling.

4. Solar lights cost nothing to run

Although solar lights may cost a little more than conventional lights you will easily and quickly recoup the cost in what they don’t cost you in terms of electrical power. So, not only will your solar powered lights cost you nothing to install they will also cost you absolutely nothing to run, what more could you want. There is one final point that this leads on to very nicely…

5. Solar powered garden lights turn themselves off

As all of the power that the solar panels have gained in the day slowly dies out throughout the night and so your lights will turn themselves off. This is one great – often overlooked – feature of solar powered garden lights, it means that at the end of the evening when you just want to go to bed you can do just that, you don’t need to traipse around the garden switching off all the lights individually or turning of plug sockets in the house.

Hopefully these five points will have inspired you to get out and buy some solar powered lights for your garden. Garden lights will enhance your garden greatly and make it a real pleasure to spend time in long after the sun has set.

If you are like us at LiveIn|LiveOut, you will no doubt appreciate the finer things in life. Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to spend the earth on finishing details but it really just does come down to having the right ‘eye’ for things and shopping correctly. Lighting clearly ‘makes’ a place special, inviting and calming. We want you to relax in your space when you finish a long week at work whether it is during the summer months or in the cosy winter ones.

Your house is your home – meaning that you need to be able to relax there, and by choosing the correct lighting you will be able to achieve this with no problems and at very little cost. Outside lighting is just as important as getting your inside lighting right, especially if you like to spend as much of your time as you can outside, gardening or simply just relaxing on your hammock with a beer. Creating the correct ambiance with lighting is simple, and depending on your taste I hope that we have come up with some solutions for you below.

Think about the space you have outside and what may lend itself to being decorated with some sort of lighting feature. Do you have a tree that could act as the focus of your outside space or alternatively, do you have a patio decked with a set of tables and chairs? Patio umbrella lights are ideal to keep the warm, cosy feeling of the hot sun going through into the evening.

If we focus on the patio umbrella as an option for you, we’ll take you through a few options you may like to try.

Your Options for a Lighted Patio Umbrella

Before you start deciding on what style or type of patio umbrella lighting you require, you will need to measure your space in order to get the correct size of umbrella. This may sound obvious, but if you need the umbrella to go up underneath some sort of awning or pagoda, then you will need to know the height you will require as well as the circumference. Lighted patio umbrellas can come as a set – Built in lighting into the actual umbrella unit will help to take away any of the unnecessary faffing with wiring etc. A patio umbrella with lights can come in many forms.

• A patio umbrella light is an umbrella with a single built in light situated on top of the ‘spokes’ of the erected umbrella. These lights can be solar powered, which is really useful in terms of fixing and ascertaining where the wire or plug will have to go, not to mention the hazards of trailing wires. Thegreenhead.com have on sale a solar powered example like this. It works by recharging the tiny LED light from drawing power in from the solar panels that are positioned on the top of the weather proof upper side of the umbrella.
• An umbrella with heater units fixed to the underside of the umbrella. This again is solving more than one problem. The heated units are perfect for keeping off the chill when you have more breezy evenings. This type of unit will work as a umbrella to shade during the day and keep you warm at night, together with decorating your space with attractive lighting. Try researching into this type of umbrella with a built in patio heater. 
• An umbrella with a line of small battery operated lights which are positioned on all of the underside spokes.  This is a really nice option, because of the rechargeable factor.
• An alternative is to decorate your already existing patio umbrella with a set of lights. You can now buy battery operated string lights which you can twist and place where you like. These can be suitable for outdoor use, but be sure to check this before you buy. If you are able to safely store a wire (perhaps under your patio itself) then you may want to bear in mind more permanent options – The only thing I would say about this, is that if the wire needs replacing for example, it may be a bit of a headache to fix problems.
• Think about different colours to change the mood of your surroundings. There are so many different options for you to experiment with, just be careful to give all of things a thought so that you choose the right set for you and your family.

We hope this has been helpful to you, and has given you some extra ideas as to what to do in your outside space. We believe it is all about the lighting so even during the winter we make sure the garden has some sort of accent lighting to brighten it up and make it look more inviting and inspiring!