LED lights for the outdoors
LED lights can help you save energy outdoors by providing exterior lighting that consumes very little energy. But before you go stocking up on solar-powered LED landscape lights or LED security lights, you should first think about the product life cycle energy costs of what you are buying, and how much you really need the outdoor lighting. After all, while LED lights are more efficient than incandescent or most other types of lights, it's still more environmentally friendly not to light up your garden or back yard!
LED lights can be powered by solar power, typically at 12 volts DC, or can be connected to the grid, at either 120 volts AC or 12 volts DC. You can use them for security - to light up a driveway or doorway; safety - to light up an area where walking would be unsafe in the dark; or for creating a pleasant setting in a garden or yard, for instance LED Christmas lighting.
You have probably seen many a garden with the old-style incandescent or fluorescent solar landscape lights, typically green or stainless steel plated. They consist of a stake you shove in the ground, a lamp above, and a very small, cheap-looking photovoltaic module on the top. They also typically throw off very little light, and only early in the evening. They use cheap, small photovoltaic cells and poor quality rechargeable batteries, which combined with an incandescent light means they burn the little power they've managed to save up through the day within the first hour or so after sunset.
Good-quality solar LED landscape lights solve this problem of low, short-lived light on three counts: the quality of solar modules has been rising and costs have been falling; battery technology has improved; and LED lights use less energy.
Solar powered floodlights and security lights have a more robust and larger solar panel than LED landscape lights and better batteries; they often come with enough wire to let you place the panel in an area that gets lots of sun during the day, in case your light placement is not in a sunny area.
These lights consume so little electricity, that a grid-connected LED light may make more sense. A 50-foot long LED rope light with LEDs spaced one per inch can consume just 40 watts - and the amount of energy it takes to manufacture the solar panels and battery for an outdoor security light, for instance, may exceed the amount of electricity the light will use over its lifetime!
Security LED lights with motion sensors can light up an outdoor area brightly when movement is detected at night. Because the LEDs use little electricity and are typically not on for very long (unless you have a particularly determined burglar on your porch, or a very hungry raccoon), you can get a lot of light even from a solar-powered LED security light with a small solar panel and small built-in battery unit.
The simplest option for a security LED light, if you already have an outdoor security light, is to switch the existing incandescent bulb to a compatible LED bulb. But if the light is only on when a motion sensor detects movement, it's probably not worthwhile (unless there's a ton of movement near the light!). There's little savings to be had in switching to an LED light that will only be on for a few minutes each night.
I wouldn't suggest replacing an existing incandescent security light with a solar-powered LED light unless the current fixture isn't working - if possible just swap in a replacement LED bulb.
If you want to light up your outdoor spaces so you can eat outside, find your way to the garage at night, barbecue in the dark, or otherwise turn your yard into an extension of your house, there are a number of great outdoor LED light options for you.
LED flood lights can light up a large area for just pennies, and they last for up to 100,000 hours. That's a lot of patio parties! You can get LED flood light fixtures that attach to a wall or ceiling, as well as ground-placed lights that can shine up onto trees or shrubs.
LED rope lights are great for stringing along fences, along house walls, or for lining a pathway. You can buy lengths anywhere from 8 feet to 150 foot reels.
LED barbecue lights clip onto the tray beside your barbecue to light up the grill - and can run off a single battery.
Also look out for pond lights - which are waterproof - and shed lights with a solar panel and batteries - a cheap alternative to running an electrical line to your shed.
Battery powered LED candles are a great choice for gentle lighting at the table, both indoors and out. These candles are made of translucent plastic that has the appearance of real wax; they have a small black wick on the top; and an LED light inside flickers inside, giving the appearance of a candle. They provide 200 hours of light, or more. They look like real wax candles, even flickering like real ones when on.
LED landscape lights are the sensible replacement for those always dim solar landscape lights sold over the past 10-15 years. As I mentioned earlier, they provide a brighter light, for a longer time, then previous incandescent or fluorescent based landscape lights.
We'll be seeing more and more LED technology over the coming years, as quality improves, costs come down, and electricity prices go up. I expect the technology to keep improving. So while I wouldn't recommend switching all your lighting to LEDs just yet, it's probably a good idea to try one or two LED lights, to get used to their longevity, energy use, and the quality of their light; and outdoors is as good a place as any to start.
About the Author
Robin Green runs Green-Energy-Efficient-Homes.com, a website on home energy saving. For more on this topic see Outdoor LED lights on his website.
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