Increasing numbers of people are changing over to solar power even when they live in the city. The cost of solar-powered systems to generate electricity has come down significantly which has made this technology increasingly available to people living in all kinds of situations. If you are planning to live off the grid, solar power is going to be your best bet for powering all of the appliances and lights that you need to use in your home.

If you have wanted to go off the grid but are not sure what kinds of lights will work best for your needs, you are not alone. This is a common question that is asked when setting up a solar system and it is important to make sure that you have the right solar lighting to be comfortable and safe in your home. You will need to make sure that you look into a variety of factors related to the solar lighting that you choose so that you can ensure that you get the right lights for your unique needs.

If you are ready to learn more about the solar lighting that you should pick for your off-the-grid home, read on!

What is Solar Lighting?

Solar lighting can be used both inside and outside a home. If you are off the grid, you will need access to both kinds of lighting systems to make sure that your home is safe and secure during all the seasons of the year. Solar lighting is powered by solar panels that might be installed on the roof of your home or on the property in another location and then power is collected by batteries that power your lights.

You can use unique systems for each kind of solar lighting, and your outdoor lights might have their own collection point and battery while your home is powered by the solar panels that are on your roof. Solar lighting systems are powered by the energy that is created by the sun or daylight through cloud cover. You can install these lighting systems in any kind of home, not just one that needs to exist off the grid.

How Does Solar Lighting Work?

Solar lighting systems are powered by solar panels that are able to transfer the energy of the sun into battery power for your lighting. Solar cells are made up of many layers of crystalline silicon and chemicals that create layers of negatively charged electrons and positively charged spaces. These cells take the light of the sun and excite the negatively charged electrons. This pushes them into the positively charged spaces.

These spaces then move the electron stream as an electrical current into a battery. The electricity is then stored until it needs to be accessed. The battery will charge all throughout the day so long as there is light from the sun that can be converted to electricity. Solar cells that are attached to outdoor solar lighting will commonly use a photoreceptor that can tell when it is dark. This receptor tells the outdoor lighting system to turn on and start accessing the stored electricity in the batteries attached to the system.

Indoor lighting in your home will more than likely not be attached to any kind of photoreceptor and will still be controlled through the use of switches that are in each room. The lights in your home can be powered by the stored battery energy that has been created throughout the day.

How to Choose the Right Solar Light

Solar lights are often chosen based on the quality of the solar cell that they are attached to and the amount of battery that they can store for your needs. You will need higher quality solar panels for lights that will offer enough illumination and duration of light for certain needs. You will be smart to focus on LED lighting for your lighting system since it is energy efficient and offers very bright light.

LED lighting also does not generate heat and the color of the light is quite pleasant when you are trying to work under it or near it. Many homes are lit entirely with LED lighting these days and the bulbs will last for 10 years on average. This means that the LED lights should be an essential part of your solar light system.

Indoor lighting can be challenging when connected to solar if you do not have the right overall system in place. The active time of the light might be a few hours or 12 hours or more. You will want to look at the battery time that is promised in the product information before you pick an indoor light of this type. You can also look at the lumens that these lights will produce. Lumens are the rating for the brightness of the lights.

Lumen output for indoor lights should be about 1-10 lumens. Floodlights will need 1500 lumens or more to be effective. The color temperature of the lights might also be a factor as LED lights off white-blue light that gives the feel of daylight. Amber-toned lights are more commonly connected with indoor lighting due to their yellow-amber tone. LED lights are becoming more common in indoor lighting applications, but some people still prefer amber-toned lights.

Advantages of Selecting Solar Lighting

Solar lighting has many advantages that traditional lighting does not and if you are off the grid, this is your best option for this kind of use.

• This is an environmentally friendly way to create power and saves on other energy creation forms that can cause harm to animals and the environment.
• This is a cost-effective option that makes sure that you are converting power that would otherwise not be turned into accessible power that does not require any kind of energy transfer from other sources.
• These are low maintenance systems that do not need much in the way of attention unless they have reached the end of their life and need to be replaced.
• You can get solar power in a wide array of systems and arrangements. You might install your solar power system on the roof of your home or in another outdoor location.
• You can access hybrid systems that accept power from the grid as well as giving power to the grid when excess energy is created. This can sometimes generate income for your home and save you money on the energy that you use to power your home.
• You might gain access to tax breaks or government programs that will pay for the installation of your solar panels.

Disadvantages of Solar Lighting

• Some solar lighting will not work at night for as many hours as you might need. Lower-powered systems or systems with smaller batteries might not generate enough light or enough hours of light to take care of your needs if you are off the grid. Larger solar systems that can take care of this power need might be more expensive than you expected but can be necessary.
• Installing a solar power system for your home can be quite costly and without tax breaks or government programs backing you, you might not be able to afford this installation. If you are not in a situation where you can give power back to the grid, you will likely not be eligible for the programs that help fund converting to solar power.
• Batteries can be an issue as far as protection and safety and you might not have the room to store your batteries safely to make sure that they are not causing risks to your home’s safety.
• You will need a lot of space for a large solar panel set up if you are trying to power your home with this kind of system. You will need the right roof on your home and need enough space on the roof for this kind of system or you will need a large area to install your solar panels where they will not be damaged or be blocked from getting access to the sun they need to function.
• Silicon dust is actually harmful to your health and working on your own batteries and solar panel system can expose you to health risks that you should try to avoid.

Ways to Make Your Solar Panels Work Better

If you are wondering if there are ways to improve the function of your solar panels once they have been installed, you are clearly thinking ahead. Your solar panel system can only work effectively if you take care of them.

• Clean the panels once a month or so. Your solar panels can work just by absorbing the light from the sun behind the clouds, but they will be obstructed in this process if they are not clean enough to do so. You can just clean them with water and a soft cloth.
• Make sure that you have not placed your solar panels in areas that do not get access to light for most of the day in the winter. This can also lead to moss and other kinds of invaders growing on your solar panel if it is getting moist and it is not in direct light. You will need to care for these solar panels much more often if you have placed them incorrectly and they are only useful in the summer months.
• Consider the use of mirrors to help redirect and increase the amount of light that your solar panels are able to access in a day. You can place mirrors near any kind of solar system that is on the ground with ease and this will help them to be more efficient and effective, particularly if you are off the grid and cannot borrow power from the electricity that is being used by your neighbors.
• Always be sure to look in on your solar panels after a storm and make sure they have not been damaged. You will likely have a warranty to cover these repairs and you should use it any time there are issues with damage to your solar panels.
• Use your online monitoring tools to make sure that your solar panels are performing as they should and to be certain that you are getting the right results for your solar power needs. You might need to have your solar panels looked at if they stop generating as much power as they should or you see a reduction in power generated for a few days in a row.

Choosing Solar Lighting for Different Applications

You might be wondering where you can choose to use solar power for your property’s power needs. These are some common uses for solar-powered lights that you can take advantage of on your own property or in your own home.

1. Street Lighting

If you have a long driveway that needs some lighting and you do not want to have to pay to power these lights, you can use solar lights for this need with ease. Street lights that are maintained by the city are often solar-powered these days for the same reason since this reduces maintenance and demand on the power grid.

2. Driveway and Parking Lot Lights

If you have a driveway or a parking area on your property that needs to be lit at night, a solar lighting solution will take care of this for you. You will just need to be sure that you have the right system in place that provides the right lumens and power to light the space all night long or at the brightness that you want. If safety is a key factor, make sure that you have a powerful system with a strong light in place.

3. Yard Lighting

If you want to light pathways and walkways near your home, a simple solar light system will take care of this need for you. You do not need a big or fancy solar lighting solution to light paths and walkways near your home and you can even use a simple self-contained system for this need.

4. Portable Lighting

There are actually portable lights that are solar-powered that you can use to light construction areas or areas that do not always see activity but still need some light. If you have a parking area that only gets used when guests are in town, you can put a solar-powered light in this area that can be removed later. These lights are also commonly used for camping.

5. Motion Detection Lights

You can actually use solar-powered batteries to power motion lights if you wish as well. These lights will not draw on the power of the batteries all the time but they might need to be highly powered lights. You should be sure that you look into the lumen power and the battery charge that is needed to run these kinds of lights effectively to ensure that no one will come onto your property without the motion light turning on.

6. Signage

You can use solar power to light signs that indicate a business or show your name on the street if you live down a long road. Some people also use these kinds of lights to mark their mailbox for easy location in the dark. You will find that signage doesn’t need to have much in the way of support to stay lit at night and you can use a self-contained system for this need with ease.

7. Pool Area Lights

Many people use solar-powered systems to light up the area around their pool or hot tub. This is an easy thing to install in these areas and you will not need very bright lights for this need in most cases. If you are off the grid, you can actually power the interior lights of your pool with this setup as well. There are many safety applications for outdoor lighting that are solar-powered and if you are in an area that justifies having an outdoor pool, you likely get enough sun each day to power these lights easily.

8. Business Needs

If you are looking to run a business on your property that is off the grid, you can create an easy power storage solution using solar power that will run the machines and other items that are needed for your work. This is one of the best ways to leverage solar power and you will love that you can power your shop and still have leftover energy every day for other needs.

Choosing the Correct Solar Lighting FAQ

How Long Does a Solar Lighting System last?

A solar system will last for about 3-4 years on average before you will need to replace the panels. The LEDs will last ten years or so. You will know that parts of your system are going bad when they are not able to illuminate areas at night. The system will likely not all fail at once, so you will need to decide if you want to replace panels as they go bad or just replace the whole system at once.

Are Solar Lighting Systems Waterproof?

Yes, almost all solar lighting systems are waterproof. They have to be outdoors or installed on the roof of your home and so they are made to hold up to wet and to tough weather. There was a time where this was not the case but there have been many improvements in the technology that makes these solar panels and the systems as a whole possible. If you are not sure if your solar panels are waterproof, the manufacturer should be clear about this in the information about the product.

How Do I Select the Right Number of Solar Panels to Run a House Off-Grid?

Most of the information that has been collected as homes are converting to this method of power shows that you will need about 11,000-kilowatt-hours to have power for a 2,000 square foot home each year. This means that you will have about 13 solar panels for this size home to generate enough annual power supply to take care of your needs. There are some variables to this equation and if you are trying to run a shop of some kind out of your home that creates a heavy draw on power or you need to use excessive power for other reasons that are atypical, you might need more solar panels than this average number.

What Are Some Important Factors to Think About Before Installing Solar Lights?

This is a big investment so you need to think about some of the factors that might impact deciding on solar panels for your power needs. How much energy you need can impact your choice and you might need permits for your installation. The type of your roof can impact the installation process and the cost can vary depending on your location. You will also need to think about whether you will live in your current location long enough to pay off the solar panels. They will take about 5-6 years to pay themselves off so if you are going to move right away after you install them you will not get the full benefit of adding them to your home.

Which Solar Batteries Are Good for Outdoor and Indoor Use?

The best solar batteries to use outdoors and indoors are LG Chem Lithium-Ion batteries. Commonly outdoor solar batteries are flooded batteries that emit hydrogen gas and need to be used in well-ventilated areas away from your living space. You can make a garage or a protected space for them that is not going to connect to your living space. Indoor solar lights like LG Chem Lithium-Ion are safe for use in both locations, which is why they are the best choice for many systems.

Does Solar Lighting Work Through Glass?

Solar panels will work even when the sunlight has to pass through glass. Their efficiency and power outputs will be much reduced, however. This is why it is common to place solar panels on the roof of your home so that there is no impediment to their ability to collect power. There is no need to protect most solar panels from the elements, so there is no need to place your solar panels beneath glass protection of some kind.