Many homeowners are often surprised to hear their landscaper recommend solar lighting to them. They’re taken aback! Solar? Really? Their minds go to cheap dollar store stake-in lights that flicker to life for 15 minutes before losing their glow and dying. Why would any respectable landscaper recommend this type of lighting solution?
The fact is, solar landscape lighting gets a bad rap for no good reason! Sure, there are cheap options out there, but they’re hardly representative of solar lighting’s potential. Many people are often surprised to learn that quality solar lighting rivals most high-end wired systems. It’s why landscapers tend to recommend products like TouchStone solar lights to homeowners looking to make an investment in outdoor lighting.
To understand the value and benefits of solar landscape lighting, you need to look past the myths. Here are four of the most-perpetuated and why they’re wrong.
Myth 1: Solar lighting is weak
This is the most common misconception about solar lighting. Homeowners think that, because it’s powered by a solar cell, a solar lamp will be dimmer than one hooked up to the grid. There are all sorts of faux justifications for this. “The power needs to last all night, so it’s dimmer” or “solar cells don’t have the capacity of a wired-in light.”
These arguments and others are false. Solar lighting is just as bright as grid lighting. The fact is, modern solar lights utilize the same low-energy, high-powered LEDs as wired lighting, giving them indistinguishable power. From path lights to flood lights, solar lighting delivers the same brightness, power and consistency as you’d expect from any traditional grid light.
Myth 2: Solar lighting is unreliable
This myth isn’t helped by all those cheap, discount solar lamps out there. Like all things, solar lighting comes down to the golden rule of “you get what you pay for.” Unfortunately, a DIY landscaping market flooded with discount options means many homeowners have experienced the firsthand frustration of a solar light that doesn’t work right.
Quality solar lighting might cost a bit more, but you’re paying for quality components—which equates to reliability. A good photovoltaic array, proper wiring, durable housing and a well-constructed product add up to solar lighting that’s reliable. As soon as the sun goes down and the sensor stops registering light, expect high-caliber solar lights to go to work without delay.
Myth 3: Solar lights don’t last long
Here again, cheap products have ruined the reputation of good-quality solar landscape lighting. Shoddy workmanship and cheap parts lead to a higher rate of failure for discount solar lights. Homeowners find that they work well for a few months, then start to develop problems until they stop working altogether. They’re mad when an investment in solar doesn’t last them beyond the year. Rightfully so!
To echo the same sentiment: “you get what you pay for.” A $25 stake-in solar lamp isn’t designed to last two, three or four years! A $250 well-crafted solar light will continue to work season after season, with the same reliability as it did when you first installed it.
Myth 4: Quality solar lights are too expensive
The market for cheap solar lighting has perpetuated many myths, but so has the market for expensive ones. Many homeowners have been over-quoted on solar lighting in the past and assume it’s far too expensive for their property. The fact is, the market for solar products has deflated substantially in the past decade. Today, quality solar lighting products are widely available without the markup they once had. Even more quality options are available direct-to-consumer without the middleman.
While good solar lighting will definitely set you back more than flimsy options, it won’t hit your wallet any more than grid lighting of the same caliber. Depending on the type of solar landscape lighting, it may even be less expensive than comparable wired-in options.
Look past the myths, to the benefits
Solar landscape lighting doesn’t deserve the mistrust it gets. There’s a reason more and more landscapers recommend solar for landscape illumination! Solar is reliable, lasting, efficient, hassle-free, easy to maintain and broadly applicable across your landscape. If you’re getting bids on landscape design, don’t balk when someone recommends solar lighting—and don’t be surprised when your investment in it performs above and beyond expectations!
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