Solar lights are lights that are powered by sunlight. They are generally used in outdoor applications and have gained in popularity as consumers have sought alternatives to electrical lighting. Many consumers are attracted to solar lighting because it is widely considered to be more environmentally friendly than lights powered by electricity. Solar lights are also convenient to use because they are designed to automatically turn on whenever lighting is needed and turn off when lighting is no longer required.

Solar lights are often used for outdoor garden decorative lighting, to illuminate outdoor pathways and walkways, and also as spot lighting. Solar lights are usually expensive than their electrical counterparts, however for many applications, solar lights are typically easier to install and do not require the extensive wiring that is necessary with electrical lighting. Even with the additional expense of solar lights, many consumers find that the savings generated by consuming less electricity make solar lighting an attractive and viable alternative to outdoor electrical lighting.

Solar powered lights utilize solar module to harness the power of the sun. For this reason, solar powered lights must be installed in an area that receives direct sunlight to work. Solar cell module are typically made primarily of silicon and other materials, such as phosphorus, to help the silicon work more effectively. The expense of silicon is one of the main reasons that solar lighting is typically more expensive than electrical lights. However as solar technology improves, the pricing of solar lighting will in all likelihood continue to decrease.

During the day, solar cells absorb sunlight and use the energy from the sun to charge a rechargeable nickel cadmium battery. This battery is what actually powers the light when the solar light is on. The light will continue to function until the battery has used up its charge. With a full charge, solar lighting can stay illuminated for approximately eight to twelve hours.

Solar lights have a device known as a photoresistor that detects the level of light that is being received. When the photoresistor detects little or no light, an electrical connection is made that activates the battery, which turns on the light. Conversely, when the photoresistor detects light, the connection to the battery is deactivated, turning off the light. Many solar powered lights are manufactured with a switch that allows the user to manually override the automatic on/off function. This allows the user greater flexibility to determine when lighting is desired.

Solar lights can be purchased at most major hardware and home improvement stores. They can also be purchased from a wide variety of specialty retailers on the internet.

Solar powered lights are any lighting devices which rely on sunlight and solar cell module to function. The power-generating solar cells are usually part of the device itself, or are attached nearby. Many solar-powered lights use sunlight to charge a battery during the day, which then powers the light after dark. Solar powered lights are especially suited to places where a regular power source is unavailable, such as outdoors, or in remote areas.

There are four main components used to build a basic solar powered light: the solar cell array, a high-efficiency lamp, a battery, and a charge controller. Out of these, the solar array is the most expensive. All the electrical components must also be sealed in a weatherproof housing.

The charge controller functions as the brain, so to speak, of the whole device. It protects the battery from being over-charged, as well as maximizing the electrical output of the solar array and the voltage with which the battery gets charged. It also controls when the light operates.

One of the most popular uses for solar road lights and solar garden lights are for the illumination of outdoor walkways and gardens. This is because they not only use free energy, but they can be placed or moved anywhere, without digging ditches for laying wires, or connecting them to an electrical grid. Outdoor ground lighting needs are also well-adapted to one of the main drawbacks of solar powered lights. Put simply, it is the fact that solar powered lights slowly diminish in light output during the night, and are strongest during the first few hours of operation. Since the earlier evening hours are when most outdoor lights are needed, solar powered lights are an ideal solution for outdoor lighting.

The operating conditions of solar powered lights fluctuate with weather conditions as well. For example, if the weather is rainy or overcast, the battery will charge much less than on a sunny day in summer. This fact, combined with the high cost of solar arrays and other problems already discussed, make it so that solar powered lights still have only limited applications.

The advances being made in the field of photovoltaics may one day make solar power much more abundant and cost-effective. A significant breakthrough has been made in the form of photovoltaic film, which is tough and versatile enough to be used in many more places than traditional solar panels. As the efficiency of solar arrays improves and their cost goes down, solar powered lighting will become more reliable and practical for widespread use.

How Does Solar Energy Work

The sun's energy is clean, endless and free. There is enough energy from the sun to power the entire earth forever. When the sun's light shines on an object, the energy creates heat. When the light shines on certain materials it turns into an electrical current. We can then harness this current and turn it into power. Large crystals made from silicon produce electrical current when the sun shines on them. These crystals work very well in the conversion but they are very expensive and hard to grow. Copper-indium-gallium-selenide is a smaller, less expensive crystal that can be formed into a film. However, they don't work as well at converting the light into electricity as the silicon crystals. Solar energy is not widely used because it is so expensive but research is being done every day to find new ways to use the sun's light for our electricity.

Solar Landscaping Lights

Inside a solar garden light are some basic parts. The part closest to the surface is the solar cells module. Most yard lights have 4 solar cells that are wired in a sequence. Under that there is a NiCad battery, a control panel and an LED light. There is also a photoresistor that allows the light to know when it's dark. The solar cells are wired to a diode and then to an AA NiCad battery. The diode keeps the energy in the battery. During sunlight hours the solar cells charge the battery. When there is no sunlight when the solar cell stops giving energy and the photoresistor detects the darkness and turns on the LED light. The battery powers the light until it runs out of energy and is recharged by the next sunlight. Some solar road lights use a small halogen light bulb that comes on for a short time when movement is detected. They have a motion sensor installed in them.

Other Things That Use Solar Power

Solar lighting is still a little on the expensive side. Each yard light is between $10 and $20. However, they are much easier to install because there are no wires or electricity needed. There are much larger lights that use solar energy. Many parking lots use solar modules to run their lights. The principle is the same for the lawn lights just on a much larger scale. There are many things that use solar energy such as some calculators, buoys and road signs. Even satellites use solar power. They store the energy while on the sunny side of the earth and use the power while on the dark side. Hopefully, sometime in the near future we'll all be using more solar power.

The purpose of a solar cell module is just like a normal battery cell which you purchase from the market except that it generated energy when exposed to sunlight. Yes! It is that simple. You just need to purchase a solar cell from the market for a specific volt rating and put it in the sunlight and it will output DC voltage.
  If you want to purchase a solar panel then you must know about following terms.
  Efficiency: It is the most important factor of a Solar Cell. Take a survey of the whole market and make a list of the prices and efficiency. You should purchase that solar cell which has the highest efficiency and still falls in your budget.
  Cost to Energy Ratio: This is the modern term which you might not find on all solar cells. However if you find it, make sure that the ration is as higher as you can afford.
  Life Time: Old solar cells have less life span as compared to modern solar cells. Make sure that the solar cell you are purchasing has at least 20 years of life.
  Watt: This is the term you are already familiar with; you can decide how many watts you need as per your electric consumption.
  Volts: Normally you will need a 12v solar panel. However make sure that the solar cell you are purchasing has your required volts output.
  Suggestion: I suggest you to use the solar cell with a chargeable battery and then directly with your appliances. For example if you have a 12 volts solar panel, just connect it with a rechargeable battery and then run 12 volts devices on this instead of purchasing an inverter to convert it to 110v or 220v. It will result in a double loss, a loss of money as well as a loss of power. Inverters waste a lot of electricity during voltage conversion. You can easily find 12 volts fans, cell phone chargers, laptop chargers etc within your market.
  Just to explain the functionality a bit, Light is pure form of energy. Sun, which is the greatest energy holding object in our solar system, emits a lot of energy towards earth in the form of light and radiation. When this light hits a solar cell, it is absorbed by semiconducting layer of that solar cell. This extra amount of energy causes a flow of electrons but those electrons are only allowed to move in a single direction. This also cause positive charge on the opposite direction termed as holes. This results in a potential difference between both ends which is called voltage or electricity in simple words