Want to have lights and water fixtures in your garden without the hassle of hiring an electrician? Solar power is the solution you’re looking for. Since the plants in your garden already utilize the power of the sun for all their processes, it only makes sense for you to make use of the sunlight, too!
How Solar Power Works
Solar power is quite the buzzword in clean energy today, but how does it work? To use solar energy, you will need to install at least one solar panel. Solar panels are made of photovoltaic (PV) cells that convert sunlight into usable electricity.
The orientation and location of your solar panels are extremely important for their functionality. The key is to get as much direct sunlight on the panels as possible. That’s why you’ll often see solar panels installed on the roofs of houses and sheds. Other popular choices include open fields and spaces around your home that aren’t shaded by trees or structures.
If you’ve chosen to keep your solar panels on the ground, there are two main types of mounts. The basic ground mount is made of metal and gets pushed into the ground to keep the solar panels in place. Pole mounts give the solar panels a little more elevation and tilt with the movement of the sun throughout the day to make sure the panel is getting the best exposure.
Since it needs so much sunlight, solar power isn’t always the right choice for every environment. Climates with more clouds, more rain, and less daylight are not ideal for solar panels. Even the landscape can have an effect — if your house is in the shadow of a mountain, it’s probably not the ideal location for a solar panel.
Uses for Solar Power in the Garden
Using solar power for the lights in your garden is one of the most common applications. In fact, many garden centers already sell light fixtures and lamps with small, built-in solar panels. During the day, the battery in the light fixture will charge from the sunlight. Once nighttime hits, the lights will come on and provide your garden with beautiful illumination.
Water fixtures like fountains and ponds are a great feature of any garden. To reduce some of the hassles of installing such a feature, you can use solar panels as their source of power. The great thing about water features is that they really only need to run during the day, so a solar panel could easily provide power without any cables or batteries. Solar-powered water pumps are another hassle-free option for adding water sounds to your garden.
Solar panels are perfect for powering small outbuildings in your garden, like a garden shed or a greenhouse. While this will be more of a project than your other options, it would be a great and environmentally friendly addition to your garden.
Will the Solar Panels Work at Night?
Technically, solar panels do not work at night. The PV cells that comprise the solar panel don’t have anything to absorb without sunlight. However, just because solar panels can’t collect power at night doesn’t mean they can’t use power at night.
By storing solar energy through batteries, the energy your solar panel collects throughout the day can be saved for use at night. This is perfect for adding light fixtures along a garden path or hung by your porch.
Gardening With Solar
The use of solar power in your garden is amazingly customizable. And just like everything else in your garden, the more creative it is, the better. It’s an easy way to make your garden more sustainable without sacrificing modern features. Solar energy can power the lights and water features in your garden with ease, both day and night.
Bio:
Jane is an environmental writer and the founder and editor-in-chief of Environment.co where she covers sustainability and eco-friendly living.