by Piper Allington
Want to spruce up your deck or patio area? Patio awnings are one of those additions to your home you really need to put some thought into. Available styles, types, and variable costs all play an important part of that decision. Here are a few to consider.
In reality this is the simplest way to add more usable space to your home without all the huge building costs, mess, and wait times you incur in trying to build something permanently. An awning provides a covering over your existing patio creating a room with a view, no walls included. This allows your family and friends to enjoy time together in the outdoors, whether it is raining or not. Fairly inexpensive, the patio awning is becoming a standard addition to any home.
Be careful when choosing the materials used for your awning. Some of the more inexpensive ones are made of plastic and can end up to be more trouble than they are worth. Frequent replacements due to weather conditions, end up costing you more in the long run. Higher quality materials use an anti-mildew or Teflon like coating to protect from damage from the weather.
There are two types of awning to review. The fixed awning is used where extreme hot and cold weather conditions are factors to be considered. These awnings are immovable and also require frequent cleaning, if made from a see through or opaque material. The retractable awning is one that can be rolled up when full sun is desired, and for purposes of preventing damage when weather conditions are bad. Retraction methods can be manual or motorized, and special sensors can be put in place to automatically retract in case you are not home.
By shading sunray entry into the home, heat can be reduced up to 70%. This helps in your own comfort as well as your electric bills during the summer months for those exorbitant air-conditioning costs. While being outside, it will also help to reduce your health risk to those harmful UV rays of the sun.
Before making any kind of decision consider all of the options open to you. Carefully review your lifestyle and what would best fit your needs. Style, type, color and material all play a huge part in the choice you will make. But, in-season or off, the patio awning is one of those
Tags:
and garden,
awning,
deck,
garden,
home,
improvement,
Landscaping,
outdoor,
patio
June 16 2009 | Landscaping | No Comments »
by Phineas Duru
A few years back, solar lights were a promising idea on paper, but disappointing in practice. They gave off very dim light and stayed lit for a few hours at best.
Solar lights today are completely changed from what was available on the market even a year or two ago.
Modern solar lights use vastly improved design and new technologies to provide more light and a longer lasting performance than the previous generation. Since they’ve also come down in price, they are also a better value than before.
You may find a similar change when you compare the technology in the first series of Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation. The original concept was good, but they didn’t have a clue what technology would bring twenty years down the road.
Solar lighting can also be compared to the great strides cell phones have made in the last ten to fifteen years. Cell phones used to be bulky, expensive devices compared to the extremely small Bluetooth-enabled headsets on the market now. Advances in battery and microprocessor technologies have made cell phones so portable and cheap that nearly everyone now carries one.
Batteries have also come a long way in recent years. Ultra thin batteries are now available which provide more power and longer life than batteries four times their size did only a couple of years ago.
These same technological advances have been used in the new solar lights that you see on the market. A one day charge in good daylight will let the solar lights shine for several nights now.
Solar powered lights have also largely abandoned incandescent bulbs in favor of highly efficient light emitting diode arrays (LEDs).
LED arrays used with a single reflector give solar lights the luminescence of a 220 volt incandescent bulb – but there are many advantages to the latest wave of solar lights over the older models:
1. 10,000 hours of useful life
2. Maintenance free LED light
3. 9% higher efficiency than solar lights using incandescent bulbs while using a mere 3 watts of power.
4. LEDs are completely safe for use outdoors because they are totally sealed units
LED powered solar lights with their efficient, compact batteries and improved photovoltaic arrays let you harness the sun’s energy to provide free and clean solar powered outdoor lighting.
New generation solar lights are a low cost and efficient outdoor lighting system which offers versatility for outdoor lighting designs.
Solar lighting is easy to install since it requires no wiring. You can place them anywhere that they will get enough sunlight to charge during the day and by night, they can light your garden paths, flower beds, deck or anywhere else you want them.
You don’t need to worry about adding to your electric bill at the holidays, either. Remember the light show in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation where the power drain blew the whole electricity grid?
You can add attractive twinkling light to your holiday lights or for your outdoor entertaining in the summer.
You can even use solar lights to provide illumination in your tool shed or the garage as back up lighting when the power goes out.
With solar lights, you can enjoy versatile and attractive outdoor lighting which has no operating cost.
Solar power lights are gentle on the environment as well as on your finances.
Since they’re easy enough to install and move as desired, you can change your outdoor lighting configuration whenever you like.
Solar powered security lights can give you peace of mind without hitting your pocketbook. Thieves prefer the cover of darkness in which to approach a house and break in. Solar security lights and lights in your garden will make that impossible. The lights stay on all night long and can’t be turned off by cutting the electrical wires. Even when you are away from home, your solar lighting is on the job, protecting your property.
If you want to sell your home, solar lights can add extra curb appeal to your property. Potential buyers often come by and look at homes at night as well as in the daytime. If they see one home which is darkened and another well lit with these free to use, eco friendly outdoor lighting systems, they will probably prefer the second option.
Solar lights use advanced technologies to provide homes with clean, free outdoor lighting that is a reliably solid investment.
About the Author:
Phineas Duru is an excellent
Solar Lights consumer advocate. He spent decade helping consumers to get the most value for their money. visit his latest selections of
Solar Lights. This will be available for a short time.
Tags:
energy,
Fossil Fuels,
Gardening,
green homes,
green living,
home and garden,
organic living,
renewable energy,
solar energy,
solar power,
technology
June 15 2009 | Gardening | No Comments »