There are all manner of intriguing new possibilities waiting to surprise and amuse anyone who might be toying with the idea of adding solar power to their garden shed. Not so long ago the humble wooden shed was seen as really no more than a handy store for garden furniture, toys and garden machinery and tools. But not any more.
Today’s shed is not just a place to store lawn mowers and garden tools, but has the potential to become a fully functional workshop, gym or simply a place to relax in comfort. Space is at a premium these days and even a small 10′ by 10′ shed offers 100 square feet of highly flexible extra space.
It goes without saying however that none of this is going to amount to anything without electric power (for lighting and operating assorted devices). Your options are twofold: run out a power line or mount some solar panels on the roof.
The first option means you need to somehow run (and protect) a power line from an isolator switch added to the household mains supply. Far and away the easiest means of mitigating many of the problems inherent in doing this is to first convert the mains supply to low voltage, typically using a 12v transformer. Gardens in general and wooden sheds in particular don’t mix well with high voltage electricity.
The alternative is simply placing a solar panel or several on your shed roof and hooking it up to a battery in order to collect the electricity. Working out the size and quantity of panels and batteries is a function of how much electricity you want. Once the panels and batteries are in place then connect your lights (energy saving LED lights are best) and switch on your solar shed lighting.
If you want to expend even less effort than this then there is an option available for you: an integral solar shed light kit which contains everything you need and is simplicity itself to install. These systems are often found pre-installed in brand new sheds, so popular has solar shed lighting become
But why stop at solar lighting out in your shed? Solar powered CCTV can offer protection to parts of your property that would otherwise be difficult to cover. Solar CCTV systems consume little power and use wireless connectivity to transmit images to a number of possible destinations: web space, local hard drive, email and phone.
Because solar CCTV cameras are wireless they can be concealed in all manner of places and should an intruder spot one it’s already too late – the camera would already have transmitted the images and their only realistic option would be to back off and leave promptly.
If you are interested in finding out more then this great article looks at solar sheds in much greater detail.
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December 20 2009 | Gardening | No Comments »
by Peter Emerson
Household owners nowadays prefer using solar lights for decorating their outdoors and you can see them in many people’s outdoor as they are gaining popularity. They do absolutely no harm and are very friendly to the environment.
The reason why solar lights are so well known to be safe to the environment is because they don’t need electricity to work, all they do is feed on the natural energy they get from sunlight and that’s exactly how they glow in the dark.
This also means that they are budget friendly as well, since they use absolutely no electricity this means no electricity bill no matter how long your solar lights remain glowing.
Solar lights are meant to provide your garden with extra unique beauty at night. But they are not only used in gardens, solar lights are used in almost anywhere you want to decorate. They are good for decks, patios, backyards, sidewalks and even your front door.
And being solar, they are capable of glowing in any place you put them without having to worry if electricity wires reach that place or not. They are far more convenient that any regular electricity light bulb.
It’s very important that you don’t forget that solar lights need the sunlight to recharge in order for them to work properly after sunset, this means your choices in placing them might be somewhat limited.
For your outdoor solar lights to work the way they’re supposed to, they should be getting at least 7 hours of bright sunlight a day. Remember, the sun is like a recharger to your solar lights so it’s necessary that sunlight is provided.
If you start to realize that your solar lights aren’t as bright as they should be, or some of your solar lights aren’t glowing at all, the most likely reason is that they need a change of battery.
Solar batteries die naturally after many uses, but many things can speed up their limited life span and one of those is not getting enough sunlight. The less sunlight your solar batteries are provided with, the longer it’ll wear out and the more often you’ll have to replace it.
Solar lights aren’t exactly the kind of bulbs that require a lot of care, they need to be washed continuously because of being outside day and night, day after day can wear people out sometimes.
Cleaning your solar lights and making them look as good as new is unbelievable simple, all you need is a damp cloth and wipe off al the dirt on each and every solar light there is. Also make sure you do not expose it to too much water.
Solar lights are very durable because they are made of LED bulbs, in other words: light emitting diode. So there’s no need to worry much about causing damage.
A great advantage of having solar lights is that there is a much less chance of starting a fire when regular light bulbs can start a huge fire any time somebody acts too clumsy around them and starts an accident.
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August 16 2009 | Landscaping | No Comments »