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One of the more common uses for solar power, even before the technology really takes off as a way to obtain energy for home or business use, is in the form of solar lights.

Solar lights consist of a lamp, a monocrystalline solar panel, and a battery all in a self-contained system. The solar panel recharges the battery, and the battery powers the lamp. The battery recharges during the day while the lamp is off, and the lamp runs on battery power at night.
 

Solar Lights For Outdoor Use

Outdoor solar lights are usually used for decorative purposes, but also can be part of a home security system to discourage intruders and burglars. Solar outdoor lights can be designed for general illumination or with a "spotlight" functionality. Often the outdoor lights are designed in antique motifs to resemble gas lamps or oil lanterns. Some solar lights have a whimsical, humorous design, shaped like fireflies or cartoon characters. Other outdoor solar lights are incorporated into lampposts.
 

Non-Decorative Outdoor Solar Lights

Non-decorative solar lights for outdoor use include floodlights with motion sensors for home security. As with other solar lights, the bulbs are usually high-intensity LEDs. In this application, the LED lamps are designed to have output comparable to halogen lamps.

Outdoor solar lights are also sometimes used for flagpole illumination, pool and deck lights, to illuminate the house address for nighttime visitors, or to illuminate walkways and parking lots. Essentially, any outdoor application can incorporate a solar design. In all of these applications, solar lights cost only slightly more than conventional halogen lights, and the difference is quickly made up in savings on electricity cost.
 

Indoor Solar Lights

Although most commonly used outdoors, solar lights also have indoor applications. Individual solar lights are used in sheds, garages, and other places where self-powering lights are useful. Indoor solar lights are usually high-intensity LED lamps, which provide stronger illumination than standard incandescent bulbs and also use less energy.

Just like outdoor solar lamps, indoor versions include a solar panel, normally a rooftop solar panel, and a heavy-duty battery that keeps the lamp working in cloudy weather or at night.

Continued below....

Solar Lights

Indoor solar lighting can be as powerful as the solar floodlights and spotlights that are used for outdoor applications, but typically are used for normal illumination rather than specialized uses, and are designed for all-day lighting rather than just at night, which means that they have stronger and larger solar panels and batteries than most outdoor solar lights.
 

Solar Light Strings

Solar lights are becoming popular in decorative strings, especially for Christmas lights. Like the more powerful indoor solar lights, most strings use LED bulbs in a string, with a solar panel and battery to power the string of bulbs. Otherwise, they function just like standard Christmas lights that don't have to be plugged in. Solar light strings come in various lengths and color combinations for various decorative purposes. They can be used either indoors or outdoors.

One advantage of solar light strings is that they don't need to be plugged in. This makes them more versatile for many outdoor holiday uses, since no cords need to be extended into the house or business to connect with the house or business electricity. The solar panel that powers the light string is not very large, as the power consumption is normally small, and in the better systems is itself decorative and incorporated into the aesthetic motif. The energy savings for this type of solar light are insignificant compared to some of the higher-intensity non-decorative solar lighting, of course.

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