Solar Power Solution

Solar Shed Lights

Solar shed lights are a relatively new product on the market today. They consist of a small solar panel, a solar panel mount, a battery, an interior light and a wire that connects the battery to the interior light.  They work by capturing the suns energy with the solar panel and turning that into 12 volt electricity. That electricity is then transferred to a battery for storage. When the light is turned on at night by its own on/off switch it runs off of the internal battery.  It is all fairly simple and straight forward.

Most of the solar shed lights on the market today are easy to install, some easier than others. They are perfect for a shed, a boat house, a green house or a barn that has no electricity run to it. It is very inconvenient to try to search through a storage shed or a barn at night with a flashlight in hand. This product eliminates that at a very reasonable price. Solar shed lights can run anywhere from about $30.00 to about $100.00.

There are several things to look for in a solar shed light. First, what kind of interior light does it use? Some products use fluorescent tubes while others use Halogen or Xenon bulbs. The more popular shed lights use LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights. LEDs last a very long time and draw very little current so they will stay bright much longer. LEDs are virtually maintenance free while other types of bulbs must eventually be replaced. Replacing the bulb, while not difficult, does add to the cost of the unit.

The second thing to look for is the kind of battery it uses and if it is replaceable. Batteries will almost always wear out at some point in time and if they are difficult to replace or hard to find, again it just adds to the cost.  If the solar shed light uses LED lights it is also good to know how many lights are in the fixture. Some use 6 lights while others use 10 or even 24 LED lights. The reason that may be of some importance is LEDs are quite bright but also quite small. An interior fixture that uses only 6 LEDs may not be bright enough for all applications. The more LED used the more expensive the unit but I have found that the additional cost is usually worth it.

The last thing to discover is, how long does the light operate on a full charge? Most will work for up to 2 to 4 hours at a time on a full charge. Usually an hour or two is more than sufficient time to get what ever it is you need taken care of.  If you need to have a lot more time available at night then you need to consider a larger solar panel and larger capacity batteries. When you start changing out solar panels, batteries and light fixtures you get into custom configured solar lighting. Custom solar lighting is available but at a considerably higher cost.

There are new applications for solar products being invented all the time. Solar shed lights are a great example of this new technology. They are not very expensive, in the over all scheme of things and they serve a very useful purpose. Solar shed lights are easy to install on almost any surface. They also last a very long time with only minimal maintenance. It seems rare when a product comes along with a specific application that performs well, at such a modest price.  

About the Author

Bob Gambrell has been in the past a manufacturers representative for Inverters, Battery chargers and wire. He currently owns and operates www.UniqueSolarProducts.com For more information on solar shed lights go to Solar Shed Lights

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