Solar Powered Products

To add the finishing touch to fence posts, deck corner posts, gateway posts and other such spots, many people use a solar post cap light. They come in many different styles, to match your outdoor motif and personality. A row of these lights, on a long stretch of fenceline, looks great every night as dusk settles. And as solar deck rail lights, they also add a lot to the atmosphere of your back yard.

The light given off by these post cap lights is an ambient light, not suitable for tasks. If you need brighter lights, you may have to look into solar powered yard lights, which can be much more radiant. For most garden lighting, these are enough considering the low cost for electricity.

They use the power of the sun to recharge and therefore cost nothing to operate. In most ways these post cap lights are identical to solar powered garden lights, except they are mounted on top of a post rather than a peg or rod in the ground. The led lights are powered at night by 2 rechargeable AA batteries, which can last 8 to 10 hours.  The small solar panel on the top of the light recharges the batteries all day, to be ready by nightfall again.

If it becomes necessary to replace the batteries, make sure rechargeables are used, since regular batteries might wreck the solar powered post cap light. A lifespan of up to 10 years is possible for the light, but the batteries may not last more than 3. I have owned several solar lights for more than 2 years, and they are still working on their first set of batteries.  Fortunately, they are easy to remove and replace when it becomes necessary..

For installation, manufacturers may recommend an exterior grade construction adhesive for attaching your new solar post cap lights to the post. Make sure you read all the instructions should you install these yourself.

One great decorative idea is to use these solar deck rail lights on the corners and stairs of your deck. Inbetween the lights, regular decorative post caps can be used to accentuate the effect. This is a very cost effective, energy efficient way to add the the look of a deck or outdoor area.

Picture it: you hike for hours, and find yourself deep in the wilderness. All around you, the Rocky Mountains majestically reach for the sky. As you set up camp, you realize that your iPod and flashlight are a little low on power. Unfolding a couple handy flexible solar panels, you use the free energy from the sun to start recharging your devices.Shaking your head, you remember the old days of environmentally unfriendly disposable batteries.

One of the coolest consumer solar products, in my opinion, is portable solar panels for hiking, kayaking, camping and any outdoor activities which take you far away from the energy grid. These handy solar panels can be taken almost anywhere, ans used to recharge your cell phone, radio, iPod or laptop. Panels such as these are considered a passive electrical source, so they won’t run anything that needs household power. For that application, a battery and an inverter would be needed. This might be a little much to pack in on your back. I guess you will have to forget about the fridge, deepfryer or microwave, huh.

For smaller electronic items, however, these lightweight and portable flexible solar panels are great. They can be found in foldable panels and rollable solar panels. Some can even be found sewn into backpacks, hats and on sweaters! The folding solar panels were made for military applications, and as such are designed to be extremely durable. Same with the rollable solar panels, which were designed to be laid out on boat decks and walked on. That means these units should be able to take a little abuse if necessary.

So, next trip you take into the outback or the wilderness, you don’t have to leave all your electronic tos behind. Now you can locate one of these flexible solar panels and recharge your equipment anywhere that the sun shines. Happy adventuring!