Solar Deck Lighting – Good Or Not?
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Deck lights are nothing new and are a valuable enhancement for most decked areas, but with the recent development of solar landscape lighting of all kinds, inevitably solar powered deck lights have started to appear. But are they actually any good?
The first thing you will notice about a solar deck light is its size; they’re quite a bit larger with a wider diameter. The reason of course is to incorporate the integral solar panel, but being larger is not really an issue and some folk prefer the chunkier look.
Installing solar deck lighting proceeds in much the same way as for a conventional one, which involves drilling a suitable hole and pushing it in (a tight push fit, since they have to withstand foot traffic). The step you don’t have to bother with is laying cables underneath or lifting deck boards.
However, a not so immediately clear downside of solar deck lights is that once fitted they don’t, in contrast to regular deck light, just stay in situ from then on. All solar garden lighting uses rechargeable batteries which have a set number of recharge cycles, meaning that when the battery has been recharged that number of times it must be replaced (so much for “free” light).
So every couple of years or so (depending on the quality of your batteries) you need to pry the units away from the deck boards, trying not to damage either in the process. You then need to locate and open the (typically very well sealed) battery compartment and replace with a battery of a type and rating suitable for the solar charger.
But the real problem with solar deck lighting is that ultimately even the best ones aren’t as bright as regular wired low voltage LED versions, nor will they last anywhere near as well. So then, with maintenance, performance and longevity all in doubt, are they worth having at all?
Perhaps the only real benefit with solar deck lighting is the ease and speed with which you can fit it. But then, laying cables beneath a deck is not exactly demanding to begin with so it’s hardly much of a selling point. Also, with low life spans, you’ll soon have to find something else that happens to fit the same sized hole (or buy another deck board).
So the verdict has to be that in most cases you’re frankly a whole lot better of going for conventional deck and patio lighting. However, there are always instances where access to cabling might be awkward and some folk really don’t have an issue with periodic maintenance. However, just make certain before you buy that you take them back if (as is unfortunately often the case) they are no good.
To find out more, Danielle recommends these excellent articles that cover solar patio lights and outdoor LED lights in general.
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