Choosing Between Low Voltage and Solar Driveway Lights

Installing driveway lighting is a great way that you can really add to your property and make it look both more welcoming and beautiful, but at a very reasonable price.  However, before you start staking some light fixtures into the ground, the first thing that you have to do is choose between low voltage and solar driveway lighting.  There are pros and cons to each and here is a brief rundown of what you can expect.

If you want ease of installation, installing solar driveway lights is the way to go for you. These solar fixtures are completely self-contained units, meaning that each of the fixtures has all of the components that it needs to work, including the light, solar panel, and the battery, within it. This means you won’t have to spend any time running any wires or finding electrical sockets or installing low voltage transformers. All that you will need to do during the installation process is set the lights in the ground and forget about them. They will automatically turn themselves on and off at night.

However, solar powered lights for your driveway are also much less reliable than low voltage lights. If they don’t get enough sun during the day they might not be able to stay lit the whole night, which could leave you out of luck when you need them the most. They also have a tendency to sometimes break easily, although this is usually only true of more low-cost units. If you are planning on opting for solar lights, make sure that you do your research and find quality fixtures that you can be sure won’t break within a week of your purchase!

If you want to avoid the unreliability of solar lights and don’t mind spending a bit more time on the installation process to do it, then installing low voltage driveway lighting is for you. While low voltage lighting is harder to install than solar lights, it still is not out of the realm of normal homeowners. As long as you have an outdoor plug that is close, the transformer can be easily mounted on the side of your house or a post and the wires will run a shock free current out to your light fixtures.

It does take a little bit longer to bury the wire and install the transformer, however in return you get a great outdoor garden lighting system that you know will be there when you need it. They are connected to your home’s power as well, but they only draw as small amount of electricity. Regardless, placing these lights on a motion sensor or timer is a great way to conserve both power and money.

Whether you install solar powered or low voltage lights in your driveway, you can be sure that you won’t be disappointed with the results.  The lights will look great and make your home safer and more beautiful for years to come.