Solar power practicality for camping must address those questions and more. Are solar power systems for camping cost effective? Do they produce enough energy for normal needs?

RV Camping

Solar power systems for camping can readily be used in RV camping. But are they practical?

Many people spend most of their RV camping time in RV camping spaces with full hook-ups. They plan trips according to where the next RV camp is, and reserve a full hook-up space for the end of each day. For them, solar power practicality is questionable. It makes a good back-up system, if there is a power outage at a campground. On the whole, however, it is an unnecessary expense – just another toy.

Others enjoy the freedom of being able to camp without hook-ups. They want to get off the beaten track – be pioneers. They want the opportunity to be in a remote, quiet place for a few days. They may want to go off road, or stop beside a quiet stream, even though it is in the middle of nowhere. They don’t want to rush to make it to the next full hook-up campground.

Solar power practicality for camping is real for the second group of campers. Solar power serves a practical use for them. It breaks the leash of energy needs and lets them wander as they please.

Operating an RV’s electrical system with a solar power system is simple. Charging its batteries with solar power is also simple. You need to plan your system, of course. You need to know how much energy you want. Then you need to purchase and install solar panels, batteries, and inverters that will produce that amount of energy for you.

Many Internet websites will guide you through the necessary steps of determining how much solar power you need. They will explain which components will provide that amount of energy. Solar power systems for camping in recreational vehicles are increasingly available in a range of sizes, and you are sure to find one to fit your needs. Most are easy to use.

Solar power systems for camping may make you think twice about appliances you take for granted in RV camping. For example, suppose you have a coffee maker that requires 15 minutes to brew coffee, and then keeps the coffee warm on a warming plate. This will consume a lot of your solar power. You may want to replace that coffee maker with one that will brew in 10 minutes and shut itself off. Pour your coffee into a thermos and it will remain hot without using more energy.

Non-RV Camping

Solar power systems for camping are also practical for non-RV camping. The same two groups of people are to be found. One group likes to make camp in a KOA campground, with electrical power close at hand. The other group likes to hike into the back country with lightweight backpacks, and camp wherever darkness overtakes them.

Solar power practicality can easily be seen in the array of lightweight, portable units hitting the market. Solar power can be generated by the backpack in which gear is carried. Flexible solar panels can be rolled up and carried to the campsite, where they can be stretched on the ground to generate additional energy.

Solar power systems for camping are small and portable, but can generate enough energy to run a small heater or light bulb. Solar collected by a backpack while hiking can recharge a cell phone, camera, or iPod. Small solar power units will run appliances made for use in a vehicle. The coffee maker that will plug into your cigarette lighter can be run by a flexible solar power panel.

Solar power practicality for camping is sure to increase, and products for this use will multiply. Those who appreciate the environment enough to want to be far out into it will demand clean energy, i.e. solar power.

Learn how to create electricity and save your bills!! Read on how you can make your very own solar panels at your own home! small solar panel small solar panel

Solar Power for Post Lighting

Solar energy started to come into popularity in the 1970s, when technology advances combined with massive oil price increases to make solar a popular alternative energy source. Back then, the world was just starting to become more aware about the risks of using so many non-renewable resources, and people wanted to decrease their dependence on fossil fuels. Now, solar power is being used by many different people all across the world, both in big and small ways. One of the small, but still important ways it is being used is in solar post lights.

Often, people want to light their driveways or backyards. Aside from running expensive extension cords to lamps, using battery after battery, or running lines in underground pipes, there really weren’t many choices to power their lamps. Now, solar post lights are regularly used by those who want the convenience of not having to change batteries, and those who want to save money on their electric bill.

Solar post lights work by using very small solar panels, which are attached to an energy collector. These solar panels stay out in the sun all day, attached to your post, and they soak up all of the sun’s solar energy. The energy collector in many of the solar post lights is a NiCad rechargeable battery, most of which can go up to 1000 charges! That is about three years. The light that is powered by the battery is an LED light, which takes very little power but emits a bright light. LEDs can last up to 25 years, making solar post lights a very economical investment. These lights will emit their soft glow for many hours during the night, depending on the amount of solar energy they received during the day.

Other advantages to solar lights are that there are no wires needed, so installation is very easy. Also, you can often buy the lights individually, so there is no need to buy a large package of the lights if you only need a few to illuminate your way. Each light runs independent of the others, so if one light malfunctions, the rest will still be there and glowing.

Whether you choose to buy a few or a lot of the solar post lights, they are still the most economical and ecology minded choice for your driveway and fence lighting needs. With a long lifespan and easy installation, these lamps are the perfect thing to shine through the dark of your front yard.

Learn how to create electricity and save your bills!! Read on how you can make your very own solar panels at your own home! small solar panel small solar panel

Motion Lighting Using Solar Power

Motion sensor lamps can be an excellent choice for your home. These lamps offer the security of having a bright light shine into the eyes of any would be intruder, thus deterring them from staying on your property. There are several different types of motion lamps available for the protection of your family and home, but the best option by far is to use solar motion lamps.

Solar power is a clean and ecologically sound alternative to electric, battery and other sources of power. There is no pollution produced, no non-renewable resources used, and it costs far less than other power sources. Even if you don’t choose to use solar power for all your household needs, you can still help the environment by choosing solar motion lamps. Every small bit of solar power used decreases the world’s usage of less ecological methods.

Solar motion lamps work by collecting solar power during the day through solar cells located on the light. This solar energy is used to recharge a battery (usually a NiCad rechargeable battery), which in turn powers the lamp at night. Some models of solar motion lamps include solar panels that are strong enough to collect energy even in overcast conditions, making the lamp even more useful. Motion lamps also have settings to customize. You can set the duration that the lamp shines when it detects motion (any where from .5 minute to three minutes), as well as being able to position it so that it can detect motion up to 90 feet away. The trigger for the motion lamp is a passive infrared motion detector that is safe for use around all people and animals, and does not require additional high tech equipment. You also have the choice of mounting your solar motion lamps on a post (this will be provided) or on the side of your house or garage.

Solar motion lamps usually use a strong LED lamp. LEDs are an excellent choice for solar lamps because they use far less power than traditional bulbs and halogen lamps. Motion lamps are built with weather resistant materials, so they can be left on your homes exterior in all types of conditions.

Solar motion lamps are an excellent way to keep your home and property safe from intruders and other problems, all while being cheaper and more “green” than other choices. If you need just one or many, the solar powered versions of motion lamps are the easiest choice for your lighting needs.

Learn how to create electricity and save your bills!! Read on how you can make your very own solar panels at your own home! home solar power systems home solar power systems

Although they don’t catch your eye during the day, at night you will notice how nice they can light up a walkway or a corner or an entryway to a building. Usually when you see one bollard you will see many of them as they are rarely alone.
Generally all bollards in the industry today are wired and use either HID or fluorescent lighting.

Now they also are available with LED and that makes them a good candidate for solar power. Solar powered bollards are available. I have not personally tested any of them but I see no reason why they would not work just as good as the regular bollards. They have plenty of room for their batter packs and for their solar panels as they are much larger than your typical solar powered garden light. Here is a company that offers a bunch of them, you can get an idea. At Amazon there is a brand that seems to be selling well. It is called Malibu Outdoor Metal Bollard. It has a couple of good reviews. If you go to our Amazon store and type the search for “bollard” you can get to see it and read the reviews.

photo credit: IG8

I know these kind of lights can also benefit businesses and commercial buildings as they can be attached to the side of the roof on a pole and illuminate the surroundings intensley. They are different than your typical garden solar lights in that they are designed to shoot a high intensity light and they are designed to flood a big radius. If you ever had one of these come on when you walked by them you know what I am talking about and unlike the garden lights these are designed to turn off after a short period of time, they don’t stay on until the sun comes up.

Around your home you can use them to come on in the back yard, by your entrance and like my neighbor you can use it to flood an area between the houses and when someone walks the path between the houses they come on.

Also unlike the garden lights these have a device that turns on when there is motion and don’t come on when the sun goes down. Their solar panels can be placed on the roof where they can get really good light and most come with wiring. They use high power LED or halogen type lamps and these things last a very long time with very little maintenance. Make sure you keep the motion detector clean and un-obstructed.

For your home these are very cost effective over the long run and green but will cost abit more than the security lights with wires and have to be pluged in or wired to your home. If you own a business replacing your flood lights around the perimeter for security with these solar powered security lights will bring you lots of savings and years of worry free operation.

photo credit: cooljinny

Here is how they differ from Christmas lights though; each tube comes with a solar panel. So if you buy two sections you will get two solar panels. If you buy three you get three. You need to stake these panels where they can see light during the day and turn the LED tube light on and off at night. The LED tube connects directly to the panel and therefore it is not a great clean look like a typical solar powered garden fixture. Those fixtures have their solar panes inside and out of sight. Some of these units also have their batter packs on the outside as welland you would have to hide that out of the way as well.

There is also a bit more installation work that needs to be done. You cannot just lay the tube somewhere and hope that it stays there. It has to be secured with anchors and screws. But once you have it up it will be a great accent or security light for your home or what ever you are illuminating.

Each LED tube contains about 50 to 100 LEDs and you can have different colors. Mainly white, red, green and blue. And as you already know LED lasts a long long long time. You will not need any maintenance on these units unless they see extreme heat in the summer and extreme cold in the winter… that is about the only thing that can reduce their life but they will still give you many years of great illumination. These tubes are not that expensive they are about $15 to $50 dollars.

There are also other types of LEDs that are sold in rolls. They are mainly referred to as “Flexible LED.” You can use them to highlight a picture in your home, to light up a railing, a book case. They are great and some of them are even dimmable but… these are not solar powered… you have to plug them in.

• Elegant solar powered post light with clear window
• Special light reflector inside gives attractive light evenly
• High quality stainless steel construction
• One super bright white LED
• Automatically turns on at dusk
• Quality solar cell from Germany on the top of light
• One Ni-CD (or Ni-MH) AA rechargeable battery inside
• Over six hours working time if battery is fully charged
• Solar Stainless Steel Garden Light. Automatically Turns On at Dusk

photo credit: Kevin Steinhardt

You can see a ton of different solar powered garden lights in the internet. That is how you got here anyway. If you noticed most of the sites on the first page and the second and the third page of Google are sites that are selling these types of lights. I would be bit careful buying online. It is tempting but first go visit your local hardware store or nursery and take a look at some of them. Read the box and talk to a sales clerk who knows about them and how they work  and get your questions answered. If you like a brand, write it down, come back online and see if you can search for the brand and buy it online. If you liked a particular fixture, make sure to get it’s number of the box along it will make your search easier in Google. Definitely buy on line because you will not pay local sales taxes unless the website you are buying from operates in the same state that you live in. When you get your product make sure you first check and see if everything you need is there and if not call the company and get the missing components before you start your work in the garden.

Not it is time to have fun, as there are no wires to worry about you can put these fixtures and design them any way you like… If you just bought one to light up an entrance or a single spot then look for a spot where it can get the most sun light during the day. However it should work even if it is in the shade. If you unit has a photocell that detects motion and comes on upon detecting the motions make sure the photocell stays clean and unobstructed as this can be a reason why the light doesn’t come on even when there is motion around the light.

You are going to like it when the light works and comes on at night.. As a matter of fact you are going to watch for it to turn on and be amazed that it does…