<![CDATA[Outdoor Lighting Choices - Outdoor Lighting Choices Blog]]>Sat, 21 Aug 2010 05:45:37 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Solar Lighting - The Cost-effective, Eco-friendly Solution for Secure and Stylish Outdoor Environments]]>Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:56:38 -0800http://outdoorlighting.weebly.com/1/post/2009/06/solar-lighting-the-cost-effective-eco-friendly-solution-for-secure-and-stylish-outdoor-environments.html
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Solar Outdoor Lighting Torch Lights

We have entered a new era of solar lighting.  The time of barely flickering solar garden lights is a thing of the past. Outdoor solar lighting  has become increasingly popular since it is cost-effective and much improved. You can light the outside of your house using solar lights, very powerful batteries and low-voltage LED bulbs.

Security lights, deck lighting, and others are becoming increasingly powered by solar cells. Technology allows motion sensors to detect and turn the light on only when the area is being occupied.  Photo sensors are able to turn themselves on just for when the light is dim.  Outdoor solar lighting has improved greatly since its debut.

Solar energy has been employed by a lot of various businesses for several years. Highway safety equipment, oil companies, and telecommunications systems have tapped into this energy source by installing solar cells on call boxes, road signs, and remote communications towers. Of course, space agencies have also made use of this tremendous force, too.

LEDs are a better source for light in track light fixtures, task lighting, and portable equipment like light flashlights and headlamps because of they way there are able to focus the light.  Outdoor lighting applications have been utilized in driveways, gardens, pathways, and security lights. You can have your choice of color and setups to meet all of your outdoor lighting needs.

The quality of the battery determines the effectiveness of a solar light. A type of cell that is generally referred to as nickel metal hydride (NiMH) Most outdoor lighting today uses rechargeable batteries. They were first developed in the 1980s and have been heralded as more eco-friendly options ever since.

Compared to the obsolete nickel cadmium (NiCd) Rather than cadmium, NiMHs used hydrogen derived alloys. Water and soil may be leached by Cadmium which is a very toxic metal which may be inhaled while something is being manufacturing. It has been known to cause many serious health conditions, including renal abnormalities, cancer, pulmonary edema, and even death.

So, NiMH batteries are more environmentally-friendly than traditional NiCd options. In addition, they're quite a bit more efficient, as they offer up to three times more power capacity than NiCds. These rechargeable batteries are good value, and compare to the less expensive one-use batteries. They have a significant life span in comparison to those that do not recharge.

Install these little power houses into outdoor lighting, combine them with solar collectors and ultra-efficient LED bulbs, and you’ve got a great light-making machine. But what increases their efficiency even more are photo sensors installed in many outdoor lighting fixtures. These simple devices constantly monitor sunlight levels, waiting until the light dips to a certain point before turning the lights on. This is done to ensure that outdoor solar lighting is only used when it is dark enough, cutting battery and bulb usage.

]]><![CDATA[Dark Sky Lighting: Good for Stargazers and Wildlife]]>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:01:16 -0800http://outdoorlighting.weebly.com/1/post/2009/06/dark-sky-lighting-good-for-stargazers-and-wildlife.htmlPicture
Dark Sky Lighting by Minka
If you know about outdoor lighting, you might know that as it's often used, light pollution problems can be inherent and therefore to be avoided. If you have too much light, you can actually make your home less safe, or you can disturb your neighbors. And, you might also discourage stargazing, whether or not you want to.

Of course, it's going to be more expensive, because it's going to add to your electric bill (which is also bad for the environment), and it's bad for nonhuman creatures, too. For example, birds can be sent off their flight paths by artificial lighting, Turtles can stop laying eggs, and wildlife can be exposed to predators more easily this way.

However, there's a new innovation on the scene called Dark Sky lighting.

Dark Sky lighting minimizes excessive glare that's associated with conventional lighting, and is a way to light up the night sky that's revolutionary. There are some pretty significant advantages to choosing outdoor lighting that are going to improve surroundings -- and the upshot is, this type of lighting is good for the environment, too. It's much lower on the energy consumption scale, and of course makes it easier to do some stargazing if that's your wont. Take a look at how dark sky lighting can make your home both more secure and more beautiful, even while it minimizes energy usage and puts a foothold in the fight against light pollution.

A darker sky means you see better at night

Dark Sky lighting can help you see better at night, especially if you're in the habit of stargazing. Both professional and amateur stargazers are concerned about light pollution and what it can do to their efforts to "get close to the stars," so to speak. In fact, it's become serious enough to promote the creation of the International Dark Sky Association ; the Association's goal is to reduce light pollution and its negative effects all around the world.

It's not necessarily intuitive to think this, but the more artificial light that burns up the night sky at night this does, the harder it is to see the amazing canvas that is the night sky. It's true that much of this artificial light does simply go off into space without harm, but a certain amount of it gets reflected back down to earth because the water droplets we have in our atmosphere. That's why those who have serious intentions to really look at the night sky get out away from the city and away from the night lights, so that they can see the heavens more clearly.

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Dark Sky Lighting by Sea Gull
Before electricity and therefore the electric light was invented, pollution from artificial light was once almost nonexistent, which meant that those who gazed at the night sky could see it in undiminished, clear, pristine fashion.

However, today it's a different world and therefore a different situation. Take a look at just how pervasive this problem is, take a look at the Bortle Dark Sky Scale. The Bortle Dark Sky Scale measures how visible the stars are. It tells us how well we're going to see the stars when we look up. The lower the rating, the more of the stars we can see.

What's unfortunate about today is that in the US especially and in another highly populated, urban areas, there's a lot of artificial light all night long, with most cities placing between five and seven on the scale. If this continues, it won't be long before we won't be able to see the stars at all -- and won't even know what we're missing.

This is where Dark Sky compliant lighting can help. Instead of lighting areas randomly, Dark Sky light fixtures focus light on the ground and don't simply spread it recklessly with no regard for this type of visibility.

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