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Installing solar lighting to your yard is an easy and inexpensive way to explore solar power at home. For about $15, you can get a decent solar light with a range of mounting schemes to suit your landscape needs. The simplest units come with a built-in stake, so you don't do anything more than stick it into the ground.
The majority of solar landscaping lights come in one piece, with the PV (photovoltaic) module on top of the light itself, so you should put the whole thing where it can get a reasonable amount of direct sunlight. ("PV module" is the fancy way of saying "solar panel.") However, solar lights may surprise you by how well they work, given a meager amount of light. If the lights don't get much sun, they still come on at dusk — they just don't last all the way to dawn. Your best bet is to try one out in the location you want, even if no direct sunlight is there. It may work just fine.
Some lights are static, meaning they don't blink or change colors. Background lighting, for example, should be static; it should establish a sense of place and highlight the best features of the environment. The most functional locations for the spotlight variety are around porches and walkways and along driveways where people will be walking. Put one near your garbage can out back, and you don't have to flip the light switch anymore. You can also get solar lights connected to motion detectors.
Other lights revolve through patterns of color and brightness, where the effect is entirely different. Dynamic lights should add a subtle hint of presence. For example, one type of solar light is a clear plastic butterfly that changes colors slowly and subtly. It comes on a stake with a 2-foot wand to the butterfly, which seems to be floating because you can't see the wand at night. It draws your eye without demanding it, and the colors are rich and textured.
 | Don't buy cheap lights, because they don't last. If it's in a flimsy plastic housing, don't buy it. Aluminum is good; heavy black plastic is less expensive and works just as well. You may want to buy an entire matching set; 6 units for $60 is usually good quality. |
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