Solar lights are a great eco-friendly option, as they don’t require any electricity to run. However, they may not be as bright as traditional electric lights. If you’re looking for something to light up your garden or patio, solar lights are a brilliant choice. But how far apart should solar lights be placed for the best lighting?
As a general guideline, it is recommended to space residential lighting 6 to 8 feet apart, whereas commercial lighting needs with a higher illumination requirement should be spaced 4 to 6 feet between two lights.
When installing path and garden lights, homeowners make several frequent errors. They place the lights either too close or too far apart.
So what is the best distance between two solar lights?
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Are Solar Lights a Good Choice for Gardens and Walkways?
Solar lights are great for gardens because they are environmentally friendly and can save you money on your energy bill. Solar lights are powered by the sun, so they don’t require any electricity to light up your environment.
This means that you can save money on your energy bill by using solar lights instead of traditional electric lights. Solar lights are also much better for the environment than traditional electric lights.
They don’t produce any emissions or pollution, so they are much better for the planet.
The best part is that the outdoor areas around your house may come to life after dark with the proper lighting.
When installing path and garden lights, homeowners make several frequent errors. They place the lights either too close or too far apart.
How to Place Pathway Lights?
Many homeowners will put their solar path and garden lights too close together, thinking that more lights in an area will provide better lighting.
However, that’s not the case.
While having your path illuminated with many solar lights the entire way may seem like a delightful idea, having too many lights placed too evenly can make your walkway appear to be an airstrip.
Although there are no set rules, you should never place lights closer together than six or eight feet apart.
Instead, consider positioning your solar lights more creatively.
Path lighting and ambient lighting from other outdoor and landscape lighting sources can both be equally useful.
Consider using string lights to illuminate your path if trees encircle it, even if there are just a few trees along the path.
It will not have any obvious fixtures, so it will feel natural.
Path lights may not be necessary if your path is close to your home or if it runs parallel to a driveway because of light coming from the front of your home and the lighting on the entrance.
It is wasteful to automatically install route lighting just because it looks like every path should be illuminated, and it could even take away from your lighting plan.
How Many Path Lights Do I Need?
The first thing you have to do before you choose the best solar lights is to measure your yard.
Calculate how many solar path lights you will need if you place them 6 to 8 feet apart.
Envision what the area will look like with the lights up and running.
Maybe you will want to place some lights away from your path or walkway to draw attention to a particular flower or a plant.
So, with precise measurements, you can determine how many lights you will need to buy.
Tips & Tricks
Aside from following the guideline of 6 to 8 feet between two lights, your personal preferences and requirements actually determine which lights and how many of them you will place on your property.
You can experiment with several strategies and test out your own ideas.
1. Direct the light beam upwards. You may highlight buildings, structures, and huge plantings by setting your solar light source on the ground or below the object and directing the beam upward, which generates visual appeal and dramatic focal points.
2. Place solar lights above the object you want to highlight. The light will be cast across a large area, such as a patio, by placing your solar light source high above the object and focusing the beam downward. You may make softly spreading puddles of light perfect for walks by placing a downward-facing solar lamp near to the ground.
3. Put your solar light close to anything visually appealing. By doing so, you will highlight the texture of the object. You can draw attention to appealing doors, stone walls, or tree barks.
4. Position the lights below and behind an object. For instance, you can create a silhouette against the sky at night by concealing solar lights behind and below a recognizable landscape element, such as a tree.
Therefore, to avoid your property appearing too lit, space out the lights.
In order to focus the eye on particular locations, landscape features, or structures, place more emphasis on quality instead of on quantity.
Place your lights creatively instead of evenly, along either side of a walkway or path.
You don’t want your path to look like a landing strip.
For instance, you can alternate your lights, and change their order on each side.
The catch with solar lights is that they must receive some direct sunlight wherever you install them so they can recharge.
So How Far Apart Should Solar Lights Be Placed?
How far should solar lights be placed is a question that often comes up when people are looking to use solar lights for their homes or businesses. The answer will depend on a few factors, such as the type of light and the intended purpose.
For example, if you are looking for solar accent lighting to highlight features in your yard, then you will want to place the lights closer together than if you are trying to light up a walkway or driveway.
There are also different solar lights that will require different spacing. For instance, floodlights will need to be placed further apart than string lights in order to provide adequate coverage.
Ultimately, it is up to you to decide how far apart you want to place your solar lights. But keep in mind that the spacing will affect the overall look and feel of the lighting and the amount of light produced.
How To Use Other Decorative Lighting Elements?
Remember that there are other ways to illuminate a path or walkway and other ways to create a depth of field with your outdoor lighting plan.
If your home has decorative elements like statues or a fountain in front of it, the lighting from those elements may illuminate most, if not all, of your path.
In that situation, installing path lighting is both visually unnecessary and a waste of resources.
The new feature’s lights will extend the lighting design outside and away from the house, adding depth that can make the difference between a merely adequate and magnificent lighting design.
Final Thoughts
Before purchasing solar lights, you must consider how bright the ones you like are.
Although the general suggestion is to place solar lights 6 to 8 feet apart, their position will actually depend on their brightness, space, and your needs.
However, you want to avoid common mistakes that many homeowners make.
You can do that by being creative and illuminating certain objects on your property.
Wherever you place your solar lights, make sure they are not in the shade and they get exposure to direct sunlight during the day so they can properly charge.
