The business of keeping your garden lights functioning brightly in winter involves nothing more than the care of your solar lighting equipment.
In particular, pay attention to checking your solar panel for animal droppings and accumulated snow.
Having two or three extra panels handy in case any of the ones you are currently using dies, is not a bad idea at all.
Besides those reserves, regular maintenance and cleaning of the panels is recommended.
Keep the user's manual of the equipment handy When you bought your panels/lights, it should have come with the suggestions of the manufacturer concerning the materials to use for cleaning the gadget.
Additionally, some techniques may also have been included.
So don't throw away those things.
Store them in your filing cabinet in the same place where you kept the warranty cards.
Otherwise, before winter comes, you should run back to the vendor and ask him for a photocopy of the manual.
Soap and water will always work I you cannot get your hands on any specific cleaning materials, a medium strength soap solution, two strong water sprays and a non-hairy cleaning cloth will do.
Place the solution in one of the sprayers.
Squeeze the sprayer firmly on areas that are encrusted with filth in order to dislodge them.
Wipe the panel with cloth and repeat the previous until it is completely clean.
Check that everything is in place before attaching it again to the solar lighting unit.
Select a good location for positioning the panel You have to get into the habit of trimming the branches off your trees in winter.
This will make sure that you have as much open space for the sun to come through as possible.
Pay particular attention to the trees on the equator side of your property because that is where the solar panels should be facing.
It would not be a bad idea not to plant trees on that side of your house at all.
In that way, you won't have difficulty finding the right spot for your panels in winter.
Wherever you end up placing the panel, remember to tilt it so that it faces the direction of the equator.
Look up the latitude of your area.
that should be the angle at which the panel is tilted.
As soon as the sun is out, every morning, bring the panel to the spot you have selected and keep it there until late afternoon.
It isn't the heat of the sun that powers up your batteries but the sunlight itself.
So even if it isn't too bright, you may still be getting power into your batteries.
Extra effort to maintain your solar equipment will be required for your winter garden lighting to work.
Everything else but the snow and the debris works for the efficiency of your solar lights.
In fact, solar lights are about the only types of lights that will work well in winter, that is, aside from the incandescent lights which are soon to be phased out as being very energy-inefficient.
In particular, pay attention to checking your solar panel for animal droppings and accumulated snow.
Having two or three extra panels handy in case any of the ones you are currently using dies, is not a bad idea at all.
Besides those reserves, regular maintenance and cleaning of the panels is recommended.
Keep the user's manual of the equipment handy When you bought your panels/lights, it should have come with the suggestions of the manufacturer concerning the materials to use for cleaning the gadget.
Additionally, some techniques may also have been included.
So don't throw away those things.
Store them in your filing cabinet in the same place where you kept the warranty cards.
Otherwise, before winter comes, you should run back to the vendor and ask him for a photocopy of the manual.
Soap and water will always work I you cannot get your hands on any specific cleaning materials, a medium strength soap solution, two strong water sprays and a non-hairy cleaning cloth will do.
Place the solution in one of the sprayers.
Squeeze the sprayer firmly on areas that are encrusted with filth in order to dislodge them.
Wipe the panel with cloth and repeat the previous until it is completely clean.
Check that everything is in place before attaching it again to the solar lighting unit.
Select a good location for positioning the panel You have to get into the habit of trimming the branches off your trees in winter.
This will make sure that you have as much open space for the sun to come through as possible.
Pay particular attention to the trees on the equator side of your property because that is where the solar panels should be facing.
It would not be a bad idea not to plant trees on that side of your house at all.
In that way, you won't have difficulty finding the right spot for your panels in winter.
Wherever you end up placing the panel, remember to tilt it so that it faces the direction of the equator.
Look up the latitude of your area.
that should be the angle at which the panel is tilted.
As soon as the sun is out, every morning, bring the panel to the spot you have selected and keep it there until late afternoon.
It isn't the heat of the sun that powers up your batteries but the sunlight itself.
So even if it isn't too bright, you may still be getting power into your batteries.
Extra effort to maintain your solar equipment will be required for your winter garden lighting to work.
Everything else but the snow and the debris works for the efficiency of your solar lights.
In fact, solar lights are about the only types of lights that will work well in winter, that is, aside from the incandescent lights which are soon to be phased out as being very energy-inefficient.
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