Gear up. Go solar.
Why Solar Fairy Lights Have Got So Much Better A few years ago, solar fairy lights had a reputation for being dim, dying by 10pm, and giving up entirely after a few weeks. That reputation was largely deserved. The solar cells were small and inefficient, the batteries were NiMH AA cells that degraded quickly, and…
Why a Kit Makes More Sense Than Buying Parts Separately The solar aisle on Amazon is overwhelming. Panels from 20 different brands, charge controllers in every amperage, wiring kits with connectors you’ve never seen before. Buying individual components and piecing them together works — but it takes research, time, and the genuine risk of buying…
Why Your Pool Pump Is Quietly Draining Your Bank Account A pool pump is one of the biggest electricity consumers in any home with a pool. Running a standard 1HP single-speed pump 8 hours a day costs roughly $800–$1,200 per year in electricity depending on where you live. Over 10 years, that’s the price of…
What Is a Solar Powered Gate Opener? If your gate is more than a hundred feet from your house, running cable to it is either expensive, impractical, or both. Trenching alone can cost thousands of dollars before you’ve even bought the opener. Solar gate openers solve that problem cleanly — no trenching, no electrician, no…
What Is a Solar Battery Charger? A solar battery charger is a solar panel — usually small and portable — designed specifically to charge or maintain a 12V battery using sunlight. Unlike the large solar panels used for home power systems, solar battery chargers are compact, plug-and-play units designed for cars, motorcycles, RVs, boats, ATVs,…
What Are Flexible Solar Panels? Flexible solar panels are exactly what they sound like — solar panels that bend. Unlike the rigid glass-and-aluminum panels most people picture when they think of solar, flexible panels are built on a thin, lightweight substrate that can conform to curved and irregular surfaces. They can be bent, rolled, and…
What Is a Solar Power Charge Controller? A solar power charge controller — also called a solar regulator — is the device that sits between your solar panels and your battery bank. Its job is to regulate the voltage and current coming from the panels and deliver it to your batteries in a safe, controlled…
Why Solar Deck Lights Are Worth It A few years ago, solar deck lights meant dim, yellowish bulbs that barely lasted through the night. That’s not the case anymore. Modern solar deck lights use high-efficiency monocrystalline solar cells, long-lasting lithium batteries, and bright LED technology that genuinely holds its own against low-voltage wired lighting. The…
Why Solar Power Makes Perfect Sense for a Shed Running mains electricity to a shed sounds straightforward — until you get the quote. Trenching cable underground, installing a sub-panel, hiring a licensed electrician, pulling permits — the cost adds up fast. In most parts of the US, connecting a shed to grid power runs anywhere…
What Is an RV Solar Battery Charger? When most people talk about “RV solar battery chargers,” they’re actually talking about solar charge controllers — the device that sits between your solar panels and your battery bank. It’s one of the most important components in any RV solar system, and one of the most misunderstood. Here’s…