Garden lighting

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Garden Lighting refers to the use of outdoor light sources, which may be fire-based (in the form of torches and lamps) or electricity-based (in the form of light bulbs, neon lamps, etc.).

[edit] History

It is probable that gardens have been illuminated for as long as houses have been illuminated, by firelight and then by oil light. Each subsequent form of illumination has been used in gardens, including gas light in the nineteenth century and electric light in the twentieth century. Electricity remains the most popular form of garden lighting in the twenty-first century.^{[citation needed]} It is normally supplied from main power stations but there is a growing trend towards the use of solar power for garden lighting.

[edit] In practice

There are many different types of garden lighting devices. These include garden torches, storm lamps, regular LED-lamps (eg fixed in the ground), ... The lights can be fed via underground electric wiring, yet may also operate stand-alone (eg by batteries). Lamps on batteries are sometimes also equipped with a possibility to recharge the batteries. Often, this is done through a small solar panel which can generate electricity during daytime. Other solutions as witricity may be available in the future. Usually, commercial solutions are picked, but some hobbyists are also making them themselves and have distributed the designs to the public domain. ^[1]