One of the most popular alternative energies on the market today is solar power, which is widely being adopted into many people’s daily lives. While some applications may require large panels and battery banks, solar technology can be surprisingly compact. It’s because of this that people will often turn to solar lights to light their home.

One of the most important things to consider when purchasing a solar lights is what you’ll be using it for. Will you be using it by the pool, or on the deck? In the garden or the driveway? Wherever you may put your light, it’s important that that certain location will have adequate sunlight for daytime charging. While the self-contained battery pack will store energy, daily charges are required to maintain adequate amounts of light in the evening.

If you do happen to live in a shaded area and still want solar-powered lights, there’s no need to worry; solar lights can still easily be installed in your yard. However, you will want to look for lights with either more solar panels, LED lights, increased wattage or longer battery life.

So whether you live in a sunny or shaded area, solar lights for your home can be a very good investment. Just be sure to shop around to find what’s right for you!

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However, with modern environmentally friendly materials and technology, being out in the garden is no barrier to converting your shed into just about anything you want it to be. Playroom, office, chill out zone, workshop, whatever. Basically you need two ingredients: power and insulation.

Let’s start with insulation, because there’s no point going much further until you have made the space slightly more comfortable, sealed up the gaps and stopped heat leaking out and cold air sneaking in. A brilliant product for achieving this is Thermafleece which is a completely natural and very high grade insulation material made from (get this) sheep’s wool.

Thermafleece comes in slabs of varying sizes and thicknesses and performs really well in confined and potentially damp locations (like a shed). It is also a very good sound barrier and can be easily fitted to interior walls and ceilings then boarded over, or used under a raised floor.

The next thing to sort out is lighting. For that you need a cable to connect to the electricity supply in the house, right? Wrong; what you need is a solar shed lighting kit. The Solar Mate range is a good example of what’s available to suit most needs and budgets.

A single solar panel and LED light kit is just about ample for a 10′ by 10′ shed, but you can move up to much more powerful versions that can run multiple light fitting for 8 hours a day and illuminate a space the size of a small barn. All come with on/off switches so you only use what you need and don’t constantly drain the batteries (as most garden solar lights do).

Finally there is the issue of heating. If your shed is now well insulated then it’s surprising how little you actually do need to keep a small space such as a garden shed comfortably warm. If your shed is on the large size or you plan on using it extensively at times when heat would be necessary then consider a regular solar thermal system.

Solar thermal heating is basically just using the sun to heat water and then running it through radiators or under floor pipes. It is remarkably effective and surplus heat can be stored in a water tank and used after the sun has gone down. However it is reasonably complicated compared to simply running a small 12v electric fan heater of the type designed for cars and caravans. These are often easily up to the job required for basic shed heating so why make life harder than it needs to be?

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