Outdoor Solar Lights (Sparky Trying to Rip Me off)

Lberko_max on 22/10/2015 - 09:44

Hi all,

looking for some options for some outdoor lights. Mainly to have on at night so we can see our courtyard and feel a bit safe. At the moment we have a small light at the door (working), and only 1 of 3 flood lights in the garden working. The sparky is saying he needs to do this and that and it will cost $600 for new wiring and 3 new lights. So I'm thinking I can get some solar lights.

I don't need the brightness of a flood light, and besides, the flood lights were facing up anyway.

Any suggestions of brightish solar lights? (in Sydney if it helps)

Home & Garden

Comments

  • onlyletters on 22/10/2015 - 09:46

    solar lights only last for about a year, the weather kills them, i'd rather find a cheaper sparky and have led lights actually wired up without having to worry about them again and have them turn on via a timer.

  • No on 22/10/2015 - 10:17

    I put a bunch of these in my yard:

    http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pcs-lot-0-8W-Solar-panel-2W-…

    They are bright and work well. I haven't had them for long enough to comment on longevity but in my experience solar lights fail because they come with a nasty battery. If you replace the battery they last for ages. These have a on / off push button rather than coming on automatically at night.

  • battler on 22/10/2015 - 12:34

    get a new sparky:
    serviceseeking.com.au
    explain what you need, as clearly as possible (clearer and more detailed than above)
    you will get replies from sparkies with quotes (most are conditional upon seeing the work), but I bet they are cheaper than $600.
    pick a sparky based on $ and prior reviews.

  • altomic on 22/10/2015 - 15:24

    i have a $2 solar light that, whilst not super bright, has been sitting in my front yard and charges during the day and lights up for about 5 hours during the night for the last 4 years

  • geoffs87 on 22/10/2015 - 15:30

    Honestly,

    I just installed lights through my garden.

    7x http://www.bunnings.com.au/hpm-12v-led-submersible-pond-spot… (let off a very good directional light) Very low powere usage LED lights, you don't need 7, but this setup is modular and you can have as many or as little as you like)
    1x http://www.bunnings.com.au/hpm-12v-dusk-to-dawn-sensor_p4372… (lights come on automatically at dusk, shuts off at dawn automatically)
    1x http://www.bunnings.com.au/hpm-30m-garden-lighting-cable_p43… (30m of cable to connect the lights to)
    1x http://www.bunnings.com.au/hpm-12v-60w-garden-light-transfor… (powers at least 30 of these 1.5watt lights)

    Total cost was about $335. No hardwiring, no electrician - took me about 2 hours, then covered up the cable with dirt/mulch/pebbles depending where it was!

    My garden currently looks fantastic! I would just recommend putting your transformer in a waterproof(ish) box, and connect to power (just plugs into a socket).

  • Euphemistic on 23/10/2015 - 11:58

    $600 sounds a bit pricey, but not too far off it. Consider three lights at about $50ea. Wire in the lights, around $80 each. Garden lighting will require a cable run underground, which requires a trench and there goes a fair chunk of the remainder.

    My sparky recently charged me $80 per point install. I think that was fair, but there was no trenching or any tricky stuff involved.

    Makes the DIY install above lop retry good value.

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