[Shop-talk] Lighhting a 4 season driveway

[Brian Kemp]

Solar can be an easy option if you can't run power.  I have brick walls 
at the end of my driveway and there are no street lights, so I added a 
pair of solar lights four years ago and they still work. This is the 
model: 
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Nature-Power-Bayport-16-in-Outdoor-Black-Solar-Lamp-with-Super-Bright-Natural-White-LED-and-3-Mounting-Options-23206/204866812 
or if the link doesn't work, search for 204866812 at HomeDepot.com. 
There are plenty of other options.  I just tried this one because it was 
one of their special buys of the day.  This model has a high and low 
setting.  When the battery gets low, the light drops to the low setting 
automatically.  In the winter (in Southern CA), the light will often 
still be on in the morning when I leave for work.

You can also pick up solar path light set at a reasonable price.   I 
have not had as much luck with them, so don't have a recommendation.  
They should be ok to light a path for walking and are very easy to 
install.  It is cheap enough to pickup a set and try.

If concerned about solar and you have power nearby, look at a low 
voltage setup.  It is a direct bury cable and relatively easy as well.  
Because it is low voltage, you don't have the requirement you would have 
with a 110V circuit.

On my front stairs where I do have power available, I replaced a giant 
security light with a light sensing 7W LED light.  7 watts of LED 
lighting is plenty to light the stairs for walking.

Brian

On 9/29/2019 6:23 AM, Jim Franklin via Shop-talk wrote:
> I have a steep one lane driveway that flattens out and also widens to 2 car + parking at the top, so that when backing down it, you can't see where you're going until the car gets off the flat part and the surface is now in your mirror. Additionally, there is no ambient light and it's blacktop, so at night all you have are reverse lights which mostly do nothing.
>
> I need lights that will allow one to see where they're backing, and ideally something to guide them before the car is on the incline but that's secondary. Maybe the illumination lights can also serve as side-view mirror guide lights.
>
> One side gets sun most of the day but the other is only morning sun, but maybe enough to do solar, if solar has come far enough that the lights will work for more than a few months.
>
> I could also just run a circuit underground which would also give me nice options for a lamp post at the bottom, and some footpath lighting in the stone wall at the top.
>
> Have any of your done this with reasonable success (or, of course, horror stories :-) )?
>
> thanks,
> jim
>
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