LED Lights for the garden

I wanted to diverse just slightly off the subject of growing things to lighting!

My husband is an astronomer - yes, going off in another direction again but you will catch up with me soon and see why I had to explain so much ;)

So, yes, my husband Chris is an astronomer and needs dark skies so he can see up into space - this is why I am diversing - he needs dark skies and LED lighting is just the perfect answer for garden lighting.

They are low energy, they benefit the environment they give off less light pollution so you light what needs to be lit instead of brightening up space (and we don't need to see up there now do we?), meaning the skies are darker, less light pollution in the atmosphere and lower electricity bills, plus you can get really funky lights.

All in all a good combination for lighting the garden wouldn't you say?

The green issues of switching to this low energy lighting system benefits the environment in the way it consumes far less energy than standard light bulbs (LEDs are 80% more efficient!). It also requires far less energy to manufacture, something not often considered. The recycling of LEDs is less of a problem as the life span of an LED is incredibly long - several tens of thousands of hours!

Most domestic bulb filaments expire after a couple of thousand hours. You save money not only in running costs but also in maintenance.

LEDs are a lot more robust than the standard filament, which is easily broken. An LED is virtually unbreakable. There is no glass or filament to break making LED light sources perfect for rugged or demanding environments.

It is possible to get a variety of LED, everything from the stark white to the warm and calming colours, you can even have lights that have ever-changing displays of colour!!

We will definitely be adding LED lighting to our gardens, has anyone used LED lights in their garden - send in your designs :)