Quality brands of exterior lights.

I want to purchase a set of exterior light. I like the idea of solar power versus wired, because of the installation and cost of operation. But what are the good brands to buy? And the ones to stay away from?

I am not convinced about which is better. Solar or wired? I live in sunny California so I get a lot of charge power and time.

I don't want to do the purchase and return game.
Any experiences are welcome.

 

Hi incub8,

My vote is for electric lights. We had a discussion on this before, and it may still be on the board.

Solar lights don't give off enough light if you are seeking to have a safe walkway. They also cost more.

Electric lights have such low voltage that I can honestly say we haven't noticed a difference in our electric bill.

I'm not sure what brand we have, but we bought the most expensive set that Home Depot has ($100). They are metal with a faux verdigris finish. We haven't had any problems with them in almost 2 yrs., and they were easy to install.

We had one solar light, and it was purely ornamental. It had a very, very dim light, and it received full sun all day.

Before we bought the set we have, we also tried a cheaper, plastic, electric set of lights and gnats got inside the lights and shorted them out. I had to keep cleaning them out almost on a daily basis, and it got to be a real pain.

I'm sure you'll have other suggestions.

Gami