Solar Garden Fountains on Home Landscapes
Adding any sort of water feature like solar garden fountains instantly increases the curb appeal of any home landscape. A water fountain is an easy addition to a garden unlike a waterfall or pond which can also add to landscaping costs. A simple solar garden fountain can be purchased at any home improvement or garden store and best of all, requires no additional wiring hookup which complicates the landscaping job. Powered by solar energy, a solar garden fountain can be placed virtually anywhere in your garden without worry about dragging a long electrical cable for power. The only real need is an area with plenty of sunlight which should be plentiful in a typical garden terrain.
Garden fountains may vary greatly, but there are a few distinct types to choose from. The best type of solar fountain really depends on the design match with the rest of your home and garden. You can choose from the traditional bowl fountain, wall fountain, and even cascade fountains with multiple water reservoirs.
Because a solar garden fountain requires sunlight, it makes uses of an attached solar panel to convert the sun’s energy into usable electrical energy to power the fountain pump. The panel size itself can vary depending on the type of water pump shipped with the fountain. A bigger water pump that must pump more water a longer distance will need more energy and therefore require a larger solar panel. Smaller fountains, like a small desk fountain, only need a small solar panel to generate enough energy to power the pump.
Your local home improvement store will often have a garden section where a wide variety of solar garden fountains are available for purchase. The same is true for any gardening store. You may find specialty retailers that specifically stock many types of water fountains. There are also many such retailers online though the drawback here is you will not be able to see the fountain in action or hear the sound it generates from the water. There is also the matter of shipping and handling due to the size and weight of garden fountains.
A solar garden fountain is only different from a traditional water fountain in that it ships with a solar panel kit that you need to assemble and wire to the water pump. In fact, some solar fountains can easily be converted for normal electricity use powered by nearby a wall socket for months when the sunlight is scarcer.
Some solar kits will also ship with rechargeable battery packs and this can extend the use of the garden fountain even into the night when no light is available. If your solar kit does not ship with a battery pack and you still wish to use your fountain when it is dark, then consider buying one and wiring it to the water pump. Again, the type and size of battery pack will vary with the size of the water pump.
Even at the extra cost, a solar power fountain requires zero electricity from your electricity company and therefore incurs no extra cost for use. The money savings here over time make solar fountains well worth the investment and best of all, they can be used as regular plug-in fountains as needed. There are enough variations in design to suit and landscaping environment and a solar garden fountain can bring instant appeal to your home.
Solar Powered Water Fountains
There is something unmistakably soothing and calming about solar powered water fountains that make them quite popular in homes and gardens. The sight of water, whether it is at a beach, stream, or spouting from a water fountain, speaks to our inner ancestral DNA when having a water supply provided security and nourishment. The sound of running water is a popular relaxation tool as evidenced by the number of relaxation CDs that also use nature sounds and white noise to calm the listener. A solar garden fountain today speaks to us at that same primal level and that’s why they are so attractive. While the need to secure water is mostly gone in current civilization, we still like to have the vision and sound of water around us. The problem with ponds and waterfalls is that they are often attributed to hefty price tags and high maintenance costs. They can also be quite a hassle to install in your home. Instead, a free-standing solar powered water fountain addresses these issues while providing that soothing water sound.
Solar water fountains can be differentiated from traditional water fountains only when you look at the water pump. Otherwise, from the surface, they look identical and often the same fountain design is offered in plug-in and solar forms. Solar powered water pumps are attached to a solar panel instead of an electrical outlet. The panel gathers energy from sunlight and converts it into the energy required to power the water pump. Solar fountains are truly free-standing since they need not be placed near an electrical source. If there is sunlight, then there is an ideal location for a solar powered water fountain.
The many styles of water fountains can be classified into three main groups:
Pedestal Solar Fountains
These are usually made from one or more tiers and sit atop a pedestal as the name suggests. Usually these are a few feet high depending on the pedestal height and collect water in a basin. The solar panel is usually located here to collect light. Water can be pumped from the lowest tier up to the fountain head or spout. There are spraying or bubbling pedestal fountains which can change by water pressure and nozzle head. Birdbath water fountains also fall into this category.
Cascading Solar Fountains
These are a very popular new design. These are generally shorter than pedestal fountains but use up many more tiers, from 5 to 7 or more. Each bowl is a tier which pours water from the top bowl down to the bowl below until the water collects in the bottom tier basin. The largest catch bowl is where water is pumped back up to the top tier. Since these types of fountains are smaller, the solar panel often ships external to the unit. This is because the panel cannot be built into a cascading fountain without it getting in the way of the design flow. This gives owners an added benefit of being able to place the solar panel in an area that gets maximum sunlight, even if it is a few feet away from the cascade fountain. There are also some that ship with A/C adapters to switch back from solar to plug-in use.
Single Bowl Solar Fountains
The most basic fountain, it is often the smallest class and is not complicated like the other two. It uses a single large basin, usually no taller than a foot, and may use some sort of figurine, animal, fish, bird, or some other type of figure to shoot the water down below. Undoubtedly you have seen many variations of this theme, with a boy “peeing” into the fountain below being a timeless classic. There are also lionheads and fish whose mouths spout water below as well.
All of these three main categories of solar water fountains have their unique looks to fit in with any garden setting.
There are many types of fountain types to choose from and each class offers solar powered variants in addition to the traditional electricity powered ones. These fountains start at a hundred dollars and can go up to the thousands depending on the size, uniqueness of design, and material. Most fountains are in the low hundreds of dollars. They are much easier to install than ponds, waterfalls, and other water fixtures. Simply place the unit where it is desired and connect the solar panel to the water pump. After that add water and set and forget. There is no electricity usage since it is self-powered and even turns off by itself at night when the sun has set.