Illuminated Glass House Number and Name Signs lighting the way towards the Festive Season

In the current Covid-19 climate many of us are spending a lot more time at home; this unexpected interruption to our lives has given us more time to not only make a raft of improvements to our homes but also re-examine the way we live and our relationship with the world and environment around us.  In light of this – no pun intended – I thought it would be an ideal opportunity talk about the pro and cons of  using solar power compared to the reliability of having the LED light hardwired into your electricity supply to light up my glass house number and name plaques.

As reliable and consistant solar power requires uninterrupted, strong sunlight which – lets face it – can be somewhat unreliable in the UK, then electric powered lighting with its minimal running costs may be the way to go for you.  Still unsure which option to choose? Then here’s a short overview of the pros and cons for both to help you decide:

Electric avenue:

Electric powered lighting guarantees consistant illumination regardless of the weather – and we all know how unreliable that can be! If the sun is being illusive or with shorter days of sunlight looming once the clocks change, you may prefer to have your house number or name plaque hard-wired into the electric supply to ensure friends, family and visitors (not to mention Santa Claus – it is getting close to Christmas afterall!) can easily see your home. Some people prefer the reliablility of electric lighting as it provides instantaneous illumination exactly when you want it – no charging required.

Steal my sunshine:  

In these worrying times of climate change many people are trying to use renewable energy where ever possible and I’ve been asked a number of times whether solar power can be used to illuminate my house plaques.  Whilst the short answer is yes it can, it is not as simple as setting up a small, cheap panel above the plaque if you want the light to shine with any true luminosity or for longer than a couple of hours after dark.  A number of other factors also need to be taken into consideration such the amount of sunshine hours you can expect in the part of the country you live in, plus the physical placement and actual size of the panel you would need in order to collect and store enough energy. The component parts necessary to ensure the solar panel is large enough to absorb enough light to feed and fully charge the battery ensuring the light keeps running consistantly throughout the night, every day of the year, would, in actual fact, be quite an investment.

A solar battery is also rather like a car battery – if you do not keep the charge consistantly fully topped up, the battery eventually drains down until it is completely flat, no longer able to recharge, and needs replacing. This can be both inconvenient  and expensive.  So whilst I don’t currently offer solar powered lighting as an option, I am happy to discuss with you appropriate outlets where you could purchase the necessary solar components suitable for the area in which you live.

You can now also choose whether to have a standard pure white LED light to light up your house number or name plaque, or if you’d like something even more bespoke I can also offer red, green, amber or yellow lighting options.

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Once you’ve chosen your font or design, your item will be handcrafted by me, giving an exclusive, personal touch to your house name or number plaque.  The finished project can then be illuminated by a LED light that will make your home stand out from the crowd, demonstrating a visual representation as unique to you. So why not add one of my glass or slate house numbers or name plaques to your Christmas present ‘Wish List’ – a classy gift that will last for many years to come.

Please ask to see some examples of the huge range of designs and fonts available and I am always happy to work with individuals to create something totally bespoke. You can find more images of my glass and slate house numbers and name plaques, plus information on other products I make, on my website.