Replacing Post Light with Solar Powered LED

[bluegrassliving]

I have a post light similar to the one below in my yard except the post is wooden. I find it dumb and annoying that it's on a switch in the house. I would rather it just be solar powered and run an LED as well as have a sensor that automatically makes it illuminate when it gets dark. I was thinking it would be easy enough to leave the existing wiring and just wire nut each end and wrap it in electrical tape so it's nice and sealed and then put the new housing and light on the post. Would that work? I'm guessing its generally preferred not to leave dead wiring in a wall, but I have no idea how it's buried in the ground and for such a simple item it hardly feels worth it to figure out how it runs out there and try to pull it all out. Thanks for any and all help, I'm sure this won't be my first post as we just moved into a new house 50 years older than the one we lived in before

 

[johndale]

LED lights contain no toxic elements. Most offices currently use fluorescent strip lights which contain noxious chemicals such as mercury. This will contaminate the environment when disposed of in landfill waste.

 

[Doghouse Riley]

Ideally, I would want to completely isolate the power supply to the lamp.
I'll explain whaI would do as I'm not sure how familiar you are with electrical circuits.

Firstly turn on the lamp.
Then check the consumer unit.
Amongst others, there should be a fuse/trip for;
Ground floor power circuit
Ground floor lighting circuit.
a supply marked "oven/cooker"
and possibly another marked "garage."
There may even be one marked "lamp."
At this strage, I'd have no idea from which circuit the lamp receives its power.

Switch them off and on from the consumer unit in turn, until the light goes out.

Then leave that one off.

You then need to trace where the wiring for the lamp comes into the house.
It's likely to be a spur off the ground floor power circuit.
It'll be under the floorboards probably in a straight line, the shortest distance from the lamp.
The wires could be just linked into a junction box in part of the ring main, or even have it's own socket or isolator under there. Either way it should be easy enough to disconnect it.

Now I'm digressing for our UK readers.

Myself wife and family are all from Surrey. But we've lived in South Manchester for forty years.
Our youngest son ten years ago married a Lancashire lass from West Houghton near Bolton.
They bought a house locally and after a few weeks she decided they needed another socket in the kitchen.

The conversation went like this.

"I 'sppose the easiest way would be for me to run a spur off the nearest socket."

"That's good, you're picking up the accent,"

What do you mean?

"You said spur."

"Yes know I did, that's what meant, spur, not spare!"