If you&#;re shopping for garden lights, you will inevitably come across solar lights as an option, but are they worth it? In this guide to solar lights, we will answer some of the most frequently asked questions on owning solar lights, including their advantages and disadvantages, explaining if they work in winter and how to maintain them.
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As professional lighting experts, we can help you decide if solar lighting is worth your investment and help you get the most out of your solar lights with regular maintenance. Here is everything you need to know before and after you buy solar lights.
Table of contents
Solar garden lights feature solar panels that absorb energy from the sun. The photovoltaic cells in the panels create a chemical reaction that converts light from the sun to energy and stores it in rechargeable batteries.
The solar lights will charge in the sunlight during the day and illuminate at night. Solar lights also have light sensors, which measure the light level around them. When it gets dark, the sensors tell the light to switch on so it doesn&#;t waste energy during the day. These are often called dusk-till-dawn solar lights.
There are some noteworthy advantages to investing in solar lights.
As solar lights use renewable energy from the sun to charge their batteries, they are the kindest outdoor lighting option for the environment.
Because solar lights use the sun&#;s energy to illuminate, there is no extra cost to your energy bills.
Finally, as solar lights don&#;t require plugging into outlets or hardwiring into the mains circuit, you don&#;t need any special skills to install these lights in your garden. Nor is there any need to hire a professional electrician.
Inevitably, there are also disadvantages to solar lights.
You can get a significant range of prices for solar lights, but be aware that the cheaper ones are less effective and may not last as long as they contain lower-grade materials. If you want good quality solar lights, purchase them from a highly regarded brand at a higher price point to get the best output and longevity.
There is a level of maintenance for solar lights to work at their best. For example, you must keep them clean. Dirt and debris on the solar panel prevent the light from getting to the solar panels. You will also need to change the batteries every one to three years if the output quality decreases.
Any solar light will not perform as effectively in winter compared to summer, no matter the quality. In the summer, the solar lights can potentially benefit from the sun&#;s rays between 7 am and 9 pm, that&#;s nearly 14 hours. Whereas in the UK winter, you can only expect the sun between 9 am and 4 pm, which is only seven hours of sun! With the potential for worse or cloudy weather, solar lights have less chance to charge in winter and may not shine as bright at night.
Even in summer, if you don&#;t point your solar lights towards the sun or something obstructs the solar light, like a shadow from the house or a tree, your lights won&#;t charge enough.
Deciding if solar lights are worth it depends on what you want to use them for. If you want a collection of decorative solar lights to create a cosy environment for your summer BBQs and light pathways in the summer, they&#;re 100% worth it. But, if you intend to light a larger area all year round, you may have to invest in a high-quality solar light that can charge on limited sunlight during the winter or look at different options like battery or mains-powered lights. Also, it isn&#;t worth getting solar lights if your location or garden doesn&#;t get that much sunlight.
On average, solar lights need around 8-10 hours of direct sunlight to completely charge their batteries to work at night. Many solar lights can sufficiently get this amount through the winter, especially if you get bright, crisp winter days.
However, if you have an extended period of cloudy weather, your solar lights will seem dimmer at night as they don&#;t have enough sunlight to charge. And if snow falls and settles on the solar panels, it won&#;t be able to recharge its batteries.
Similarly, if you have rainy weather, the solar lights can charge to some extent using the light coming through the clouds, but it won&#;t be enough to produce a bright light at night.
Solar lights can last up to five years with proper maintenance.
There are various reasons why your solar garden lights don&#;t last long, and it&#;s due to how you maintain them.
Solar garden lights don&#;t last as long if you let them get dirty in the garden. Inevitably, they will get some dirt on them, but regular cleaning will prevent dust and dirt from entering the mechanism and degrading the light. Use a damp cloth and mild dish soap to remove excess dirt from your solar light.
Determine if your solar lights are water-resistant or waterproof. If they&#;re water resistant, you can&#;t submerge them, or they will break. Waterproof solar lights will prevent water penetration, but if they get exterior damage, their waterproofing can become compromised. If you know your solar lights are only water resistant and you have harsh, rainy weather, it&#;s best to store them to protect them.
Incorrect storage can also damage solar lights. Prolonged storage periods will compromise their ability to recharge. So ensure you don&#;t store them for more than three days. Or, you can turn them off or remove their batteries to protect them.
Your batteries will likely run out faster than the solar light. So remember to replace the batteries if the quality starts to reduce.
Just because your solar light is not functioning as it should doesn&#;t mean it&#;s broken. There could be several reasons why your solar light has stopped working, and there are a few fixes you can try.
If your solar lights stop working, try cleaning the panels. Dirt and dust will prevent light from getting to the receivers and charging the light.
Solar light batteries wear out after a couple of years. Try replacing them and see if it works.
Your solar light may not be receiving the amount of sunlight it needs to charge. Try repositioning it so it can receive the most sunlight throughout the day. The best position is south-facing.
Your solar light may be out of charge, especially after a dark, cloudy winter. Try turning the light off for 72 hours and allow it to charge without wasting energy.
Your light might not work because it&#;s too close to a garden or street light. Solar lights have light sensors that make them turn on when it gets dark. But, if it&#;s close to artificial light, it may think it&#;s daytime.
You should now be able to make an informed decision about whether solar lights are ideal for you or not. It all depends on what you want to use them for. And if you already have them, you will know how to take care of them and ensure they last for years. Why not browse our extensive range of solar lights here at Moonlight Design and find the perfect solar lights for your garden?
Related blogs
Can you charge solar powered lights indoors? In the absence of sunlight during winter, how can you make your solar lights work more efficiently? Here&#;re practical ways you can do.
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/decorative-small-solar-garden-light-lanterns-
Outdoor solar lights enhance the beauty of your landscape. They are independent from the grid, making them eco-friendly solutions for reducing our carbon footprint. What&#;s more is you can eliminate electric bills for lighting your patio, lawn, garden, exterior and street with these outdoor solar lights.
Now, it is a challenge to keep solar lights burning during strong winter months when usually the sun stays hidden. Thankfully, decorative solar garden lights are lightweight and easy to handle, so you can easily bring some of them indoors to charge.
In this article, we&#;ll review some strategies for charging solar powered lights indoors and outdoors.
Contents:
How Long Should Solar Lights Be Charged?
Can I Charge Solar Lights Without the Sun?
Can I Charge Solar Lights Indoors?
Will Solar Lights Charge On A Cloudy Day?
How To Charge Solar Lights Without Sunlight
How to Charge Solar Lights in Winter More Effectively
Conclusion
If you want to know how long is enough to charge your solar light with indirect sunlight, you must first know how it works and what it needs.
Here&#;s a video on how solar lights work:
Want more information on up down outdoor solar lights exporter? Feel free to contact us.
Solar lamps work by photovoltaic energy conversion. They have photovoltaic cells (usually the black panel on top of the lamps) that convert the light from the sun to DC current. The current is then stored in the battery to power up the lamp at night.
For solar lighting devices to work best, they needed to receive direct sunlight for 4 to 10 hours. Take note that the solar panel should be away from shadows to get the most out of the sunlight&#;s rays. When the batteries are fully charged, your outdoor light can stay all night long.
For more robust outdoor solar lights such as solar street lights, charging would only take 6 to 8 hours. A fully charged solar street light battery can usually provide lighting for 5 to 7 sunlight-less days.
Hence, manually charging your solar lights with artificial lighting will definitely take longer time, say 8 to 12 hours.
Yes, you can definitely charge them even without the sun, although it will be less efficient to do so.
Since solar lights are sun-powered, you&#;d think they are only practical for sun-kissed areas like in Mexico. This is a common misconception.
If you live somewhere that rarely sees the sun, you can still install these solar lighting systems. Solar lights can even work better in winter. However, some of them may need to be charged with indirect sunlight when they don&#;t get enough solar energy to last for many days.
Note that this applies to smaller solar lighting system units that are usually used for lawns, patios, and pathways.
But if you have an AC Hybrid or a Wind Solar Lighting Solution, these solar systems can alternatively get energy from the grid or from the wind power during extreme emergencies when the sun is not available.
For the context of this article, we&#;ll assume that you are using small-sized solar landscape lights that are topped with a solar panel and have simple design configuration.
For lightweight solar lights, you can definitely bring them indoors to charge. You can use regular light bulbs, or by placing them near windows. You can even charge them using your laptop or solar power banks if they are built with a USB charger. We&#;ll discuss these methods below.
When solar powered lights don&#;t get enough sunlight to fully charge, this doesn&#;t mean they are rendered useless on cloudy or winter days.
Take note that solar panels are designed to optimize energy harness during the day, so you need not to worry each time the sun doesn&#;t show up. The only downside you would face is there would be less energy stored in the battery. This means you can only use them for less than 6 days.
Hence, if you&#;re looking forward to running a grand garden event, and your solar string lights would deem you failure on these shadowy, cloudy days, perhaps you need to charge them first.
Here are some of the easiest ways you can effectively and practically charge your solar lights without the sun.
You might think it uncanny to charge grid-free solar lights during gloomy, grey weathers, but did you know that solar panels charge more effectively in cold temperatures?
Although winters, rainy seasons and cloudy days may seem bad timing to charge solar powered lights because there&#;s no direct sunlight available, this is just a myth.
During these days, there&#;s still a small beam of light hitting the receptors of the PV cells of your solar lights.
These receptors receive, store and convert energy regardless of the distance and amount of heat generated in the environment.
Couple this with the good, cold temperature, the electrons inside the solar panels won&#;t have excessive electron movements.
And thus, it will render higher voltage difference giving more energy production.
Hence, even when the sun stays hidden behind the clouds, your solar panel lights will still get charged.
You can use incandescent bulbs to charge your solar panel lights. We know it&#;s kind of absurd to use energy from a hard-wired light to charge a supposed-to-be energy saving light.
But the point here is, some people do use outdoor solar lights as emergency equipment indoors in preparation for power outages. It&#;s like using rechargeable flashlights when power is going to be out.
Hence, if you need a substitute for direct sunlight, strong artificial lighting can do the job. This is because solar cells respond to both types of light as they run at similar wavelengths and spectrum.
This means that incandescent bulbs can charge any solar powered object you have such as solar watches, calculator or solar flashlights, the same way they charge through sunlight.
However, note that it takes longer to charge when you use artificial lighting, about 2 to 5 hours more.
To do this, just position the incandescent a few inches away from the face of the panel. The solar light can be charged for about 6 to 12 hours, depending on the wattage of the bulb. You can use a 40W to 100W to yield the best results.
You can also use an LED light to charge your solar lights. Doing so may render the same result, but because LED light covers a larger range of spectrum, it can be more beneficial than incandescent.
Some solar LED lights can have an alternative charging method through a USB charger, allowing you to plug it to wall sockets or power banks. Although this option might cost you more than the previous options, you can use this opportunity if it&#;s more convenient for you.
Here are some tips you can follow so that your solar lights can work more effectively during those chilly snow storms in the winter.
Snow accumulates on the surface of the panels, making it difficult for it to harness energy from the sun. To help it charge more efficiently during winter, remove the snow on the surface as much as you can.
For best results,
Here&#;s how to properly clean solar pathway lights:
Make sure that the angle of the solar panels face the direction of the sun, especially during winter months as there&#;s less sunlight on these days. You may also want to reposition them somewhere that can receive more sunlight.
For best results,
Using mirrors to reflect more sunlight to your solar lights is also an efficient way to get the most out of the sun rays during winter.
This is a labor-intensive method as you need to keep repositioning the mirrors throughout the day.
But at least you wouldn&#;t need artificial light to energize your solar lights.
Tips on using mirrors:
This is called deep charging the battery and you can do this once or twice a month so as to keep your solar batteries running more efficiently.
There you go! You see, there are many alternatives to charging your solar lights without direct sunlight. You can charge them indoors or outdoors.
We hope these simple hacks can solve your issue of charging solar lights. You can even apply these for other solar equipment and devices that have solar panels.
Want more solar lighting ideas and hacks? We have tons of solar energy articles, buying guides, and reviews at HeiSolar.com.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website OEM rechargeable electric fan with solar panel.