Are Solar Christmas Lights Better?
Are Solar Christmas Lights Better?

Some people dream of Christmas, others dream of splattering sparkles all over their house and yard! Christmas Lights, more fun that Christmas day itself some say. Shopping for Chirstmas Lights is extraordinary experience - so many different types, colours, lengths and specifications. Then soon you'll be faced with the decision - electric or Solar?

 

Surely Solar Christmas lights cannot be up to the task, they sound gimmicky even and probalby only for those who are lazy and can't be bothered wiring, fixing or programming. Just hammer them in, flick a switch and let the sun take care of the rest! 

 

You may be suprised to know that Solar lights have come a LONG way (yes, a long way) from inception. These days, they are just as bright, just as white, reliable and durable as our 240 volt brothers.

 

 
How cheap are solar Christmas lights to run?

 

Whether your style is to light up just the tree, or absolutely every possible object in the garden, you will no doubt have noticed that your January electricity bill is through the roof. In fact, running a thousand lights for only a few hours a night can have your costs increase by as much as $50 for the month! 

 

Needles to say, Solar Christmas lights effectively cost nothing to run. The outlay may be slightly higher, but they sure pay off after a few years. Any good Christmas Light veteran will tell you that money saved equals more Christmas lights to buy!

 

 

 Are solar Christmas lights easy to set up?

 


You might think that setting up solar lights is more difficult than up the old electric ones, but this is not the case. You won’t have to fumble around running power cords everywhere and connection extension leads to boards and worrying about all the water proofing that goes along with it. The result is a safer and easier set-up that should only take a few minutes.

 

All you need to do is to stake the solar panel into the ground with the stake provided. Then you just string the lights up around a tree or under the awnings – wherever you like. After this, it should only take a couple of hours for the solar panel to charge. And hey presto, by nightfall you'll have an amazingly illuminated and shiny display in your garden. It’s as easy as that! Most lights will also have a setting for either steady-on or flashing via a switch on the line or panel.

 

 
How durable are solar Christmas lights?

 


Outdoor Solar Christmas lights are built for purpose, to weather the weather. They can generally withstand a beating from wind, rain and hail whilst running just fine. However, this does not mean that they will last forever. Generally the batteries in solar lights are the first thing to wear out.

 

You will notice this happening when they can no longer hold a charge long enough to light an area. In general this takes 4 or more years to happen. Luckily it is possible to replace a battery pretty cheaply. The LED lights themselves last for an incredibly long time and should still be shining bright a decade after they were purchased. 

  


Are solar Christmas lights bright enough?

 


Solar Christmas lights use LED lights instead of the old energy-zapping incandescent bulbs. However, this does not mean that you’ll notice much of a difference. Admittedly, LED lights aren’t quite as bright, but considering that you won’t be paying for any electricity, you can always add more to be safe! Plus, the difference is negligible. So long as the solar panel has had a fair amount of sun, your lights will shine bright. 

 


So, you're on the fence and considering to add a few Solar lights ot your collection. You might be pleasantly surprised at how cheap it is to change over to solar power!

 


The Best Solar Christmas Lights on the Market!

 

Choosing the right solar Christmas lights can be hard if you haven’t done it before. That’s why we’ve decided to put together this little buyers’ guide to show you all of our top picks. All of these are pretty cheap, durable, and reliable and will last you for years and years! So, without further ado, here are the best three sets of solar Christmas lights on the market right now.
 


42M 400LED String Solar Powered Fairy Lights


 
Though this list is in no particular order, we thought we’d kick it off with the biggest and boldest option possible! These are pretty much the ideal lights for when you want to go as big as you can for cheap. This set of 400 warm, white-coloured LED lights on a 42-metre long string is guaranteed to light up most, if not all of your garden. They are 100% waterproof and will pump out light for 8-10 hours if the solar panel has seen a good amount of sunshine during the day. Installation and set-up could not be easier. Just turn on the switch, put the solar panel somewhere nice and bright, and when the sun sets the lights will come on automatically.
 


Pros:
·         Insanely cheap price for 400 lights
·         Super easy set-up
·         2 inbuilt modes: flash, and steady-on
 


Cons:
·         Battery needs really good sunshine to charge for maximum effect
 
 


Solar Powered LED Christmas Party Lights 100-Pack - Multi-Colour
 


Though some of us prefer a simplistic one-colour display when we are lighting up our gardens for the festive season, some of us crave a bit of variety. Naturally, you might expect that this effect would set you back a little more, but that is simply not the case. It can be done for cheap! Possibly the best thing about this particular lighting set-up is that it can be used either inside or outside. The bulbs are highly energy-efficient too. So, the battery lasts for ages! They are also really bright!
 


Pros:
·         Great value for money!
·         Reliable and come with a manufacturer warranty
·         Two functions: flash and steady-on
 


Cons:
·         As far as we can tell, there are no cons!
 

 


Solar Colour Curtain Lights

 


Curtain lights are designed to light up the dull looking guttering and to add a bit of magic to the proceedings instead. This set of 100 lights is super easy to set up and will light up the place no matter where you decide to hang them. They’re a tough build and quite resilient. They’re cheap as chips. And, they are quite a bit more powerful than you would expect solar Christmas lights to be. In the long run, they’ll actually save you quite a bit on the electricity too! They can be set up to either flash or to just constantly be on. Once they are fully charged, they’ll stay vibrant for 8 whole hours after. The lights themselves are multicoloured – red, green, yellow, and blue, and there are 5 lights per strand.
 


Pros:
·         Incredibly good bang for your buck
·         Easy to install and lightweight
·         Really transforms the look of your home for the Christmas season
 


Cons:
·         The plastic end caps can fall off the rope lights sometimes
 


 

Frequently asked questions:
 

 

Are Solar Christmas lights waterproof?

 


Solar lights for the garden are generally okay to be left out all year round. However, if your lights are made of glass, it is generally better to bring them inside if you are expecting extreme weather. Water is not a problem for solar lights though. The worst that can happen is that a pool of water can block direct sunlight from getting at the panel.
 


Are solar Christmas lights safe?

 


In recent years, solar equipment has gotten a lot more refined, safer, and reliable. When it comes to outdoor lighting, nothing is as safe as solar power. There’s no risk of electrical fault leading to fire, the equipment is all waterproof, and there is pretty much zero chance of electric shock.
 


Are solar Christmas lights worth it?

 


It is important to consider the disadvantages of solar Christmas lights before you buy them. As far as we can see, there are only two real downsides in switching to solar. The first is that the LED lights give off a different shade of light to the more traditional incandescent ones. The second is that the initial cost of buying solar lights is higher. However, once you have the light bought, they cost absolutely nothing to maintain. In that sense, we think it’s more than worth the start-up cost. In addition, solar lights keep getting cheaper and cheaper every year. If you haven’t looked at the costs in a while, you might be pleasantly surprised by how little they cost now. 

 

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