It’s time to start decorating for the holiday season! But instead of going with traditional Christmas lights, why not look into the best solar Christmas lights for your home? Let’s break down what solar Christmas lights are, how they work, and why you should consider using them to brighten the upcoming winter season.
What Are Solar Christmas Lights?
It’s simple – solar Christmas lights are just like regular Christmas lights, except they’re powered by the sun! While most normal Christmas lights will draw energy from your local power grid to shine throughout the Christmas season, solar-powered lights are instead connected to a solar panel or collector unit. The solar panel gathers solar energy throughout the day, then powers your lights using a built-in battery.
Does this mean that solar Christmas lights only work during the day? Not at all! Most solar Christmas lights have light sensors that can detect when the sun is out or set. Your lights will shine throughout the day since the connected solar panel will provide enough power to shine your lights while also charging a rechargeable battery. As soon as the sun sets, the solar Christmas lights can rely on that stored energy to continue shining until the sun rises again.
Most high-quality solar Christmas lights are connected to stakes that have solar panels at their tops. You can then place the solar panel stake somewhere in your yard or on your property that gets a lot of sunlight, maximizing the panels’ exposure to the sun.
Why Choose Solar Christmas Lights
There are lots of excellent reasons to choose Xmas Christmas lights over the traditional alternatives.
- The majority of solar lights use LEDs instead of incandescent lightbulbs. Light-emitting diodes are only slightly less bright than traditional incandescent bulbs, but LEDs are much more energy-efficient. This makes them a perfect combination for solar panels and rechargeable batteries – they can run throughout the night on just a few hours of stored solar power.
- Solar-powered Christmas lights are energy-efficient and cost-effective when you consider your energy bill. Since they don’t take any power from your local grid, you won’t pay more for electricity, even if you shine your lights throughout the day.
- There are lots of solar-powered Christmas lights to choose from and in a variety of different styles, colors, and types. You won’t be limited to just a few different strings of Christmas lights is to go solar.
How to Choose the Best Solar Christmas Lights
Since there are many different solar-powered Christmas lights to choose from, it’s important to know what factors to focus on. Do this, and you’ll buy solar Christmas lights perfect for your yard or home.
Reviews
Be sure to check out the reviews for a given set of Xmas Christmas lights. User reviews are valuable resources you can use to investigate the actual effectiveness or quality of a set of lights. A manufacturer might claim that their lights are top-tier. Still, user reviews are (usually) unbiased opinions from folks who have purchased the lights and given them a try for themselves.
However, be sure to check out multiple user reviews, so you get a balanced collection of opinions. Don’t just look at five-star or one-star reviews. Middling reviews tend to be the most honest of the bunch.
Online Guides
You can also look at online guides to find the best lights. Well-vetted or trustworthy sites often have reviewers try out different products to get an idea about their quality or effectiveness. They’ll then write in-depth reviews for specific products.
Online guides can help give you an idea of how easy a set of Christmas lights might be to install, how bright they are in real life, and more.
Read More:
A Complete Guide to Outdoor Solar Lights
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Specs
Of course, you should also look into the specs or specifications. Specs include factors like:
- How many lights are in the set
- What colors come with a set
- Style of the light set
- How the set’s solar-powered panels work/where they can be placed
- Do they require additional batteries? For example, some sets require AA or AAA batteries as a back-up supply.
- Manual versus automatic setting controls.
The specs will help you determine whether a given set is a good choice for your home, yard, or unique needs. For instance, if you only have a limited amount of space to hang lights, you might look into small but colorful lights or that are great for hanging in small or tight spaces.
Prices
Price matters a great deal as well. Some solar Christmas lights are more affordable than others. Be sure to compare prices and quality, though – some cheap solar lights aren’t worth the price tag since they may break or not charge properly when finally installed.
But the reverse is also true. The most expensive isn’t necessarily the best choice. In many cases, it’s smart to find a balance between affordability and quality.
Is the Brand Trustworthy?
Lastly, check out the brand or manufacturer that makes the lights. Certain brands have built up a trustworthy reputation over years of service, and well-known or high-quality brands are usually excellent places to look when searching for solar Christmas lights for your yard or home.
Try to avoid sketchy or third-party brands. In many cases, these brands aren’t trustworthy whatsoever and may even sell knockoff versions of other, higher-quality Christmas lights.
Types of Solar Christmas Lights
Solar Pathway Lights
Solar pathway lights are lights you can place along a cement or wooden pathway. These solar-powered lights are designed to look like spokes or lanterns that stick up out of the ground, and you can find both white and colored varieties on the market.
Solar Christmas Tree Lights
These lights are designed to be hung around your Christmas tree. Most solar lights are designed for outdoor Christmas trees, and they come in a wide variety of colors, lengths, and designs – for instance, some have solid colors only, while others may flicker and flash in a magical display.
Solar Christmas String Lights
Christmas string lights are long, string-like collections of lights that you can hang around the borders of your home, the borders of a door, around your windows, or anywhere else. They’re an ideal type of light to decorate the outside of your house or inside of your home with.
Solar LED Christmas Lights
These lights are any solar Xmas Christmas lights that use light-emitting diodes instead of incandescent bulbs. As mentioned earlier, LED Christmas lights are much more energy-efficient. They’re better not only for the environment but also for your wallet – as a bonus, they’re a great match for solar panels since any collected solar energy goes further with each LED light.
Solar Christmas Stake Lights
These solar outdoor Christmas lights are mounted on stakes that you can place throughout your yard like beacons or lanterns. They’re an excellent choice for decorating your front or backyard and for illuminating the dark wintery nights.
Solar Light Wreath
Solar light wreaths are wreaths you can hang on your doors, windows, or anywhere else and that use woven lights within and around their green circumferences, all powered with solar energy. The wreaths are usually connected to a solar panel via cable, though some take replaceable solar batteries.
Solar Christmas Lights Decoration Ideas
DIY Candy Cane Solar Lights
Interesting idea, and looks very easy.
Solar Christmas Light Installation Tips
One good idea is to keep most of your solar lights outside. It’s sometimes difficult to run a cable from your solar panels into your home. Instead, most solar Christmas lights are best decorated outside your house and throughout your yard.
Remember to check the length of any solar panel cables, so you’ll know how far you’ll be able to place your lights from their power source. Your solar lights are limited by the length of the cable that connects them to their solar panel or stake. This means you should:
- Find a place in your yard with optimal sunlight.
- Find a spot in your yard where your solar panels or stakes aren’t too far from where you want to mount your Christmas decorations.
- Mount your panels in a relatively discreet place. It doesn’t always look the best when your solar panels are right in front of your driveway.
- Clean off your solar panels periodically. Dust, snow, and ice can collect over time, minimizing how much power it can collect from the sun.
Our 10 Best Solar Christmas Lights
Are you interested in grabbing some of the top solar Christmas lights on the market? Here are 10 excellent solar Christmas light picks for your yard and home.
Vmanoo Solar Christmas Lights
Correare Solar String Lights
Inngree Solar Christmas String Lights
Pearlstar Solar Garden Stake Lights
TouchOfECO Solar Powered Outdoor LED String Lights
TouchOfECHO Solar Powered Outdoor LED String Lights, Red & Green
TouchOfECO Solar Metal LED Christmas Tree Lights
Kimerly Nagi Solar Christmas Stake Lights
TouchOfECO Solar LED Multi-Colored Christmas Holiday Bulb String Lights
Vmanoo Solar Christmas Lights
Stephanie is a writer and editor, with a love for gadgets and all things solar. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and chasing unicorns with her 9-year-old.
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