Solar garden products? Do they work?

robinsons

I'm into my gardening and wanted to know what people thought about solar garden products, like lights, fountains etc. They seem to be springing up everywhere at the moment.

I know I had some petrol station "special offer" lights a few years back and they were terrible. I guess things move on, so what's peoples experiences good and bad?

Plus do peeple really think it's a green option? I guess all the products get made in the far East like everything else these days, so are brought here by container boat, so is it really green?

MikeyMacbeth

I've had some solar garden lights that have lasted 5 years and others that barely made it out of the box before croaking - not neccasarily related to the price either, although the seriously cheap (petrol station) ones do seem to be a case of you gets what you paid for!

Regarding the environmental cost of manufacture/shipping - Not sure, but suspect that the true cost to the environment is way more than what we pay for them here, but, then again I doubt that If I stopped buying them that would stop them being made/imported...I also wonder about how many people actually dispose properly of the rechargeable batteries that are in them when they do expire or if they just end up going to landfill as a result of being dropped in the normal wastebin.

For more on recycling of batteries (and other items) you could check out the Recycle Now website (I don't work for them BTW)

Regarding whether they are green or not - in terms of the alternative i.e. wired garden lights etc then they are green in terms of the energy they use

robinsons

I agree with most of that. I guess the mains powered lights are probably made in China too, so the solar ones in that respect are just as bad as the mains ones as they both have to be shipped over by boat.

Although not as effective, perhaps the solar products without the battery backups are more green as you don't have the throwing away issue.

Piggo_2

I've had some stick solar lights in my garden for about 3 years now. I bought them from one of the cheap shops, Home bargains or B&M I think for about £1 each in the sale once but they're the same as those you see in the £1 shops. I've brought them inside one winter when the weather was bad but other than that they've stayed outside and still work, although I did notice one is getting slightly rusty/old I think where water must collect. I wouldn't want to pay alot for them but they look nice.

thenudeone

The batteries tend to lose their ability to keep charge, sometimes after just a few months, particularly with £1-shop versions, which nowadays seem to have very small capacitor-like batteries which can't be replaced.

A good rechargeable battery should last >1000 cycles which is less than 3 years, so it's not surprising that cheaper ones last much less.

I have several older ones which use AA or AAA-shaped batteries and they work fine if the existing battery is replaced with a new Ni-MH battery, although sometimes this requires a bit of soldering.

Equaliser123

robinsons wrote: »

Although not as effective, perhaps the solar products without the battery backups are more green as you don't have the throwing away issue.

Lights tend to be a LOT less effective without batteries...

Ebe_Scrooge

My problem with solar powered lights is : during the winter they don't tend to charge up very well ( less sunlight, obviously ), so tend to only light up dimly at night. Then in the summer, when they do charge up nicely, you never get to see them 'cos it doesn't get dark until 10:30 pm, and I'm in bed by then :-)

Equaliser123

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

My problem with solar powered lights is : during the winter they don't tend to charge up very well ( less sunlight, obviously ), so tend to only light up dimly at night. Then in the summer, when they do charge up nicely, you never get to see them 'cos it doesn't get dark until 10:30 pm, and I'm in bed by then :-)

We all have our crosses to bear. If that is really a "problem", then you are a very lucky person.