cheap solar garden lights any good?

londonTiger

Was curious whether these cheap solar powered garden lights were any good or not. They're so cheap at £1 each or so on bargain baskets, wondering whether they harvest enough eneergy for out put light all night long or not.

I suspect they're not that good otherwise hobbyists would just by these by the bucket load and then take the solar panels appart, put them all in a circuit and use it to harvest more power for cheap.

usefulmale

I think the word 'cheap' should give you your answer.

kwikbreaks

Depends on what you mean by "any good". If they are well positioned then in the summer they can stay alight pretty much all night. In winter you'll only get a few (often very few) hours. I think they are mostly used for ornamental reasons as the amount of light produced doesn't really amount to much and although they may outline a dark path they can't really be said to light it.

At £1 each you could surely afford to buy one and judge for yourself.

JJ_Egan

Battery s are generally poor .

ballyblack

Batteries are poor, also the seal at the top breaks down very quickly and lets in the rain and they stop working
I plastered silicone jelly around the seal on top of mine and got a few years out of them!


.

poppasmurf_bewdley

I have several of these lights around my garden.

If you need them to illuminate anything, then they are absolutely useless. I just use them to mark out different things like path edges and the entrance to my drive.

This time of year, they produce a good steady light for many hours, but in deepest winter they just give a low glow as they receive a very low charge from the sun.

londonTiger

hmm, i wonder if it's worth probing frther at movement activated sensors with bigger solar panels.

battery powered stuff are a pain to use and wiring the garden with electricity is going to be expensive and just a nuisance.

Anne_Marie_2

If you are looking for proper lighting, rather than just highlighting paths or garden ornaments, you might want to have a look at these.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008VB4TNO/ref=pe_385721_37038051_TE_3p_dp_1

or these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frostfire-Wireless-Weatherproof-batteries-required/dp/B0074KDGL4/ref=sr_1_4?s=outdoors&ie=UTF8&qid=1404981178&sr=1-4&keywords=solar+motion+light

I have the Solar Centre ones, but the Frostfire ones look just the same, and are cheaper at the moment. They emit a dim glow as soon as it gets dark, but brighten up when PIR activated. I use them around the sides of my house, and the area where I park my car, and they are pretty good.

If you want more serious lighting, you should maybe consider the Astron solar lights. Much more expensive, but give off extremely good light, and are really solid and weatherproof. I have both models, and really pleased with them.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Solar-Centre-SS9813-Astron64/dp/B007KKEKRC/ref=sr_1_2?s=outdoors&ie=UTF8&qid=1404981489&sr=1-2&keywords=astron+solar

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Solar-Centre-SS9798-Floodlight/dp/B00518UP1A/ref=sr_1_1?s=outdoors&ie=UTF8&qid=1404981489&sr=1-1&keywords=astron+solar

teddysmum

I have two sets of six colour changing ones from Tesco, bought at end of season. They are in their third year and just a couple need new batteries, which are easily replaced as they are the normal AA ones. They work for 2-3 hours after a sunny day and are quite bright.

50Twuncle

We have a set of 4 Asda ones which cost £12 for the set - they work remarkably well - holding the charge all night (after a sunny days charge) - they are still shining reasonably brightly at 4:30 am, as the sun rises !!
http://direct.asda.com/george/george-home/solar-powered-fence-light-4-pack/001684921,default,pd.html
We also have a Solar powered flood lamp - mounted on the garage - http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/solar-8-led-05-w-pir-floodlight-n01ht which has a decent light and that has a movement detector built in - so stays charged all of the time !!

kwikbreaks

Nobody is suggesting that you can't get halfway decent solar lighting but the OP is specifically asking about the type you can get in pound shops...

londonTiger wrote: »

Was curious whether these cheap solar powered garden lights were any good or not. They're so cheap at £1 each or so on bargain baskets,