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What are the Different Types of Solar Christmas Lights?

Sherry Holetzky
Sherry Holetzky

What could be better than dressing your home for holiday cheer while saving electricity? Solar Christmas lights can help you do just that and they are convenient to use. They don’t have to be plugged in, so placement options are increased. They use LED or Light Emitting Diode technology instead of filament bulbs, which not only saves power and creates vivid light, but also stays cooler than typical bulbs. Cooler bulbs mean less chance of fire.

Solar Christmas lights are available in many varieties from white or single color options to multi-colored, from round to traditionally shaped, and from individual lighted decorations to light sets and string lights. You can also find garden stakes with solar lights in Christmas themes. There are LED lights available for indoor use, and they use a fraction of the energy of regular holiday lights.

House with solar Christmas lights.
House with solar Christmas lights.

String lights are available with a varied number of lights per string. Small strings are perfect for framing a window, while larger strings may be used to decorate porch rails or banisters, outdoor trees, or the perimeter of the home. Garden stakes or other individual lights may have self-contained units for collecting solar power to charge batteries, while string lights usually come complete with a separate solar panel. Solar Christmas lights that come with a separate panel can be placed nearly anywhere as long as the panel is placed in the sun. While the lights can still be recharged on days with less than optimal sun, they won’t be as bright or stay lit as long as they do when they get full sun.

Solar Christmas lights are becoming very popular, which has led to increased availability and design choices. Now, instead of plain, round lights, they are available in assorted shapes from stars, hearts, bells, and snowmen, to penguins, igloos, snowflakes, Santa designs, and more. These types of Christmas lights are also now offered in comparable designs to traditional Christmas lighting as well.

If you want some really impressive solar Christmas lights, look for those that come with a remote control. Impress your friends and neighbors with options that allow you to create your own light show. Some solar Christmas lights let you change the level of light output or change the color of the lights with the remote control. The best part is that along with enjoying holiday cheer and getting creative with the cool options, you can also help conserve energy with solar Christmas lights.

Discussion Comments

StarJo

I have what I like to call a “garden” of solar Christmas lights on stakes. I place them all in one area, and that way, I won't trip over them in the daytime.

I have a variety of colors and shapes. I have green trees and wreaths, blue snowflakes, red bells, and yellow angels. I create a curved trail with them, so that they can all be seen.

Last year, I found some solar light stakes that spell out “Merry Christmas.” I added these to my solar garden and curved the other stakes around them.

We have a lot of sunny days in my area, so I never have to worry about the lights being very dim. Even on cloudy days, they show up fairly well.

wavy58

@kylee07drg – I agree that solar powered lights are the best choice, even if you have to spend more at the beginning to get them. I spent nearly $100 on mine, but I will use them every year for free, and I will pass them onto my children, who will get many more years out of them.

I absolutely love the string lights that come in the form of a net. I have a net of white snowflakes in different sizes, and I simply toss it over my shrubs. There is no complicated stringing to deal with, and it will never get tangled up in the branches.

The solar panel swivels to meet the angle of the sun, and this helps it stay charged better. I have been very impressed by the brightness of the lights each night.

kylee07drg

In my opinion, solar is the only way to go when it comes to outdoor Christmas lights. Why run up your electric bill each season when you can pay a one-time price and have free lighting in your yard forever?

Another great thing about solar lights is that you don't have to run an extension cord from your house to your yard. I can't even tell you how many times I have tripped over cords like this in the past, especially at night. I hated risking having a stranger trip on one and sue me.

I currently have a set of blue solar Christmas lights that I string across my rosebushes in front of the house. It creates a peaceful, gentle glow and a festive atmosphere, all without electricity and extension cords.

orangey03

Solar powered Christmas lights are awesome when you hang them from a tree in your front yard. At night, it looks like they are floating in the air with no attachments!

My neighbor has some snowflake and icicle solar Christmas lights like this. The top wire from which they all hang is 35 feet across, and this attaches to her big tree. The glowing lights each hang from a string of a different length, so they are staggered for visual interest.

I want to get some of these lights, but they are quite a bit more costly than regular outdoor lights. This will have to be something that I save up for or put on my Christmas wish list.

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    • House with solar Christmas lights.
      By: Roman Milert
      House with solar Christmas lights.