Landscape lighting has many uses – it can make your home look more appealing and add a relaxing ambiance that makes your garden a more pleasant place to relax.
Landscape lighting is also helpful for security and safety – making sure your home (and any pathways) are well-lit during the darker hours.
Winter is generally a time when there are more of those dark hours because the nights are longer.
But if you’ve chosen solar lights rather than those powered from the mains, is it worth using them in the winter?
Solar lights are generally safe to use in the winter, but depending on your local climate, they will likely not charge as much. They’ll still work, but they won’t last as long as they won’t get as much sun. Consider whether you want to bring them indoors during winter if they aren’t as effective.
In this article I’m going to expand on this more, looking at:
- Whether all solar lights are waterproof
- Whether solar lights will charge up in the winter
- Whether it’s a good idea to bring them indoors instead
Are Solar Lights Waterproof?
Solar lights work using a combination of a solar panel, which converts sunlight into energy, a battery to store that charged energy, and a battery-powered light.
This makes them just like any other electrical light in terms of how they work – the power source just happens to be a natural one.
And because they’re a variant of normal electrical light, you won’t want to get the circuitry of the light wet since it can easily cause the battery or circuit to short and damage the light.
Solar lights are typically intended to be used during the warmer months. Still, there are very few places in the world where it never rains, even during the summer.
With that in mind, almost all solar lights sold will be waterproof so that any rainfall can’t get inside.
Check the packaging or the website when you’re buying your solar lights. You’ll be looking for the IP rating, which tells you how dust and water-proof they are.
It’s the last number that refers to their resistance to moisture.
Anything with a rating ending in 5, i.e., IP65, will be OK if elevated from the ground.
Any lights at ground level should be at least IP67 in case any puddles form.
Also, IP65 lights won’t withstand powerful jets, so be careful if you’re using a pressure washer to clean around them.
One last thing to consider with solar lights and their waterproof status.
If the place you live suffers from freezing temperatures, even waterproof solar lights could suffer damage.
As water freezes and turns into ice, it expands. So if your lights have a lot of moisture on them, they could be damaged as that freezes over.
It’s rare, and most solar lights aren’t designed to have a lot of stagnant water on them. So a little bit of an icy cover is normally fine.
But if you choose ornate solar lights with recesses that could fill with water, be careful leaving them outdoors when the temperature drops.
Will Solar Lights Charge In Winter?
Solar lights charge under any type of light, including ambient light.
However, unless the solar charger faces the sun, it won’t charge at full speed and will normally be a lot slower.
They’re designed for direct sunlight.
During the winter, most places worldwide have shorter days, and even during the daytime, there will normally be more cloud cover.
The number of sunlight hours drops considerably.
Solar lights will still work in ambient daylight under cloud cover, but don’t expect them to fully charge up or even get close.
With solar lights that normally have enough charge to switch on for 10 hours, expect it to be closer to 2 hours if the day is mostly spent under clouds.
Also read: Can You Charge Solar Lights With LED?
Should You Bring Solar Lights In During Winter?
The main benefit of solar lights is that they don’t need to be wired into a circuit, so installation – and removal – is extremely easy.
With that in mind and everything we know about the winter months, is it worth bringing the lights indoors during this season?
Firstly, consider why you use your solar lights.
If it’s just to make your garden more appealing while you’re outside on your deck, then you don’t need them outdoors.
Chances are you’re spending less, if any, time outside relaxing when the temperature drops anyway.
Next up, consider how effective your lights are anyway.
If you aren’t getting much sunlight, the lights won’t be charging up enough and won’t run at night for too long.
And if you live somewhere with regular snowfall, are your lights going to be coated in a layer of fluffy white snow anyway, rendering them pointless?
Finally, think about the lifespan of your solar lights.
Solar lights use LED bulbs, which are perfectly effective in cold temperatures.
Unless you live somewhere with extreme winters, the bulbs themselves will cope fine with the winter months.
However, solar lights use a battery, which won’t withstand charging up forever.
You’re constantly charging them slowly and then burning through the power quickly by having the lights outdoors.
This could cut the lifespan of your solar lights dramatically.
There’s no definitive lifespan for solar lights – it depends on the type, the quality, and the battery size – but if you get more than 3-4 years out of your lights, you’ve probably chosen well.
You might strip a few months off by leaving them on during winter.
And even if they continue to work normally, do you want to waste the battery’s lifespan when you’re not using the garden?
If any of the questions above make you think it’s worth bringing the lights indoors, just remove them from your garden and place them in a dry, dark location, ideally in a sealed box.
This will ensure they don’t end up charging (slowly) from your indoor lights and will be in perfect health for next summer.
However, if you don’t get much snow and use your solar lights for security or safety reasons and want them to keep lighting up your home for at least dusk hours, there’s no harm in leaving them outside.
Final Words
You’ll never get the same performance from your solar lights during the winter as you will in the summer unless you live somewhere where the seasons blend into one anyway.
Solar lights will work fine in the winter for most people, though the question is moreover whether you’ll benefit from them.
It’s no good having solar lights blanketed in snow.
Do you leave them outdoors or bring them inside during winter if you already own solar lights?