Solar Christmas lights: Christmas is a season to celebrate. It is the one time of the year when the family gathers around a beautifully decorated Christmas tree to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Christmas is also a time when families try to outdo their neighbors when it comes to decoration.
Be it the house or the beautiful Christmas tree, everything has to be lit up brightly, and you can do that with solar Christmas lights because this is also a time of year when it is necessary to keep a tight rein on the finances.
Christmas lighting can use a lot of electricity, making looking at solar energy more attractive each year. There are several manufacturers out there who give you a huge choice in Christmas tree lights powered by solar energy and outdoor lights for the festive season.
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How Solar Power Christmas Lights Work
If you are already using solar-powered lights in your garden, you will see how these lights function is not very different. Solar-powered outdoor Christmas lights or otherwise are connected to a central control board with solar cells, a battery, and a sensor. Your solar lights for Christmas can charge up to 1000 watts worth of energy on a bright day. This should last you well into the night and longer.
The amount your solar outdoor Christmas lights charge depends largely on the control board it comes with. The average control panel has four solar cells that can produce approximately 1.8 volts of energy on a bright day. Depending on the type you have invested in, it should light up on a dull day as well, just not quite so brightly.
A plus point for your solar LED Christmas lights is that they light up automatically as the evening sets in.
The Variety Available
Solar-powered Christmas lights are a relatively new invention and have still to become particularly popular. This means that you won’t have such a wide range of designs to choose from as you will with the standard powered counterparts, but this will change in time as they become more popular and more widely available.
You will commonly get in Christmas lights with circular ball shapes in the Christmas colors of red, green, blue, and yellow. In terms of shape, you will also find solar Christmas tree lights in oval and teardrop shapes. However, these could be a tad more expensive.
The Flip Side to Solar Power Christmas Lights
Before you get into the negatives of solar-powered Christmas lighting, you should understand that monetarily these may cost you a little more to begin with. However, happiness is in seeing the reduction in your electricity bill at the end of the month. You will be surprised at the savings you will make.
The negatives – Christmas in many parts of the country, especially in the northern parts, is during winter when the sunlight is low. Regular battery chargers may charge up and allow you to use them for a maximum of 8 to 10 hours, as compared to the 10 to 15 hours they can work when properly exposed to sunlight.
Another pitfall is that the solar-powered LED Christmas lights are not as powerful in their emission of light as their electricity-based alternatives. These lights are meant to emit lesser light, but they are much more efficient than the average light bulb. You can look forward to a soft light almost the same as one from a fluorescent bulb, typical to all solar-powered lighting; they will have a bluish tinge to their light.
Even if a string of solar-powered Christmas lights costs you around $35 for around forty feet of lighting, you have to understand that your investment is limited only to buying the product. You will spend absolutely nothing on installing and lighting them up. Sunlight is free for you to use.
With an increasing demand for solar-powered Christmas outdoor and tree lights, the prices are steadily reducing and stabilizing.
Once you invest in your solar lights, you can rest assured that you won’t have to replace them for a minimum of five years. That is how long these batteries and cells will last. Solar-powered Christmas lights are often used to outline doorways and windows pane.
This is the best way to use your lights since glass reflects light and gives your solar cells an extra boost in energy. Don’t use solar-powered outdoor Christmas lights to light up small bushes since they tend to get lost in the bush and are not exposed to sunlight.
Brighten up the Holiday Season
Solar lighting technology has grown in leaps and bounds, and there are now lighting solutions targeted at the festive season in particular. Thanks to advances in technology, lights have now been miniaturized, and the use of the LED concept is in vogue.
This has allowed for several innovative designs to hit the market. You can choose from string lights, snowman and Santa lights, stake lights, garlands, reindeer, snowballs, stars, maple leaves, flowers, and so much more. Not to mention that you have a riot of colors in each category.
Christmas lights for use on the tree and your outdoors are now available in a variety of colors and fixtures, allowing you the flexibility of using them the way you want. Another advantage is that you can use these lights during Christmas or the festive seasons but for several other purposes all year round.
It is the best way to illuminate your garden and property from dusk to dawn without worrying about how much you are adding to your electricity bill. So this festive season, use your money wisely. Invest in some solar Christmas lights, and despite the extra initial cost, your festive season will end in a great way when you get a bill that will make you smile throughout the year.
