Solar powered Christmas lights will keep your tree lit up

Solar power is an amazing invention. What it means is that we get power free from the sun. We just need the right equipment to use it. Whilst it still costs quite a bit to get a solar-powered house up and running, so that your water can be heated and your lights lit from solar energy, solar powered Christmas lights don’t require the same type of investment. In fact they are really quite cheap. They are also amazingly effective, adding a charming element to any Christmas scene.

Solar-powered garden lights and lamps are also low-investment lighting options. But whilst these often have built-in photovoltaic cells that collect energy, solar powered Christmas lights usually come with a stand-alone solar panel that will draw power from the sun and then recharge the batteries that light up the little lights in the string. You don’t need electricity, so you don’t have to plug the lights into anything, and the power used to run them costs absolutely nothing.

Most solar powered Christmas lights use light emitting diode bulbs – or LEDs – which rely on a really tiny amount of electric current to make them work. They work with both electricity and solar power and light up, but don’t get hot. They also last for years and years, further cutting your maintenance bills. In fact a single LED should last for at least 25 years.

Another thing to remember is that solar powered Christmas lights aren’t only used to decorate Christmas trees. Unlike tinsel and baubles, ceramic stars and plastic angels, these lights can be used to create fun and effective lighting at any other time of the year as well. They are a favorite for decorating gardens and patios for festive occasions, like birthdays, weddings or simple family get-togethers. Solar rope lights can also be used as a fun landscaping tool, to draw attention to trees and other permanent features in the garden. Wind them around trees or pillars and hang them from the roof of your patio. Use them to outline a doorway or to define windows or other architectural features.

The decision to go solar is a personal one, but today it has also become a decision based on environmental concerns. Not only is electricity costly, but is also depletes the environment and can have an adverse effect. A lot of electricity is coal-generated, and this is one of the worst carbon footprints we can make. Nuclear-powered electricity is another story, and one that does not work for most environmentalists. Water-powered electricity is another option, but the world is fast running short of water. But the sun keeps shining – for now anyway.

So if you want to have a happy Christmas, solar powered Christmas lights might be the very best gift you can give to yourself and the environment. Drape the tree with them, wrap them up and give them to friends as gifts, and rest assured that solar string lights will bring light and beauty without doing harm. More on outdoor solar lights