Solar lights in winter don't stop working, but they do work differently. The days are short, the sun sits low, and snow and cold each take a little off the top. Here's what to expect from solar lights in winter, and the small things that help them give you more light through the long evenings.
Why solar lights run shorter in winter
A solar light is a small panel, a battery and an LED. By day the panel fills the battery; after dusk the LED spends it. Winter squeezes both ends.
- Fewer hours of daylight. There's less time to charge and more dark to cover.
- A lower sun. Light arrives at a shallow angle, so less of it lands on the panel. Shadows from the house, fences and evergreens stretch much further too, and a spot that was sunny in June can sit in shade all through December.
- Gray days. Cloud lets some light through, but far less than direct sun.
So the battery may not fill. Your lights will usually still come on at dusk, but they may run for fewer hours, go out well before dawn, or look a little dimmer than they did in summer. That's normal, not a fault. The run times on our product pages are rated figures after a good charge, and a short winter day often isn't one.
Snow, frost and dirt on the panel
A panel can only charge from the light that reaches it. Snow, frost, wet leaves and road grime can block most of it, and a covered panel may barely charge at all.
- After snow, brush the panel clear with a soft brush or a gloved hand.
- Don't chip at ice or pour hot water on it. Let it thaw, then wipe it dry.
- Every few weeks, wipe the panel with a soft, damp cloth.
- After a storm, check that ground lights are still upright and their panels still face the sky.
Cold and batteries
Rechargeable batteries give back less of their stored energy when they're cold, so a freezing night can trim the run time on its own, even after a decent day of sun. There's nothing to fix here. It's simply worth expecting.
Many of our solar lights are rated IP65 and described on their product pages as built for rain and snow, or for year-round use. Those can stay where they are. If a light has a lower rating or none, check its page before leaving it out all winter.
How to get more light from solar lights in winter
- Move the panel to where the winter sun is. Look around your yard near midday and notice where the sun falls now, not where it fell in summer. In most of the US the winter sun sits low in the southern sky, so a south-facing spot clear of shade usually does best.
- Tilt it if you can. If the panel can be angled, tip it up to face the low sun rather than lying flat, where snow also settles.
- Switch to motion-sensor mode. A light that only comes on when someone walks by uses much less of its charge than one that glows all night. If yours has a motion setting, winter is the time to use it.
- Turn the brightness down. On lights with brightness modes, a lower setting runs longer.
- Keep the panel clear. A clean panel charges better than a dirty one.
- Give it a full charge. If your light has an on/off switch, switch it off and leave it in full sun for a sunny day or two. With nothing drawing on it overnight, the battery has a chance to fill, and you start the next gray spell from full.
Solar lights that cope well with winter
These are the lights in our range with the most useful winter features, going by their product pages.
- Rampart – Solar Motion Flood Light: a large panel and a 6000mAh battery, rated for up to 3 nights of light on a full charge, plus a motion-only mode for long gray weeks.
- Terra – Solar Landscape Spotlights: three brightness modes (up to 20 hours on low, 10 on medium, 6 on high) and a rating from -20°C to 60°C (-4°F to 140°F).
- Vector – Solar Motion Sensor Wall Lamp: the panel sits on a 9.8 ft cable, so the light can stay by a shaded door while the panel goes where the sun is. It senses motion up to 8 m (about 26 ft), and its light is cool white.
- Sentry – Solar Security Wall Light: a motion-triggered bright mode for doors and gates. Its page puts a full charge at about 8 hours of sunlight, so in winter, give it your sunniest wall.
- Firefly – Solar Fairy Light Rope: the panel sits at the end of a 2 m (about 6.5 ft) lead, so the lights can wind through a shady spot while the panel catches the sun.
- Picket – Solar Post Cap Lights: up on a fence or deck post, clear of low garden shade. Rated for about 10 to 12 hours of light after 6 to 8 hours of sun, and its page is honest that cloudy days give a shorter run.
- Trail – Angled Solar Path Lights: warm 3500 K light that falls forward onto the path, and a switch, so you can give them the full-charge rest described above.
- Ridge – Solar Camping Lantern: charges from the sun or over USB-C, and is rated IP44 for indoor or outdoor use, so on a gray week you can bring it in and top it up over USB-C.
When it's more than the season
If a light won't come on at all after its panel is clean and it has had a couple of genuinely sunny days, something else may be going on. Our solar light care and setup guide has a troubleshooting table. You can also email support@duskhavenhome.com with your order number.
