Indoor solar lights are a beautiful and eco-friendly way of lighting your home. The various indoor solar lights include a solar desk lamp, a solar candle, and solar shed lighting. Indoor solar-powered lighting is less common than outdoor light, but it shares the same similarities.
Some benefits include low-maintenance, limitless lighting for your home’s indoor space, eco-friendly and renewable energy, cost-effective ways of charging even without direct sunlight, mobility of solar panels, a reliable backup source of electricity during power outages (brownouts and blackouts), and a safer means of lighting your home.
Types of Indoor Solar Lights
Some indoor solar lights are exclusively for the interior of your house, while others can be used both inside the house and in your outdoor space. These lights include;
- Solar Desk Lamp: This solar lamp’s function or default spot in the house perfectly agrees with its name – it’s a table light. The solar desk light is very flexible and it’s very portable as well. This makes it easy for you to take it anywhere you’re heading. Although it’s a solar desk lamp, this indoor light is not confined to your desk or table. You can use this light in your kitchen, beside your bed, and in any other suitable location within the house. One exciting feature of this lamp is that it doesn’t have a cord but remote accessories- the primary reason it’s easily movable. This is the perfect indoor light because it gives you sufficient lighting for your working or reading areas while not disturbing other people in the house simultaneously. This indoor lamp, like a large selection of solar lights, is very energy-efficient, and it charges quickly. These are enough reasons for anyone to get this light for discreet use at dusk.
- Solar Candles: This light has both indoor and exterior applications. Solar candles make a great alternative light to traditional candlelight. It’s the perfect light to go for if you want to add a rustic appeal to your indoor area. It’s also much safer than traditional candles because live candles emit hot wax and can cause fire outbreaks in the house when the flames come in contact with a curtain or other flammable object. Solar candles, on the other hand, are lights without flames. At the same time, they look exactly like live candles.
- Solar Shed Light: Many homes, especially those in remote areas, have sheds. These structures will need light, and homeowners using solar power ought to install solar shed lights in their sheds to light them up. In many cases, the sheds are located far from the main buildings, and connecting them to the electric grid is an option, but it will mean higher utility bills. Solar shed lights, once installed and set up with their panels, will emit enough lumens to light up your shed and save you additional utility bills. In many instances, the shed light is not used, and it may be a hassle for the owner to reach for the switch in the absence of daylight. The best course of action will be to install a motion sensor and connect it to the indoor solar light. This will make the shed light up each time you open its door and take a few steps in.
- Solar String Light: This light can be used in various areas in the house, such as the patio, balcony, and inside the house as well. The light string kit includes a long cord, mounting hooks, and several bulbs. The cord light is specifically used for decoration purposes.
Benefits of Indoor Solar Light
This warm-white lighting offers homeowners several benefits, which makes them a viable option. These benefits include the following;
- Indoor solar light is very cost-effective: When you put the cost of going solar side by side with that of the conventional electric power supply, solar lighting wins in the long term because the cost of purchasing the components (which includes the batteries and panels) and installing them is virtually the only significant expense you’ll incur. On the other hand, you’ll keep paying for conventional electricity every month for as long as you’re a house owner. Regarding cost-effectiveness between both options, the indoor solar light is the easy choice.
- Indoor solar light is low-maintenance: Besides purchase and installation, maintenance is another significant cost. Fortunately, the solar light doesn’t require much maintenance. The battery that comes with the solar system will require substitution once in 5-7 years; the lamp fixtures can last for a decade or longer before they will require replacement. Lastly, solar panels can last for up to 20 years. Its durability and low maintenance are benefits that many house owners enjoy. When it comes to actual maintenance of the existing elements, all it requires is just a simple cleaning of the panels once in 6 months to clear obstructions from their surface.
- It can reduce environmental pollution: The indoor solar light is an eco-friendly option. Imagine every house and office in the world adopting a solar system for their electricity. It will significantly reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere.
Charging Solar Lights Indoor
The short answer will be no; you don’t necessarily need light from the sun to charge your solar panel. Though the solar panel is designed to convert energy from sunlight to usable electricity for the home, its ability to tap energy from light sources is not restricted to sunlight. This makes it possible for you to charge your solar panel without sunlight and at night.
How? You may ask. It’s simple, really. To charge your indoor solar light, you must expose the solar panel to an artificial warm-white light source, which may be a LED lamp or incandescent light bulb, for some hours. This warm-white light will charge your solar panel indoors. However, light from the sun is unarguably the best to charge your solar panels. The alternative method is best resorted to in the absence of sunlight or at night.
To prevent your indoor solar light from running out of juice at night, ensure it’s exposed to the sun for at least six hours so that the battery can fully charge.
Run Time
The run time of indoor solar lamps varies based on how long it was charged. For a solar system with an empty battery to fully charge, it needs to be exposed to the sun for a minimum of six hours, depending on the intensity of the sun. Once fully charged, the solar light can provide illumination for 6-10 hours.
Why My Indoor Solar Lighting Kit Isn’t Working
If your indoor solar light isn’t working, there could be several reasons for that. The solution depends on the cause. The causes and their respective solutions are listed below;
- The light is turned off: Some indoor solar lights have an on/off switch. Sometimes, your light may not work because it’s switched off. If this is the case, switch it on for it to emit the lumens that will illuminate your home.
- Many solar lights are designed to come on automatically when the sun sets. To simulate darkness, use your hand to cover the panel and see if it will come on. This should work if your light is to designed to work during the daytime.
- Clean the panel: If the panel of your indoor light is dirty, it won’t properly tap energy from the sun, and it may not come on at night. Even if it does, it won’t last for long. So, if your panel is dirty, clean it with a damp, soft cloth. If the dirt is stubborn, mix a mild soap with vinegar and water to clean it.
- The panel is not properly exposed to sunlight: This is a possible reason why your indoor solar light may not work. If the panel is not positioned correctly, you may have to turn it so it can access and accumulate enough energy from the sun.
- If you suspect it’s the solar batteries, but you’re not sure, test your light with regular batteries. If the light comes on with regular batteries, that’s a sign that your solar batteries are the problem and will need to be replaced.
If you’ve tried all the above means and it still isn’t working, then the light itself is faulty. Usually, when you buy solar products from a reputable retailer, the purchase comes with a 1-year warranty. You can contact the retailer and ask for a replacement if this occurs during the warranty period. On the other hand, if your warranty has expired, you’ll have to buy another one.
Is It Ok To Leave Indoor Solar Lights on All Night?
Yes, you can. These devices are low-maintenance so that they can work for long periods without hitches. Besides, these solar lights are designed to come on at sunset and switch off at sunrise without manual assistance.