These days, solar lights are becoming more and more popular among a large number of homeowners. They are not only cost-effective, but they also allow you to save and protect Mother Earth.
However, solar lights may not work as they should and may cause you a lot of hassle, depending on the time of the day when they start malfunctioning. Finding out that your new solar lights are not working can be quite stressful.
You know that you can resolve your solar lights’ issues by using a few simple tricks?
The good news is that you can fix these problems by yourself even if you’re not a tech-savvy person. We’re going to take you through some tips and tricks that may be useful if your new solar lights won’t work.
Tips To Ensure Your Solar Street Light Is Working Properly
There are moments when your solar street lights may not work even if they are not damaged.
1. Check If They Are Turned On
Make sure the lights are turned on. Believe it or not, there are solar lights with on and off switches. These are some of the simplest things that may go unnoticed. So, make sure they’re turned on if your solar lights don’t work. Not all of them have an on/off switches, but some have.
If yours has no on/off switch, it should turn on instantly during the sunset. If not, let’s keep moving to the next suggestion.
2. Check The Batteries
Check through the battery compartment to see if there is a pull tab. Most of the batteries used by solar lights come with a pull tab. The light only operates when that tab is closed. Make sure you remove the pull tab contained in your battery compartment.
At some point, the battery is easy to break down. The battery produced by some suppliers is not waterproof, which would cause short-circuit voltage if water enters the battery compartment. Please check the battery cautiously when inspecting it.
Most of the time, solar lights are not functioning due to faulty batteries. Either the batteries will not accept the charge or the charge cannot be held in. To check this, you should replace them with regular batteries. If the LED lamp works with regular batteries, then you can continue to determine if the issues are caused by the rechargeable batteries or by the solar panel itself.
3. Check For Any Damage Of The Circuit
If the solar street light works during the day and can not be turned off, then the controller may have some components that are damaged, or the day night sensor is not working (if your device uses such a sensor to save energy).
4. Check The Solar Panel
Solar panel producing free and clean energy, image source: image.freepik.com
The solar panel works during the day to charge the battery and that energy is then used during the night to light the area using the LED lamp. To be sure that the energy produced by the panel is used to charge the battery, the LED lamp will not work during the day.
To be sure that the LED lamp works during the night, you should simulate darkness to see if it starts working. You can either use your hands or a dark cloth to stop the light from reaching the solar panel.
5. Clean The Solar Panel
Keep your solar panels clean, image source: freepik.com
Solar panels capture the sunlight to charge the batteries that power the lights. Therefore, if the panel is covered by a thin layer of dust or even dirt, it will significantly decrease the efficiency of the panel. If the efficiency of the panel is reduced because the panel is dirty, this will affect the light produced by the LED lamp and its capacity to illuminate the area. You should always keep your solar panel clean by wiping it when necessary.
6. Reposition The Solar Panel
Try to reposition the solar panel to be fully exposed to sunlight.
If you live in the Northern hemisphere, the panel should face south at the right angle, and if you live in the Southern hemisphere, your panel should face North to get full exposure to the sun.
The position of the panel plays a major role in its efficiency, so never place your panel in a shady area because this way the energy produced will be minimal, and the lights will work with reduced capacity during the night.
7. Turn It Off And Let It Charge For 72 Hours
If none of the above tips work for you, try letting it go through a “deep charge“.
All you have to do is to turn off the solar light and let it charge for a couple of days (up to 72 hours). The battery will charge even if the LED lamp is turned off, so by letting the battery to fully charge, you can solve the issues with the low lighting capacity of the LED lamp.
8. Get In Touch With The Retailer
The manufacturer or the supplier of your solar street light can have a product-specific advice for you, so give him a phone call to see if it has assistance for your product.
This is the last option. You can call and ask for assistance from your supplier over the phone. Every product has a particular function that only the supplier can know it. They can look into the item and find a way to address the issues quickly.
You can always consider seeking the assistance of a specialist to make things work better. Make sure to check the warranty of your solar lights before you buy them. The best street light suppliers will provide you with a 12-month or longer warranty.
Conclusion
Many consumers and homeowners easily get frustrated and stressed because of the sudden malfunctioning of their solar lights.
But before you give up, take some time and go through the above steps and see what you can do to solve the issue.
Now that you are familiar with the tricks to troubleshoot your solar street light, it’s time to get your hands dirty and start fixing by yourself!
