12 Best Solar Christmas Lights: What to Buy in 2024

Last Updated on December 20, 2023

Create a joyful festive holiday atmosphere with the best solar Christmas lights. 

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Choosing Christmas lights: your options

When it comes to choosing Christmas lights for outdoor and indoor decor, you have three options that depend on which power source the lights will be running:

• conventional (or plug-in) 
• batteries
• solar.

In recent years solar Christmas lights became increasingly popular because of their clear advantages over conventional and battery-operated holiday lights.

Advantages of solar Christmas lights

• energy saving
• eco-friendly
• no outlets or electric cord required
• relatively low risk of catching fire 
• easy to use
• affordable
• safe to touch when lit
• perfect for indoor and outdoor decoration
• quick set-up: just stake a solar panel in the ground and point towards the sun
• set it and forget it: most solar Christmas lights will automatically turn on during night and turn off at day time.

Disadvantages of solar Christmas lights

1) The solar panel needs to be placed where the sun can hit it during the day.You might not find a suitable spot if you want to place lights near the porch with northern exposure sheltered with bushes. And though solar lights do not need direct sunlight to charge, they do require light to power them and the more light shines on the solar panel, the longer the lights will stay lit at night.

2) Longevity of solar lights may be an issue. You can expect your solar lights to last about 3-4 years before they will be unable to maintain charge.

Where to use solar-powered Christmas lights

You can use solar-powered Christmas lights for decorating the outdoor patio, deck, porch, garden, or lawn. 

Solar Christmas string or rope lights can be weaved in fences or balcony railings, hung from trees and bushes, or on roofs and gutters.

You can also wrap solar Xmas lights around mailbox posts, lamp posts, and tree trunks.

Can you decorate with solar Christmas lights indoors?

Yes you can, as long as a solar panel can receive light from sunshine, or from bright lights in your room.

For example, you can decorate your Christmas tree with solar powered Christmas lights if there is a nearby window to place (and better yet – tape) a solar panel to receive sunlight. 

You also can hang solar LED lights from bookshelves, or from the fireplace mantel.

What to look for when buying Solar Christmas lights?

1. Charging and working time of solar lights

First thing to do when buying solar powered Christmas lights is to check two main metrics: charging time of solar lights and working time of solar lights (time the lights stay lit after being fully charged).

Sure you’ll want to get solar lights with the longest possible working time and shortest charging time. Just keep in mind that the numbers given by the manufacturer are approximate. Your solar Christmas  lights will charge faster on the bright sunny day and as a result will stay lit longer. 

Charging and working time of solar lights will depend also on where you can place a solar panel to start with. Will it be on the side of your house with south or north exposure? This will impact sunlight intensity the solar panel will receive and in turn will affect charging and working time of your solar lights.

2. Waterproof rating

Be sure your lights are rated for outdoor use and are waterproof.

Most solar powered Christmas lights sold online have rating IP44 or IP65. Though both ratings are suited for outdoor use, the IP65 rating is better.

A product that has a rating of IP44 means that it is protected against solid objects that are bigger than 1mm and water splashing from all directions.

 IP65 rating means that the product is waterproof and sealed for any dust particles and protected against water projected from a nozzle from any angle.

See IP code rating chart here.

3. Automatic turn on/off

You would want lights that automatically turn on when it’s dark and turn off during the day. Most solar-powered Xmas lights have this feature.

4. Lighted length

You should also pay attention to the lighted length of solar lights, which can run from 10 up to 100 feet, and check how close to each other the lights are placed. 

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5. Light style

Before shopping for solar Christmas lights get familiar with existing light styles and think how a particular style can fit in your outdoor decor.

You can choose from solar powered icicle lights, string lights, net lights, rope lights, spotlights and more.

6. Light color

Solar powered Christmas lights come in many colors: white, red, blue, green, pink, yellow, purple to set a look and mood you are going after. You can also get multicolor lights. 

7. Light modes 

Christmas solar lights usually have a choice of modes: color changing, twinkling, constant, fading, wave, chasing, pulsing, etc. Check if the solar lights you are about to purchase, offer a mode you want among available options.

Also, most solar powered lights have a built-in memory chip that saves your mode settings without having to reset the mode every day.

12 best solar Christmas lights reviews: 

Let’s explore the top 12 solar-powered lights for Christmas decorations. You’ll discover a wide array of styles and light shapes to cater to your decorating preferences.

Are you prepared to be inspired and transform your property into a winter wonderland? Let’s get started!

1. Koxly solar string lights

The advantages:

• Lots of settings and colors to choose from
• Bright and colorful
• Stay on through the night
• Very durable
• Won’t break the budget

The downside 

• Waterproof rating is IP 44, which means the lights  can withstand all kinds of weather: winter, sun, wind, rain, snow, humidity,  but cannot be immersed in water for a long time.

Verdict: Koxly solar string lights light up well with even not much sun. Well worth the money. Great quality for the price.

2. Solar Snowflake Christmas String Lights 

👍

• Simple operation
• Easy to use
• Lots of settings to choose from
• Nice design
• Money back guarantee warranty

👎

• On/off switch is a rubber covered push button, so there is no way to know if it’s on or off before you charge the solar panel and check at night if the lights work.
• Snowflakes are smaller than some buyers expected (each one is 1.6”)
• The lights tangle easily.

3. Solar Star String Lights

👍

• Safe and convenient
• Cute style, will look great for Holidays or for inside and outside year-round decoration 
• 30 day money back and 2 year replacement warranty

👎

• Stars are small
• The lights tangle easily

4. Solar String Lights

👍

• Larger capacity battery (1800mAh) ensures long lights working time
• Super durable
• Waterproof copper wire
• Bright
• Comes wrapped on cylinder:  easy to handle with no tangles

👎

• Lights are losing brightness after a few months

5. Solar Window Curtain String Lights

👍

• Look beautiful
• Great bang for a buck

👎

• Customer reported that the lights lack longevity

6. Meteor Shower/Falling Raindrop Solar Light

👍

• LEDs  turn on and off one by one in sequence creating the effect of the meteor shower or falling snow in the night sky.

👎

• inconsistent quality: some customers report that the lights work for a couple of years, and some complain that the lights are failing after a few months of use.

7. Moroccan Ball Multicolor String Light

👍

• lifespan is more than 50,000 hours
• up to 4 sets can be connected together by waterproof male/female connectors of string lights, so you can run 4 sets together with just one power adapter

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• Inconsistent quality: among ordered multiple sets some sets will work great, some will fail
• Soe customer reported that the lights are not very bright.

8. Solar String Crystal Ball Fairy Lights

👍

• Long lifespan
• Lifetime warranty

👎

• Some consumers reported that the lights will not stay on all night after a few months

9. Lemontec Water Drop Solar Solar String Lights

👍

• Attention grabbing lights : each light is about 4″ long, has different colors and look great at night

👎

• Might fail after time

10. Solar Christmas C6 Strawberry String Lights

👍

• looks cool

👎

• needs really sunny weather and long charging time to work properly

11. Vosaro Solar Christmas Tree Lights

👍

• If you want the simplest and easiest way to decorate your small yard for Christmas – these trees are the easiest solution
• beautiful appearance: made of premium ABS material to simulate  pine and cypress branches
• you get 2 trees – perfect for the driveway or front porch/door entrance decoration
• extremely easy to use
• colors are vibrant and keep charge well

👎

• nothing to report about

12. Solar Flame Torch Lights

👍

• best LED torch lights on the market
• very elegant – great for Christmas and year-round decor to light up path leading to your front door, or stake them around your patio, deck, or pool
•  safe alternative to real “flames”
• “flames” look very real
• stay lit all night
• extremely durable, able to withstand all kinds of weather all year around
• warranty: 45 days money back guarantee, 2 years replacement
• You can get angle brackets to attach them to your walls or deck

👎

• pricey, but worth it.

Do solar Christmas lights really work?

They do.  Just keep in mind that solar powered Christmas lights might appear slightly less bright in comparison with conventional plug-in lights.  But they are still sufficient to put on an enchanting light display and save energy at the same time.

Are solar outdoor lights worth it?

If you aspire to transform your yard into an enchanting wonderland with a dazzling light display, then solar-powered Christmas lights are a compelling choice.

While they may have a slightly higher upfront cost compared to traditional plug-in lights, they remain very affordable. Solar Xmas lights will continue to illuminate your space for years to come. They are remarkably easy to install, requiring no electric outlets or cords to worry about, and they will significantly reduce your electricity expenses

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Best solar Christmas lights