Choosing Solar Lights - A Look at Batteries

The most important component of any solar light is its solar panel. However, solar powered lights will not be able to function at night without their rechargeable batteries. After all, these batteries are what the sun is charging during the day. Rechargeable batteries in solar powered lights can be used up and then restored to full or partial charge through the application of electrical energy collected during the day through solar panels. AA or AAA Ni-Cd (Nickel-cadmium) and Ni-Mh (Nickel-metal hydride) are most commonly used rechargeable batteries in solar lights today. Some batteries are built in the solar lights, others are included. Either way, you might want to replace them every 2 years or so because even rechargeable batteries go bad eventually. Good news is that, most likely, this will be the only maintenance you will ever have to perform on your solar lights.

So, when your solar powered lights stop performing, perhaps it is time to replace the batteries. When you are looking at rechargeable batteries, make sure to take into account their charge capacity. A typical unit of measurement for rechargeable batteries is mAh (milliampere per hour) which measures the amount of electric charge per hour or, in plain terms, how much electrical charge a battery will hold. It is simple, batteries with higher mAh values will last longer without requiring a recharge. On the flip side, they will also take longer to charge (all day long in full sun should be plenty for batteries with any charge capacity.)