Do solar lights need electricity?
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If you are thinking of installing solar lights in your home or outdoor garden than this question might be hitting your head. The question is do solar lights need electricity?
Through this post I will try to answer the question for you.
Short answer: No solar lights do not need grid electricity in general but the LED lights installed in the equipment requires electricity to shine.
This is made possible by the use of rechargeable batteries inside the product.
why do solar lights need batteries?
As you might be aware of this fact that solar applications like solar lights converts sunlight(photons) into electrical energy[1]. This electricity is in the form of DC current.
But where the electricity generated from the photovoltaic cells will be stored? Here comes the rechargeable batteries.
Electricity generated from the photovoltaic panels of the solar light is stored in the form of electrical charge inside the batteries.
This electrical charge which is stored inside the batteries is again used to power solar lights during the night.
Solar lights use portable AA rechargeable batteries[2] to supply energy to the LED bulbs.
why aA batteries for solar lights?
Double-A aka AA batteries are single celled cylindrical shaped dry batteries. They are the most common type of batteries which are used in portable electronic devices like solar lights.
The AA-battery was introduced in the market by the Eveready battery company in the year 1907[3].
AA batteries come under two variants.
- Rechargeable
- Non- rechargeable
In solar lights rechargeable AA batteries are used for storing electric charge because of their ability to recharge again after charge drain.
Rechargeable AA batteries has three variants with different chemical compositions. These are nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion.
Out of these three the most common one is NiMH rechargeable batteries. That is because they have a very low self-discharge rate as compared to the other two.
There voltage varies from 1.2v(NiCd, NiMh) to 3.5v(Li-ion).
| Type | Voltage(v) | mAh |
|---|---|---|
| NiCd | 1.2 | 600-1000 |
| NiMH | 1.2 | 600-2750 |
| Li-ion | 3.50-3.70 | 600-1600 |
Related: NiCd Vs NiMH rechargeable batteries for solar lights.
Rechargeable Battery Manufacturer Companies?
There are many companies which manufacture rechargeable AA batteries. Famous ones are Duracell and Energizer.
Can solar lights work without batteries?
It is like imagining a body without heart! Since solar lights are used in the night therefore there has to be something to store electric charge during the day.
If there will be no charge storing application than there is no way solar lights can work in the night.
Therefore, No solar lights cannot work without batteries.
Do solar lights need to be plugged in? conclusion
Solar lights use electric energy stored in the batteries to light up. They do not require to be connected to any external power source to work.
For more such content on solar batteries check my page: solar lights batteries.