What To Do With Old Solar Lights? 5 Fixing Ideas

This post may contain affiliate links, through which I get a commission. Please read my affiliate disclosure for more info.

If you have solar lights at home which have become old and you are unsure about what to do with old solar lights? then this post is for you.

In this post, I have listed down 5 possible solutions which you can do with your old solar lights. These are easy methods that can bring your old solar light back to life. So let’s look at them.

What Can I Do With Solar Lights That Don’t Work?

There are four possible issues which you might be encountering with your old lights. These are light not working for whole night, led bulbs very dim, a thick layer of dirt/oxidation on the panels, and wear and tear of the solar light’s outer body.

I will go through each issue and try to provide a solution which may rejuvenate your old solar lights.

1. Replace Battery

As you are aware of the fact that solar lights are powered by rechargeable batteries, it is quite possible that batteries of your solar panel may have become weak with time.

With weak batteries, lights may have not be performing to their full potential.

If this is the case, then the best solution will be to replace the batteries of your solar lights setup with new rechargeable batteries.

New solar light batteries will bring new energy in your dying solar lights.

2. Change LED’s

As you know everything in this world has a lifespan. So do LED’s installed in the solar lights.

Since solar lights are everyday use product, the LED’s in them will slowly die. One way to know about it is just looking how bright your LED’s now. If you see their color changed from white to yellow it means it’s time to change.

So the next thing that you can do with your solar lights is to change the LED pack installed in them. If their batteries were working fine, then with new lights you will find them shine again.

3. Remove Oxidation From Panel

With many years in use, the outer side of lights solar panels get covered in the layer of oxidation/dirt. This thick layers prevents solar light from penetrating through PV cells. This will greatly impact their working and charging capacity.

So if you have oxidation layer on your solar lights’s PV panels then it is best to remove the layer.

Pro tip: Using toothpaste can remove oxidation layer from the panels.

4. Donate/Sell Them

If your solar lights have become very old and there is no way to change battery or LED lights, then this will be the best solution in this case.

There are many companies out there which are in the business of recycling electronic products. You can contact one of them and donate/sell your solar lights to them.

5. Use Them As DIY Crafts

If you don’t want to sell or donate them for recycling, then you can use these old solar lights to make DIY craft products for your house.

You can make decorative plant holders, water dispenser for birds, etc. from these aged solar powered lights. There are various videos and websites that contains tutorials on repurposing old solar lights.

In this way, not only your house will become more beautiful but you will contribute in making the earth green.

Conclusion

Solar lights are a great way to light up home and outdoors. But with time their efficiency decreases. Either their battery become weak or the LED’s go out of working.

Whatever the case, you can try changing the rechargeable batteries and LED’s. If that doesn’t help and their condition has become very bad that they can’t be used, then it is best to donate/sell them to a electronic recycling company.

For more information and knowledge on solar lights, you can check my page: solar powered lights.