Will Solar Powered Lights Catch on Fire?

More and more people love spending fall evenings in their backyard or having dinner on the patio on a warm summer night. Solar lights can add much needed extra lighting and ambiance to a location, but a common worry is can they catch on fire? Some manufacturers of solar-powered lights have faced criticism for manufacturing faulty lights that cause batteries to overheat and ultimately. So the answer to the question is yes.

Since solar-powered lights get their energy from small solar panels that charge batteries, the fire risk is very low. Solar Lights with lithium-ion batteries are most likely to catch fire, this mainly due to highly reactive materials and lithium salts used in their construction.

While the risk of fire is extremely low, there are some things you should know about solar-powered lighting that can help them last as long as possible and make the already low risk even lower.

Can Solar Lighting Get Hot And Catch On Fire?

Solar lighting can put off a little heat, compared to a heat of a standard light bulb in your house light fixtures, the heat produced from solar lights are negligible.

This heat isn’t enough to set your lighting on fire. If fires happen it’s typically due to the batteries that hold the energy from the sunlight.

Batteries made from volatile or cheap materials can put off more heat than they are supposed to and melt the housing the lights are in. If this housing is located near a brush pile or non-treated wooden structures, then the excessive heat from the melting housing could start a fire.

What Are The Most Common Batteries Used In Solar Lighting?

Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) – This is the new player in battery tech. They are more powerful and show no signs of the memory effect. Their downside is that they are made with materials such as lithium salts and non-dense metals, making them much more volatile.

Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) – This was the technology that replaced Ni-CD batteries. Ni-MH lasted nearly 40% longer than Ni-CD batteries but didn’t have nearly the temperature endurance. These batteries still suffer from the memory effect but to a lesser extent.

Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) – This is the least popular, mainly due to it being older technology that is gradually being phased out. It has a wide range of temperatures(-30°C to +50°C) it can operate in, which is what made it popular in the first place, but it has a high memory effect which means that over time the battery does not utilize the full capacity of its cells.

Rechargable Batteries for solar powered lights

Reducing the Risk of Fire

Choose the best quality to reduce the risk of catching fire, quality solar lights from trusted manufacturers are recommended. These usually have no defects and are therefore less prone to catching fire. True, they may cost you a bit more, but in the end, they are a worthy investment.

Buy your solar powered lights from a reputable retailer. Such retailers use high-quality materials to make their lights and this will reduce the risk of them catching fire.

Think more where you are going to place / mount your lights. If a light does catch fire in the middle of the garden the most that you will loose will be the light itself but a burning light attached to a wooden fence could cause a lot more damage to your property and possibly people.

Conclusion

Yes, Solar powered lights are at risk of catching fire. More often with the ones fitted with Lithium ion batteries. The risk is however relatively low and can be avoid by following a few simple precautions when choosing your lights and the location of installation. Want's to learn more? Click here: