The Benefits of Solar
For garden and outdoor lighting, solar has several key advantages including portability, and no need to need an electrician to install the lights and connect them to the mains as well as the added flexibility that non mains lights offer.
Modern lights are very efficient, using low voltage LEDs that use very little power, giving much improved working ranges with comparatively small solar panels.
Lights are made for a wide range of applications, from sealed units designed for garden decking, string fairy lights, spot lights, ambient lighting for flower beds, security lighting, pathway lighting, lamp post style etc.
The most important factor is to avoid cheap, low quality units because the technology required needs a good quality panel and quality batteries to work well.
Many people buy their lights off the internet, using lower cost international vendors who sell cheaper units that are not optimized to work well in UK weather conditions.
If you want your lights to work then spend a little more on equipment that was designed for our, overcast, oft raining weather and you will have lights that shine all night long!
Good quality solar lights will last for several years and the only issue you should encounter is a lack of efficiency in battery life, but otherwise they will continue to function as new.