Solar outdoor lights made an appearance on the market a few years ago, and since then they’ve become nearly as diverse in style and design as indoor lights. Lanterns, colourful string baubles, tulip-shaped bollards – there’s now a scintillating choice of solar lights available for pathways, lawns, trees, flower beds, pools, terraces and tables.
Mooni, a Swedish brand released in South Africa earlier this year, offers a particularly elegant range that includes solar lights that look like moon balls, tall tulips and table tea light candles.
“The Mooni lights have been selling well, especially the table lights. The full moon ball is also popular, because you can also put it in the pool,” says Pregs Morgan at the Mica section of the Garden and Lifestyle Centre in Randpark Ridge.
An interesting Mooni is the Aton range, flat-topped bollards in green and black, the base of which you fill with water or sand to stabilise it. It works well next to a swimming pool.
Another good range of solar lights is from Eurolux, and leading in sales at Garden and Lifestyle Centre is its Garden Shepherd Lantern. “People like it because it looks like an old-fashioned street lamp,” says Morgan. The company’s tulip-shaped solar lights, ideal for illuminating a flower display or greenery, are also a hit, he says.
Eurolux’s South African director, Shaun Bouchier, says the variety of solar lights on the market is a direct response to customer demand. “Our solar lights have done phenomenally well this year, exceeding all expectations.”
For something different, World Gaia has produced an interesting version of solar bubbles, which are made to look like a shrub with white berries. This light is made up of four “stems”, each with six LED “bubbles” that can be shaped to any desirable form. The stems can be hidden in shrubbery, and the solar panel can be placed up to two metres away.
Gaia’s Saturn solar lantern is also an eye-catching piece, emitting soft yellow light through circular slats. And for whimsical solar lights that emulate real flowers, take a look at the Tordl range, which sells online through www.dinodirect.com
“Decorative solar lighting gives outdoor areas a magical feel. They make your garden inviting at night, and without adding a cent to your monthly electricity bills,” says Melissa Davidson from The Lighting Warehouse, which introduced the Mooni range to its stores earlier this year.
A hot-selling South African-made solar light is the Consol glass solar jar, which is perfect for an outdoor table and can be livened up by putting colourful objects inside the jar.
“They work really well as gifts for men, especially if they like going camping,” says Harald Schulz of Suntoy, which makes the solar parts for the jar.
The concept behind solar lights is simple. Each light has a mini cell on the top that collects energy during daylight hours and stores it until the sun goes down. After dark, the energy is slowly released to the LED bulb, which emits light until the battery runs flat. They can be left to recharge the next day, so no “on” and “off” switching is required.
They also don’t require any wiring, so you simply place the light in the spot where you want it, usually by staking the unit into the soil.
* To find stores selling Eurolux products, visit www.eurolux.co.za
* Mooni sells mainly through Mica and Lighting Warehouse stores.
* To find stores selling Gaia solar lights, visit www.worldgaia.com.
You can also buy Gaia online through www.shopmania.co.za or www.sustainable.co.za
* To find stores selling miSolar, visit www.misolar.co.za
* Consol solar jars are sold through a number of stores including Mica and may be ordered online at www.consol.co.za