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Solar powered lights are taking the place of traditional lamps, which offer better quality and durability. That is why it has been popular in the last decade. As it is a new technology, people have many doubts regarding solar lamps. Some of them ask, can solar-powered lights catch fire?

Solar-powered lights use lithium-ion batteries, which pose the risk of catching fire. Lithium-ion batteries are very volatile and combustible. Sometimes they may lead to overheating, which increases the risk of catching fire.

I do not recommend buying cheap solar powered outdoor lights at lower price ranges. If you want to decorate your garden or backyard, please use branded products that come with a warranty.

In this article, we are going to discuss more the causes and solutions of this problem. It does not often happen. That is why it is negligible. However, it would be better if you learned the reasons for such accidents. 

Can Solar Powered Fairy Lights Catch Fire?

We need to explore how it works and the different types of batteries to answer this question. What is the reason behind it?

Working Process of Solar Lights

Solar lights store electricity. If you separate different parts of solar lights, you can find that there are one or more batteries that store electricity for night use. A solar panel captures the sunlight and produces energy through a photovoltaic system. The smart controller uses auto-cut technology to prevent overheating of batteries.

Modern solar string lights use Lithium-based batteries, which are combustible. There are some other batteries, such as Lithium Nickel-metal hybrid and nickel-cadmium.

Sometimes if you buy cheap quality products, they come with faulty smart controllers, which cannot prevent overheating and leads to fire. 

3 Battery Types of Solar Lights

You have to understand the manufacturers’ point of view. They use a lithium-ion battery because it performs better than other batteries. Please read the difference between these batteries so that you can understand why manufacturers use Lithium-ion batteries.

Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) Battery

Nickel Cadmium batteries are not long-lasting, and they cannot use the full capacity of their cells. That is why if the manufacturer uses this battery, it may not fulfill the expectation of the buyers. 

Brands understand that you want a long-lasting battery for better performance. That is why they do not use Nickel-cadmium batteries.

Nickel Metal Hybrid (NiMh) Battery

Nickel metal hybrid batteries have the same issue. It is not efficient in extreme temperatures, and runtime can also be shortened. If manufacturers use this battery, then you have to replace it within a few months, and that also hurts brand reputation in this competitive market. That is why most manufacturers do not prefer this battery.

Lithium-ion Battery

It stores more energy within a small package, but it is volatile, so it has a high risk of catching fire. Besides that, the battery is cheap, so it lowers the production cost for the manufacturer and provides a better user experience. That is why they use this battery in their products. 

You do not have to worry about short circuits if you are using a Lithium-ion battery because the incident of catching fire is very negligible.

Do Not Buy Cheaply Manufactured Solar String Lights

In the world of online shopping, many people fall into the trap of luring deals and discounts which come with faulty parts and pose a higher risk of such accidents.

Many new brands come into the market to sell their products in a lower price range. They usually take shortcuts in the manufacturing process.

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Sometimes they use cheaper photovoltaic cells and LEDs, which can be defective within a few months. Sometimes you cannot detect the fault, but it leads to bursting into flames and other issues.

I recommend buying branded products that last long and provide the full value of your investment.

How to Reduce the Risk of Solar Power Light Catching Fire?

If you are using it, you can reduce the risk of catching fire by following ways.

• Please use a branded product. They make their product with high-quality materials to reduce the risk of such accidents.
• You may buy products by reading Amazon reviews, but believe me, you should not do it. Please do your own research before picking up the high-quality lights which will not catch fire.
• Do not go for cheap options because the battery and photovoltaic cells can be faulty. You should not expect cheap products to provide value to your garden or decoration. 
• Investing in good-quality lights may seem to be costly, but they last longer and provide the full value of your investment.
• When not in use, please keep the lights switched off because it avoids the risk of overheating batteries. Sometimes many experts suggest you keep your solar products switched on while charging, but if you are using cheap quality products, you should not do it because it leads to the risk of overheating. 
• Always mount your solar lamp where there are no structures, wood, or trees that can catch fire.

To sum up, I must tell you that the risk of catching fire is very negligible. If you are using branded products, do not worry about catching fire. However, please remember that you should not overuse it or do not keep it switched on all the time. If you have any questions regarding this, please comment down below. I am here to clear your doubt.

Frequently Asked Questions