Best Hanging Solar Lights for Trees

Hanging solar lights for trees, patios, ground or other outdoor places are a great way to decorate your garden or yard. When they are powerful enough they can also offer some actually bright light during the night and have a practical effect over your evening events and occasions.

They can also be brought indoors during the evening to create a more romantic or artistic ambiance for a dinner party.

As long as they are kept under direct sunlight during the day so that their batteries can fully recharge, hanging solar lights can be a great addition for any home.

	Image	Name	Our Rating	Purchase
1of 10		Aobik Hanging Solar Lights for Trees	4.5 READ OUR REVIEW	CHECK PRICEon amazon.com
2of 10		TomCare Decorative Solar Lights	4.5 READ OUR REVIEW	CHECK PRICEon amazon.com
3of 10		MAGGIFT Solar Tree Lights	4.5 READ OUR REVIEW	CHECK PRICEon amazon.com
4of 10		Twinkle Star Hanging Solar Lantern for Garden	4 READ OUR REVIEW	CHECK PRICEon amazon.com
5of 10		Tomshine LED Solar Powered Hanging Lights	3.5 READ OUR REVIEW	CHECK PRICEon amazon.com
6of 10		Tian Guan Hanging Garden Lights	3.5 READ OUR REVIEW	CHECK PRICEon amazon.com
8of 10		Solpex Hanging Lantern Solar Lights	3.5 READ OUR REVIEW	CHECK PRICEon amazon.com
9of 10		Luwint Hanging Solar Garden Lights	3.5 READ OUR REVIEW	CHECK PRICEon amazon.com
10of 10		Sogrand Hanging Solar Powered Tree Lights	3.5 READ OUR REVIEW	CHECK PRICEon amazon.com

Typically advertised for people with large yards and gardens, hanging solar lights have a lot of other uses as well. Their traditional purpose is to create a nice decoration for your yard or to supply it with addition eco-friendly lighting. However, they are also great for people who live in apartments and have nice, open balconies. Apartments, particularly ones that are above the local tree line, often receive a very strong and direct sunlight during the day, which recharges the hanging solar lights very efficiently – much more so than in some gardens that have trees over them. During the night, the hanging solar lights can either keep your balcony well-lit and create a pleasant atmosphere on it or they can be brought indoors to decorate your living room.

Whether for a house or an apartment, hanging solar lights are suitable mostly for towns, states, and countries where there is a lot of direct sunlight during the day. The day doesn’t need to be that long – most hanging solar lights need about 6 hours of direct sunlight but said light needs to be strong and powerful to fully recharge the batteries of the devices.

If you have the suitable conditions where you live and you’d like to purchase a set of hanging solar lights for your yard, garden, patio or balcony, this article will hopefully help you choose the best ones for your situation. There are a lot of subpar products on the market at the moment, but we’ve prepared a Top 3 and a Top 10 list of good products for you to choose from. We’ve also accompanied these lists with a quick guide on how to buy the most suitable lights for your situation, how to use them, and how to properly take care of them.

So, let’s kick things off with the Top 3 best hanging solar lights:

 

TOP 3 BEST HANGING SOLAR LIGHTS FOR TREES

1. Aobik Hanging Solar Lights for Trees

Let’s start our list with these hanging solar lights for trees from Aobik. These hanging lantern solar lights come in a pack of 4 mason jars. Each jar contains 30 LED lights and a comfortable hanger.

The jars are very nice as hanging solar lanterns for garden or patio events and other outdoor places. Beware, however, that the jars aren’t sealed shut and waterproof (even though they claim to be), so if you want to use them outdoors, you’ll have to seal them off yourself. The light from these LED solar hanging lantern jars is soft and white, it doesn’t flicker, it doesn’t irritate or annoy, and creates a nice ambiance wherever you use it.

What’s more, the jars have a very artistic design that makes for a simple but beautiful decoration. The Aobik hanging solar garden lights also require no supervision – they turn On and Off automatically thanks to their excellent light sensor. When it gets dark, they’ll turn On, and when it becomes light enough, they will turn Off. These decorative hanging solar lights need about 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight to charge on a 100% and can remain lit for 10 to 12 hours. If you want to keep the lights turned off, the light switch is underneath the lid.

This Aobik product is among the best outdoor hanging lights for even more reasons – the lights are very easy and simple to set up, and they are impressively safe to use with their low voltage of just 1.2v. These solar-powered tree lights use rechargeable AAA batteries that come included with them. To make matters even better, Aobik offers great customer service if you run into any problems.

2. TomCare Decorative Solar Lights

Another candidate or the “Best outdoor hanging lights” award, these TomCare Decorative Solar Lights have a gorgeous design that will enlighten any occasion you might need them for. Their light resembles a flickering flame which allows these solar tree lanterns to create a nice, enriching atmosphere in your home, patio or garden.

These TomCare individual hanging solar lights are waterproof and are made out of ABS plastic. This means that you’ll no longer have to worry about hanging them on the outside when it’s raining, snowing or frosting – they will keep working as long as there is enough sunlight to recharge them during the day.

These TomCare solar tree lights require about 6 hours of exposure to sunlight to get fully charged and they can stay lit for up to 10 hours during the night when fully charged.

Thanks to coming with a durable hanging lamp and a circular ring, these hanging solar lights for trees are very easy to install anywhere you want. Aside from having an On / Off switch that’s under the lid, once these decorative solar lights are turned On, they can automatically regulate themselves.

When it’s light outside, they will turn themselves Off and start recharging and as soon as it gets dark, they will turn themselves On and start lighting everything around them.

3. MAGGIFT Solar Tree Lights

Another cool alternative to cheap track lighting are these MAGGIFT Solar Tree Lights. The pack includes two of them and they have a gorgeous retro design that’s great for any outdoor garden or patio situation. The lanterns are made out of lantern (with a white finish) and plastic and they provide a subtle and soft light.

Each lantern contains 4 LED lumens and has measures of 6 x 6 x 6.7 inches. The whole design of these lanterns is made to resemble ancient lanterns so it includes some random but deliberate defects in the iron casting.

Aside from the On and Off switch that in the lanterns’ cover, these lamps also have an automatic function that allows them to turn themselves On at dusk and turn Off at dawn. They power up throughout the day if they are placed under direct sunlight which makes them a great energy-saving lighting solution. Each lantern also includes a AAA 400mAh NI-MH battery that can last for up to 8 hours during the night if it has charged up sufficiently throughout the day.

These MAGGIFT solar tree lights also come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee warranty that has a 180 days period. If are not satisfied with the product or have any questions, MAGGIFT are always ready to provide top quality customer support.

OTHER PRODUCTS TO CONSIDER

Hanging solar lights for trees is one of those product categories that includes literally thousands of different products. The vast majority of them are, unfortunately, subpar in quality but there are still plenty of good ones to fill more than just a Top 3 list.

That’s why we’ve also included the next 7 best products we found for a more extensive Top 10 list in case you want to see more options. These next 7 products didn’t quite make it into our Top 3 for one reason or another, but they are all still very nice and top-quality products.

4. Twinkle Star Hanging Solar Lantern for Garden

If you are looking for a pack of multiple solar lanterns, this Twinkle Star set includes 8 pieces. Each has measures of 2.5 x 2.5 x 5 inches, which makes them rather small in size and that’s our main problem with this product. Other than that, they all have a gorgeous design, they turn On and Off automatically at dusk and at down, and they are waterproof, which makes them suitable for outdoor use.

5. Tomshine LED Solar Powered Hanging Lights

This Tomshine LED outdoor hanging light lantern has a gorgeous tree leaf design that is perfect for gardens, patios and other outdoor situations. The lantern is waterproof and has a long lifespan under adequate conditions. It can turn itself On and Off automatically depending on the lighting around it. It also comes with a 180 days warranty for guaranteed satisfaction. Each lantern needs to be purchased separately, however.

6. Tian Guan Hanging Garden Lights

For something more unique, Tian Guan offers these Hanging Garden Lights. These LED strings are shaped like a pineapple which makes them look rather cute together with their green leaves. They are also waterproof, which means that you can use them outdoors in your yard, garden, patio, etc. They turn On and Off automatically at dusk and at dawn, so they are also very easy to use. They are made to serve more of a decorative function, however, so don’t expect too much brightness out of them.

7. Solpex Hanging Lantern Solar Lights

These waterproof hanging solar lanterns from Solpex come in a set of 8. They are colored in different bright colors if that’s what you want to decorate your garden or yard with. Each needs to be charged for 6 – 8 hours under direct sunlight and can remain bright for up to 5 – 8 hours at night. These globes are quite bright so they can work for actual lighting, but their batteries need to be replaced frequently if you use then non-stop, even though they are rechargeable.

8. Luwint Hanging Solar Garden Lights

Luwint brings us something with a bit more modern feel to it. Their LED hanging solar garden lights include LED panels manufactured in Germany. Each includes an AA 600 mAh battery that recharges under direct sunlight and a LED bulb that has a lifetime of up to 100,000 hours. These lanterns provide soft and pleasant lights in different primal colors. However, each pack includes only one lantern so you’ll have to purchase several to create a truly memorable ambiance.

9. Sogrand Hanging Solar Powered Tree Lights

These hanging solar light balls from Sogrand round up our Top 10 list of the best hanging solar lights for trees. They are waterproof and can be used in all types of weather thanks to their stainless steel material. You can hang them easily anywhere you want as long as there is enough direct sunlight to recharge them during the day. Each light can stay bright for up to 10 hours per night if it gets properly charged up throughout the previous day. They are rather small, however, so they are more for decoration than anything else.

A QUICK BREAKDOWN OF HANGING SOLAR LIGHTS FOR TREES

Hanging solar lights for trees, patios, balconies and other such locations are a great way to decorate your garden or yard. They come in various different shapes and sizes, as well as in many different designs. A hanging solar light can be anything from a simple rechargeable light bulb that you just hang somewhere or a large, intricate lantern with multiple LED lights in it.

Smaller hanging solar lights are usually intended to be used in large quantities of several dozen or more, and be placed all over the trees, fence, sides of the house, and so on. Bigger, more intricate and more powerful hanging lanterns usually come in sets of 2 – 4 or even just individually, and are meant as a sparse but impressive decoration.

Some hanging solar lights have more modern and clear designs, using bright colors are clear glass dome shapes. Other solar hanging lanterns can have more retro or even ancient designs and be reminiscent of different cultures – Asian lanterns, Oriental lanterns, Greek / Roman lanterns, and so on.

Which you prefer and choose is entirely up to you with some customers buying their hanging solar lights with the intention of using them only in specific circumstances, while others want their solar lights to shine every night of the year.

Whichever design, shape, size or model you choose, as long as they are of a high enough quality and receive plenty of sunlight during the day, hanging solar lights can offer a nice decoration for your home and night during the night.

And that’s how these simple devices work – they include solar lights (usually LED) that recharge from the sunlight during the day and that can discharge said energy after dusk. Each light typically includes a rechargeable battery that powers it and that needs about 6 – 8 hours of direct (and strong) sunlight each day. Keep in mind, of course, that rechargeable batteries don’t last forever and they too need to be replaced eventually. If you are using your hanging solar light or lantern every night then you might need to change its batteries as often as once every several months.

Also remember that the life of a battery – rechargeable or not – depends on other factors as well, not just on its use. Batteries tend to expire more quickly depending on the temperatures they are exposed to. When they are frequently under a lot of heat or in a very cold environment, batteries’ life can be shorted several times.

The optimal operating temperature for a battery depends on the chemistry and brand it is made of but most batteries fair best in temperatures of about 15°C and have a recommended temperature range of use of -20 to 60°C.

So, as long as you’ve chosen a product of high enough quality with good enough batteries that are well-suited for your climate, and as long as you use them in a proper way, you’ll be well set to enjoy your hanging solar lights for a long time.

And if this brief explanation has led you to the conclusion that you don’t actually want to use hanging solar lights, the market offers a lot of alternative products. There are plenty of electrical garden lights, ground projectors, tree or patio lights, and so on. These can all offer brighter and more powerful lighting than most hanging solar lights because they are typically connected to a power outlet or have powerful non-rechargeable batteries in them. The drawback, of course, is that they consume a lot of electricity, they are harder to set up, they pose fire hazards, and so on. So, for a simple decoration and a pleasant, soft light, an eco-friendly solar hanging light is often a great choice.

 

BUYING GUIDE

Since hanging solar lights are used mostly for decoration, choosing and buying ones involves mostly subjective factors – which ones you like visually, which ones match the theme and style you are looking for, and so on. However, there are still some rather objective considerations you need to keep in mind if you don’t want to be disappointed with your purchase. Here’s a quick rundown on what to look and think for when buying hanging solar lanterns:

• Size matters. The pictures most manufacturers use to promote their hanging solar lights (or most other products, to be honest) are usually not in scale. This means that they often make small lights look bigger than they actually are and deceive you into buying them. That’s why it’s important to read carefully what the exact measurements of the lights are – it’s perfectly fine to get smaller solar lights if that’s what you want, as long as you know what you are getting.
• How many lights do you need? Some packs of hanging solar lights come with 4, 8, 12 or even more individual lights in them. Others come as just individual hanging lanterns. If you just want to test a product out it makes sense to buy just one and see how it works first. However, if you want to decorate an entire garden you typically need much more hanging solar lights to use at once and buying them in bulk packs is often much cheaper.
• The design is important. Obviously, whatever lights you choose to get they need to suit your fancy. However, keep in mind that the design is important for more than just its visual appearance. These products are solar lights, meaning that they need direct sunlight to recharge properly. So, while some enclosed design with a lot of metal or plastic ornaments over the LED lights might make them look good, they can also prevent direct sunlight from properly reaching the LED lights during the day. Keep this in mind when making your purchase and choose hanging solar lights that are both beautiful and practical.
• Do you want your hanging solar lights to be bright or soft? A lot of users cite the weak light of their hanging solar lanterns as a negative, but it is often an intentional effect. A lot of customers look for handing solar lights as just decoration and not as actual lighting tools. So, for them, it makes sense to buy weaker lights as they won’t be too obtrusive. In other words, before making a purchase, make sure you research carefully whether the product you’re about to buy offers a brighter or a softer light and which one you would prefer.
• Are the lights waterproof? Most hanging solar lights are intended for outdoor use, however, not all of them are waterproof. This could be all right if it doesn’t rain too often where you live, however, it can also mean that you’ll have to waterproof your lights yourself or that you’ll have to place them under a cover. These variants can not only be troublesome to execute but they can also reduce the amount of direct sunlight the solar lantern is going to receive.
• What batteries are the lights using? Most people ignore this factor, but as we mentioned, different batteries have a different shelf life, different use time, and different temperatures under which they operate optimally. So, especially if you live in a place with too high or too low average temperatures, it makes sense to buy a product with batteries that are better suited for your environment. It’s very common for people to buy hanging solar lights with the “wrong” batteries for their climate and then to complain that the lights expire too quickly.
• Quality is vital. As with any other product, you really want to buy products of high quality only. Even when they are more expensive than average, they are just worth their money, where subpar products are usually just a waste. Finding a top quality product in a niche that’s filled with a garbage can be hard and time-consuming, so prepare yourself for reading a metric ton of customer reviews and industry professional reviews. The former can include a lot of inaccuracies, subjective opinions, insufficient context, and so on, while the latter can sometimes be biased. However, if you read enough of both you are bound to eventually get a clear picture of which products are worth buying and which are not. If you need further help with discerning the quality of a product you can also take a look at its brand. Brands don’t mean everything in this niche, but they are still a relatively good indicator of quality. Here are the brands we’d recommend: Beinhome, Aobik, Luwint, Industrial Rewind, MAGGIFT, Twinkle Star, Sogrand, Tomshine, Tian Guan, TomCare, and others.

 

OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT HANGING SOLAR LIGHTS FPR TREES

It’s intuitive to think that hanging solar lights are better suited for countries and areas with a more tropical or moderate climate that have long days and shorter nights. This, however, is kind of wrong. Countries and places that are nearer to the poles are actually excellent for hanging solar lights for one main reason – the sun there is lower.

When the sun is high in the sky it shines on your hanging lights from above, which sounds nice at first but is actually often impractical. Because you’re usually hanging your solar lights from something – a tree, a patio’s roof, etc. – this usually makes it harder for light to reach it from above. Add to that that you often want to cover your hanging light to protect it from rain and snow, and your hanging lantern actually needs sunlight that comes from the side.

And that’s exactly what the further northern or southern parts of the hemispheres provide – a lower hanging sun that will shine over your hanging solar lantern from the side for many hours.

Even just 6 hours of sunlight are enough for good hanging solar lights, as long as the sunlight falls on them directly and is bright enough.

Also, keep in mind that you can actually make your own hanging solar lights if you want. You can purchase miniature solar LED lights or bulbs from any lighting store and you can use them to design your own DIY hanging lantern. With the right skills and materials, you can make some really beautiful and unique things that will be much more personal than anything you can purchase. Of course, the “right skills” part is crucial, since you don’t want to make something that will break down easily, nor something that will light your garden on fire.

LIVING WITH AND USING HANGING SOLAR LIGHTS FOR TREES

Using hanging solar lights for trees is all about finding the right location for them. Hanging your solar lantern underneath a tree makes for a beautiful decoration, but if the lantern isn’t receiving enough sunlight during the day, it won’t recharge well enough and either won’t be bright enough during the night hours or will be bright for just a couple of hours.

That’s why these products are best suited for open yards, patios or balconies that receive plenty of sunlight throughout the day. One of the greatest mistakes hanging solar lights manufacturers make is that they don’t market them to people who live in apartments. Apartments are usually above the tree line and receive ample sunlight which means that a hanging solar lantern can be fully charged every night and you can either leave it on the balcony, as a beautiful decoration or bring it indoors for a nice, soft and pleasant lighting.

Another way in which the location of your hanging solar light or lantern is important is its exposure to the natural elements. Most solar lanterns are advertised as waterproof, as “resistant to snow, rain, wind and frosting”, and so on, but the truth of the matter is that you’d still rather not have your hanging light rained upon. This means that even a waterproof hanging solar light with a good hanger is still best placed under a cover, as long as it can still get good 6 – 8 hours of direct sunlight each day.

Aside from that, as long as you keep them safe and remember to change their batteries regularly (even though they are rechargeable, they still need to be replaced from time to time), a good set of hanging solar lights or lanterns can serve you fatefully and effectively for years to come.

 

CONCLUSION

With all this out of the way, it’s rather clear that hanging solar lights have their uses, as well as their problems. If you purchase a set of subpar lights or if you don’t use them correctly, they will neither offer sufficient lighting for your needs nor will they make for a nice decoration. However, if you can provide the hanging lights for the circumstances they need to operate optimally, they can easily provide your yard, garden, patio or balcony with great and practical decoration.

So, to wrap things up, here are the Top 3 best hanging solar lights for trees we’d suggest you check out first:

The Aobik Hanging Solar Lights for Trees come in a pack of 4 mason jars, each filled with 20 soft LED lights and adorned with a hanger. They also come with their own rechargeable AAA batteries. As one of the best solar lights for trees products, these jars need 6 – 8 hours of direct sunlight per day to be recharged and can keep being lit for 10 – 12 hours per night. If you want to turn them off altogether, they have an On and Off switch underneath the lid. These Aobik don’t flicker and thanks to their artistic design they provide a beautiful ambiance for any occasion. They are not 100% waterproof, however, so make sure to seal them off yourself if you want to use them outdoors.

The TomCare Decorative Solar Lights are a great alternative to other similar hanging solar globe lights for outdoor use. They are made out of a waterproof ABS plastic which means that they can keep working under various weather conditions such as rain, snow, frosting, or others. They have a beautiful lantern design that simulates a living fire which also sets them aside from traditional hanging solar globes. The flickering “fire” light creates a pleasant atmosphere wherever you use it. These hanging solar light bulbs can also turn themselves On and Off automatically, depending on the lighting in their environment.

The MAGGIFT Solar Tree Lights come in a pack of two. They have a beautiful retro design made out of metal (with a white finish) and plastic. Each lantern has 4 LED lights in it and has measurements of 6 x 6 x 6.7 inches. They turn On and Off automatically at dusk and dawn and can remain bright for up to 8 hours each night when they are charged up properly during the previous day. MAGGIFT offers them with a 180 days warranty, so you can contact support if there are any problems with the lanterns upon delivery.