Solar-powered gadgets used to be fairly underwhelming, with barely enough power to fire up a calculator. However, Jared Owen, product expert at Shopping.co.uk, the UK’s leading price comparison platform, says things have moved on, and it’s being driven by the consumer market.
“As a nation of home and garden lovers, we’re all increasingly looking for ways to enhance our spaces with solar gadgets,” he says. “The cost-effectiveness of solar is enabling us to be more creative.”
For gadgets designed for outdoor use, solar power makes a lot of sense, whether it be video doorbells or outdoor lighting. Of course, it isn’t practical or logical to integrate solar panels into every kind of gadget, but there are plenty of excellent power stations with compatible solar panels, which will efficiently juice up whatever you care to plug into them.
Landscape gardener Matthew Wilson has noticed an uptick in clients asking to incorporate solar lights into their outdoor space, but doesn’t think they are all up to scratch. “I have found that solar fairy lights tend to be flimsy and poorly made. The wires often become detached from the solar unit, rendering them useless after a few weeks and consigning them to landfill. I prefer lights with a bit more heft, that you can either anchor in the ground, or attach to a structure such as a fence.”
