The evenings are currently super long and light, but strings of twinkling lights only add to the joy of eating dinner or having drinks in the garden. Rigging up electric hookup or untangling miles of extension leads to plug in a set outdoors can be a pain though – solar powered lights can make things much easier.
Debenhams is selling ExtraStar LED Solar String Lights 4.5M x 10 G40 Bulbs and 3M Cable, and the five-starred set is £18.67 down from £40 – that’s a saving of 53%. With 7.5m to play with, the lights will make an impact, whether strewn across a pergola, pinned up outside the back door or draped along a tree branch. Just be sure to place them somewhere that during the day is sunny, so they can recharge.
Since the lights are solar powered, there’s no need to worry about increased energy bills or trailing wires – they look after themselves. Plus, they emit enough light to keep the garden lit with a pretty ambience for evening drinks and keeping garden parties going after dark.
For an alternative, Argos has Habitat 20 Warm White Festoon Solar Lights for £15 on a 6m string. The bulbs can glow for up to seven hours when fully charged, but do need eight hours of sunlight to fully power up. For a more colourful display, B&M has Paradiso Coloured Ball Solar String Lights 10pk for £8. The bulbs are multicoloured so kids will love them, but you can only buy the set in-store.
One shopper said of the ExtraStar lights: “Excellent lights! Solar lights thst work brilliantly. Bright enough and seem to be of real quality. Early days but impressive so far.”
Another added: “Love love. Great lights got on my garage lights up the garden looks great Good quality and very sturdy. Would definitely re purchase.”
A third said: “Lovely Solar String Lights. I love these lights so far although it is early days. They just so happened to be the length I wanted. The lights have survived the latest deluge of rain. They have 8 settings but I just have it on constant light at night, not too dull, not too bright. On off switch if needed. I will bring them in during winter months.”
However, one customer said of ExtraStar on Trustpilot: “The products I ordered were exactly what I was looking for. There was an error with one of the items that was sent (hence dropping 1 star) but this was dealt with without any fuss or bother in a gracious manner – great customer service.”
Another added: “Sent the wrong bulbs initially but when I rang they sent the correct ones out immediately. Very pleased with light.”
For those planning to spend a lot of meals al fresco this summer, the ExtraStar LED Solar String Lights could really add to the vibe.