Britta ProductsSSR-02 Luminous Glow Opaque Solar String Light, Set of 21

I'm very pleased with this light string and Britta solar products in general. I've bought some of their products before and liked their appearance, construction and performance so when I wanted a new string of lights for the backyard I looked at what they had to offer. I admit that this string of lights is more expensive than what's on sale for Christmas at Target, but it's performing so well that I feel it's justified. First, I picked this version (white balls with colored lights inside) because during the day the lights inside are not visible so that the whole thing is very neutral and blends into the background. I actually plan to keep them up year round so this suits my purpose. At night the colors are very bright and easily the equivalent of the plug-in Christmas lights the neighbor is using. The outer bulbs are made of a rubbery material, so I am not worried that they will shatter and leave dangerous shards around where my children play. The length of the cord attaching the string to the solar panel is long enough to give me a lot of options of placement, which is good for solar. The only variable that affects their performance has to do with sun exposure. On rainy days (most of winter) the solar charge may be low so it only stays on for a few hours rather than most of the night (sunny days). Also, on rainy days the on switch is triggered earlier in the day (darker) so it goes on early and goes out early. I think this is performing as well as any solar light would in the situation. This is acceptable to me, but if you're wanting a consistent display for Christmas, you might want to not use solar.Edit: (3/13) It's March and the lights have been up and working every night/rainy day since December. The lights are still nice and bright and responsive to the amount of sunlight they receive. Yesterday after a particularly sunny (almost summer) day the lights were on until morning. In comparison, the solar lights I bought from Target in December are no longer working.Edit: (5/13) It's May now and the lights are not happy. The landscapers knocked down the solar panel at least three times so I'm not sure if it's that or that the batteries just can't charge anymore. I need to take it apart and see if there's anything I can do. It puts out a tiny glow at dusk and then is dark.Edit: (9/13) It's September and through no fault of the product (that I ignored all summer) I have finally replaced the battery. Yes, it is a rechargeable battery but it seems that it died after five months (used daily). My lights are happy and glowing! Obviously, I should have replaced the single battery before this.

These put off a nice amount of glow for a good ambience (just like they look in the picture). Not enough to cast a lot of light, but I wasn't expecting that. Mine failed to work after about a month; they were so dim they weren't worth having up. I was past the return date so I posted a poor review. A Britta rep reached me, offered exceptional customer service and expressed pride in their products, and initiated sending me a replacement set. They also sent a replacement rechargeable battery for the original set. This turned out to be the solution. Of course it should not have failed that quickly but they happily remedied the situation at Britta's cost. They explained that their is a newer version of this product. The company rep emailed "The new string we mailed today is our latest design that uses three (3) standard 1.2V AA-sized NiMH 400 mAH cells. We changed to this new design because the standard batteries are so much easier for customers to replace when the strings need new cells. Most rechargeable batteries last about 400 to 500 recharge cycles before needing replacement. The solar panel type on this model is larger than found on most solar strings. This panel is designed to absorb the energy needed to keep the lights working even in fall and winter months."The package does not explain that at some point the batteries might need replacing. The above explains what to expect.IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS: [email protected]

I tried to position the solar panel so that it would soak up plenty of light, but unfortunately I have a huge tree in the front yard which shades most of the front of the house. So, with the panel on my roof I was still only exposing it to intermittent sunlight. This resulted in this light set only staying lit for 2-3 hours which is less than half of what I wanted. If you do not have the capability to place the solar panel in direct sunlight for a good part of the day, I'd recommend going with a plugin type setup.The globes themselves, and the light they give off, are very attractive in a subtle glow sort of way. Unfortunately, all of my neighbors tend to go way overboard with holiday lighting, so the subtle glow of these lights barely showed up.Of course I can't fault these lights for my lack of sunlight on the front of my house or that my neighbors blast my cul-de-sac with billions of watts every xmas, but just be warned that the solar panel needs plenty of sunlight to charge up sufficiently and that when charged, this string of lights is subtle and not super bright.So, for the right situation these are beautiful, but for me I'll have to find another solution.

Dont expect any real illumination with these lights. They should only be considered for mood lighting. I got two sets for our patio and they do a good job at just adding a little flare to the patio. Both sets work fine. One does stay lit all night where the other one shuts off maybe half way through the night. No need for me to try a new battery as half night is still good enough. For the automatic on/off and the free solar power they do the trick for having no brainer mood lighting on the pation all the time. I have had these for about three months now with no issues.

I have a lot of shade in my back yard so it is nice that the wire running from the solar panel to the first light on the string set is about 7 feet long. The lights look wonderful. My family and I love them. In the summer they will stay on most of the night. You can always turn them off to have them fully charged when needed, otherwise they turn on automatically every night. I did have trouble with the original set staying on but the Britta customer service is excellent. They mailed a replacement set to me. I have two sets and plan to buy more. They have worked great now for almost a year, give a great feel to the back yard at night and are very convenient. They are also versatile in that you can easily move them around until you find the perfect spot for them.