How to Light a Flag With Solar Lighting

Lighting a flag can be something of a hassle. Running long cords from a source of power to the pole and then up to any lights is tough to get right. It can be even harder if you also want to conceal the wires for that nice clean look.

Learning how to light a flag via solar power can make things dramatically easier. Depending on what kind of lights you use, the toughest part could very well just be getting a ladder to install a panel atop your pole.

So join us today as we explore how to light a flag with solar lighting! We’ll discuss the basics, some things to keep in mind, and even link to an easy solution we offer in our store.

The Solar Lighting Basics

Without making things too complicated, a solar light is a device that uses the sun to create electrical energy. This energy is then used to power a light. 

The advantages of a device like this are obvious. The light is powered by the sun and not your local grid. This means the light’s energy consumption will never impact your electric bills. 

There’s also a convenience factor we touched on in our introduction. Installing a solar light isn’t especially difficult. So long as you follow some basic principles in terms of placement, it often is as easy as installing the panels atop your pole and making sure the solar panels are powering nearby lights.

While solar power can’t always power a device all day, you don’t need it for lights. It can charge in the morning when the sun is out. Then at night, it uses that stored energy to keep any attached lights on.

Giving more details on custom setups is difficult, as there is so much variance in what products you might use. We’ll recommend a particular product down below, but even if you’re using your own setup, remember these tips:

• Research how much power your chosen lights need to stay on for the duration you want
• Compare that power need to how much your solar panels will generate; you must have enough power going to the lights or they’ll stop working
• Make sure everything is secure and protected against harsh weather conditions, especially rain and wind
• Keep connections tight; bleeding power will at least cause your lights not to get enough power and at worst can be a fire hazard (although that risk is admittedly low if you follow basic safety precautions)

Limitations to Remember

While solar lighting can be convenient, it isn’t magic. If you want to keep a flag lit with a solar device, you need to make sure the solar panels get enough sun.

If you’re installing a custom setup, keep in mind that the more power your lights draw, the more energy you need. If you want many bright lights for your flag, you will likely need a few solar panels installed in some prime locations.

It’s worth checking out a solar map to see what the overall sunlight is like where you live. However, even if you aren’t in a prime spot, powering a single flag’s solar lights isn’t some impossible task. Powering a light through the night doesn’t take too much power (even less if you only want it lit during hours people are awake).

If a solar light stops working when it once did, it doesn’t mean it is broken. Consider and test for the following before deciding you need a replacement:

• There may be a loose connection. Make sure all wires and batteries are solidly where they’re supposed to be.
• Your batteries may be dead. Solar batteries often need replacing long before bulbs or the actual solar panel; try replacing them.
• The weather could have been especially dreary. If you’ve had a long period of low or no sunlight, try waiting a few days to see if the light simply starts working again.

If your light stops working, it is more likely some small issue has occurred than not. Don’t jump to replacing your entire light right away!

How to Light Your Flag the Easy Way

Here at Flagpole Farm, we offer a solution that allows you to skip most of the complicated work installing flag lights can be.

The Titan Solar Light is our recommended go-to solution for solar lighting a flag. Incredibly easy to install atop just about any flagpole, its six bright LEDs will keep your flag easily visible through the night. All your pole needs is to be compatible with the light’s universal 1/2′ fitting (as most residential flagpoles are).

All of the hard work is done for you. It will turn on automatically from dusk until dawn, charging its solar batteries over the course of the day. The entire installation process can be completed in just a few minutes.

The light fixture comes in either silver or bronze/black, allowing you to blend it nicely with your flagpole. It’s also compatible with one of our eagle toppers, so your flag can be lit as it’s watched over by our country’s favorite bird!

The light comes with solar batteries for which we also sell replacements if they ever burn out or become damaged. The replacements are affordable too; just remember to check how many batteries your light takes as newer (March 2019+) models take one more battery so as to help boost performance and longevity.

On top of all that, the light has a two-year warranty so that you can rest easy in your purchase. This is a quality product and we trust it to last.

The Titan Solar Light is even made in the USA, which seems appropriate enough if you’re using it to show off your patriotic spirit. It’s a simple, reliable, and affordable solution to flag solar lighting. We don’t recommend it because we sell it, we sell it because we recommend it.

Your Flag Experts

That covers the basics of lighting a flag with solar power. With the Titan Solar Light, it really is as easy as placing it atop your flag and making sure it gets enough sun.

At Flagpole Farm, we pride ourselves on our knowledge of flags, flagpoles, and flag accessories. If you want to fly your flags high and with pride, we’ve got the know-how and products to get you there.

Our team welcomes any questions you may have about our products! The goal is to make sure you end up with a flag setup you’re happy with. We hope you’ll talk with us, explore our blog, and search through our product line so your flag can fly just the way you want.