How to Connect LED Rope Lights to Solar Chargers

Having your super-futuristic, high-energy, low-wattage LED rope lights attached to an antiquated power source such as a wall outlet is so last-century. The thing to do is to connect these paragons of illumination to a solar panel with a built-in charger and let the pure energy of the sun do the rest.

You don’t need a fancy engineer or a government grant to make this conversion; you just need some basic tools and instruction.

Things You'll Need

• Solar panel & charger (commensurate with your LED rope light)
• Scissors
• Soldering iron & 2% silver solder
• Rubber cement

Instructions

1. Mount your solar charger circuit where it will get the best, most consistent source of direct light. Use the included hardware and make sure it is within reach of the plug-end of your LED rope light.

2. Cut the plug off the end of your LED rope light and strip the ends of the wires. Wrap and solder the positive (red) wire around the positive lead from the solar charger, and the negative (black) wire around the negative lead from the solar charger.

3. Cover your soldered terminals (once dry and cool) in a thin coating of rubber cement.

4. Put your construction in bright, consistent sunlight and allow several minutes for the charger to release enough power for your lights.

References

• Free Sun Power: Circuit Diagrams of Solar Energy Systems