The Best Solar Patio Umbrella

Buying Guide

Few products are as ideal for solar lighting as your backyard furniture, which gets exposure to the sun all day, every day as long as your space isn’t covered. With one simple addition, a patio umbrella, you can add lighting and create ambiance for those warm evenings spent outdoors. Solar patio umbrellas have solar cells built in that collect energy from the sun throughout the day to provide hours of electricity-free illumination once the sun goes down.

Today’s top solar-powered lighting products use LED lights, which consume very little energy and stay cool to the touch while they’re on. They’re also made of epoxy lenses that makes them resistant to breaking and thus scattering dangerous bits of glass around your outdoor area.

Solar patio umbrellas can vary in the amount of light they put out. They’ll typically feature LED lights attached to the underside of the umbrella, along each rib. The number of LED lights per rib can vary, as can the brightness of each light.

Once you’ve established the lighting layout of an umbrella, the quality of the umbrella itself is essential. Your umbrella will likely be exposed to the wind even if you collapse it between uses. Durable aluminum ribs and double-stitched material that resists ripping at the seams can make a big difference.

• Patio umbrellas can limit airflow. For that reason, some outdoor umbrellas build in ventilation at the top to make sure the breeze gets through.
• Not all solar panels offer the same power. Some patio umbrellas can give you up to nine hours of light after a full day’s charge, but many only promise up to six hours.
• The length and quality of the sunlight your solar panel receives impacts the strength and length of the light output. For best results, make sure your umbrella’s solar panel is positioned to get a full eight hours of sunlight each day. Cloudy conditions will also impact your umbrella’s ability to gather a powerful charge each day.
• With most outdoor LED umbrellas, you’ll get a hand-crank mechanism for raising and lowering the umbrella. If you plan to open and close your umbrella regularly, make sure this part of the umbrella is high quality for smooth operation.
• You’ll find that patio umbrellas come in a variety of colors. However, if you need a specific color, you might find you’re limited in your umbrella styles.
• Your patio umbrella will endure plenty of days of rain and, in some climates, snow. One that repels water will help prevent moisture from staying on its surface for hours after a rainstorm.