Where to put a solar garden gnome

Every lit gnome on this shelf charges from a small photovoltaic panel — in the hat, in a lantern, or set into the base. That panel decides where the thing can stand, and it is the reason most complaints about solar garden ornaments exist.

How much sun it needs

Six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day is what these panels are designed around. Not daylight — direct sun on the panel.

A gnome under a porch roof, beneath a tree, on a north-facing wall or behind a fence gets ambient light and very little direct sun. It will charge partially, light for twenty minutes at dusk, and stop. Nothing is broken. It simply has not been charged.

This is the single most common reason a solar ornament is returned, and it is a placement problem rather than a product fault.

Reading your own yard

Before you place it, watch the spot for a day. Note when the sun reaches it and when it leaves.

In Northeast Philadelphia a south-facing position gets the longest exposure. East-facing gets a strong morning and nothing after noon. West-facing gets afternoon sun, which is often the better half in summer. North-facing gets almost none, all year.

Remember that a spot in full sun in July may be shaded in October — the sun sits much lower, and a fence or a neighbouring house that casts no shadow in summer casts a long one in autumn.

Runtime, honestly

A fully charged solar ornament runs for six to eight hours in summer. That covers a summer evening comfortably.

In winter the same ornament runs for two to four hours, because the days are short, the sun is low and the light is weaker. A December gnome that lights from five o’clock to eight is behaving normally.

Cold also reduces battery capacity temporarily, which compounds it. Nothing is wrong.

The panel needs cleaning

The step almost nobody does. A film of dust, pollen or rain-spotting on the panel cuts output substantially, and it builds gradually enough that the decline is not noticed.

Wipe the panel with a damp cloth once a month through the summer, and after any storm. It takes ten seconds and it makes a visible difference to the runtime.

Autumn leaves settling on a panel are the other one. A gnome under a maple needs checking weekly in October.

The switch

Most solar ornaments have an on/off switch, usually on the underside or behind the panel, and many ship in the off position with a plastic tab under the battery.

If a new one does not light on the first night, check for the tab before anything else. Then leave it switched on in direct sun for two full days before judging it — the first charge on a battery that has been in a warehouse takes longer.

Batteries

Inside is a small rechargeable cell, usually AA or AAA sized, NiMH or lithium. It is a consumable: expect one to two years before the runtime shortens noticeably.

On many models it is replaceable — a screw-off cap under the base. Replacing a two-dollar battery is considerably better than replacing the ornament, and it is worth checking whether a model allows it before buying.

Where a maker states the battery type, our listings repeat it.

Winter

Two choices, both defensible.

Leave it out. Most solar ornaments are rated for outdoor use year round. Runtime will be short and the ornament still works.

Bring it in. If you do, switch it off first. A solar ornament stored indoors switched on will run its battery flat and then sit deeply discharged for months, which shortens the battery’s life more than the winter would have.

Either way, ceramic pieces should come in before the first hard freeze — for reasons covered in the note on winter damage.

Placement for looks, not just charge

Once the sun question is settled, two things make a lit ornament look better after dark.

Put it where the light has something to fall on — beside a path, at the edge of a bed, against a low plant. A lit gnome in the middle of an open lawn is a small glow with nothing around it.

And keep it low. These are not floodlights; the effect is a pool of light a couple of feet across, and it reads best at ground level where you walk past it.

How many

Two or three along a path works better than one in the middle of a yard, because the eye follows a line. Beyond four the effect stops being a feature and starts being a runway.

Where to look

The solar and lit pieces are grouped separately on the solar gnomes with lights page, precisely so the sun question comes up before the purchase rather than after. Unlit statues that can stand anywhere are at garden gnome statues and funny and novelty gnomes, and the small indoor pieces are under gnome figurine sets.