How do I care and maintain my Solar Post Caps during the different seasons?
How do I care and maintain my Solar Post Caps during the different seasons?
Caring for and maintaining your Ultra Bright Tech solar post caps is as easy as the initial installation when you first purchased them!
Seasonal/Occasional Cleaning
Just like the care and cleaning done on decking and deck furniture, cleaning your post caps and solar panels is just as necessary and will help ensure a long life of each unit. We suggest using a non-abrasive cleaner, such as a window cleaner like Windex or car wax, such brands as Novus or Meguiar’s. With either of these cleaners and a cotton cloth, you are ready for that seasonal wipe down of your solar lighting. It is important to clean the solar panel, as well as the underside of the solar light to remove any dirt, film, cobwebs and moisture which could prevent the solar post cap from recharging and functioning properly.
Winter Storage Tips – Should I store my post caps during the winter?
Depending on where you are located and the local weather environment, we do suggest winter storage for Post Cap Lights. The sun’s angle changes throughout the seasons, which then changes the amount of energy that the sun radiates. During winter this causes less energy to be collected and stored to power the solar panels as well as recharge the batteries within the solar post caps. Not only does the sun’s angle change drastically in the winter months, but so does the amount of clouds that are covering and blocking the sun rays. Snow and or freezing rain further hinder the solar panels from capturing energy needed to recharge the batteries and power the post caps. A simple solution is to store your post caps during these winter months. Suggested winter storage for Ultra Bright Tech’s post caps is to get the batteries fully charged with direct sun light for an entire day. Then at sunset, when removing the post caps to take down for the season, disconnect the batteries within the lights, or place the post cap into “OFF” mode to store the duration of the winter season. Storing the batteries, fully charged, will ensure for an easy an installation when ready to set back up after winter season. It is recommended to store Ultra Bright Tech’s solar post caps and batteries in a light, dry, warm location.
Batteries: Allow the batteries to charge in a full day of DIRECT SUN LIGHT before removing the batteries PRIOR to dar. Store the batteries, screws, battery cover and any additional parts in a dry location at room temperature.
Solar Light: Clean solar panel with a non-abrasive cleaner with a cotton cloth. Clean underside of solar light to remove any dirt, film, cobwebs and moisture. Store the light in a dry/warmer location.
Note: Extreme cold weather can dramatically reduce the life expectancy of your rechargeable Ni-Cd or Ni-Mh batteries. Remove batteries or switch your light to OFF mode, if you light has the option, before storing indoors.
Battery Replacement
Ultra Bright Tech’s solar post caps are the top in the industry not just because of their advanced, powerful and robust solar technology, but because they all come with removable and rechargeable batteries. The expected life of the post caps batteries, depending again on local environment and if seasonally stored, is three to six year. Ultra Bright Tech offers reasonably priced replacement batteries for all of our products. Visit our website www.ultrabrighttech.com, to view our entire product line.