How We Used Solar Powered Lighting For A Pergola

Have you been busy landscaping the garden this summer? Adding in a pergola, but not sure how to use solar powered lighting for a pergola? Have a look at how we did it, saving electricity costs and using natural power. 

We have been building our DIY pergola this year and I knew I wanted some lighting inside the pergola but wasn’t sure how it would work with the screening and the pergola having a roof. How would the solar panels charge!? 

Well, Lights.co.uk came to the rescue with some amazing products that meant we could use solar powered lighting for a pergola with a roof. We did price up having electric install up in this area, but when I saw we could have lighting up here and use a natural source of energy I thought this was much better for the environment, and also the costs. 

What Solar Powered Lighting For A Pergola Did We Choose?

x4 Lindby Maurun LED Solar Wall Light / x4 Esotec Solar Light Spotlight With Warm White / x1 Lindby Canua LED Solar Lantern 30cm /  x1 Lindby Sadiye Solar Lantern 21.5cm 

Lindby Solar Lanterns 

I wanted some pretty lanterns that I could move around the pergola, and these ones fit perfectly. With the rope handle, I can easily move them around or even hang them from a location. 

They are made from glass, so you do need to be aware of this, and they do feel quite delicate, but not in a bad way. Priced around £24-£34, depending on the size, they feel excellent quality and would last really well outside. 

Come nighttime, they turn on, and the light inside the candle creates a warm glow, giving it a flickering appearance that resembles a real candle. I really liked this effect outside. 

I was confused when they arrived, as they say they are solar-powered lights, but I couldn’t see the solar panel…..so that’s pretty clever, isn’t it? A simple switch is provided underneath for you to turn them on and off. As I don’t have them placed outside directly under the sun all the time, I charge them up and then move them under the pergola when I want them. I will also turn them on and off as needed. 

Lindy Maurun LED Wall Lights 

These lights were the main solar-powered lighting inside the pergola, placed on the back slatted walls. In a black cylinder-shaped light, it will shine light from both the top and the bottom. We thought this would create a lovely effect up into the roof area, as well as downwards to the seating. 

I wanted to create a well-lit but cosy area inside the pergola. I achieved this really well with these solar wall lights; it’s so beautiful at nighttime. 

This is where I struggled to find lights suitable for inside the pergola, as it has a roof, so no natural light reaches the actual lights. I was over the moon when I found these lights, as they could be powered by a solar panel and a long wire that could be threaded through my slatted screening, and then the panel could be hidden somewhere with plenty of light. 

They will turn off automatically after 7 hours, but if you want more control over the lighting, you can switch them on and off with this power button on the solar panel. 

ESOTEC Solar Spotlight In Warm White 

I installed some arches for my plants to grow up, and to edge the pathway leading into the pergola area. I wanted these to be lit up to guide you in, but also to create an atmosphere up there. I didn’t want spotlights that all ran on a wire together, as these didn’t have the flexibility I needed to be able to move them around. So I found these ones, which have their own solar panel on each light. This works amazingly, as you can just move them into any position you want. 

They have just enough light power in them to shine up into the plants, and as the plants grow, they will catch the light on the foliage. 

As they’re made from robust aluminium, they are really solid. I was surprised when I unpacked them by how heavy they were. This makes them feel that they are of excellent quality and that they will last really well outside. They will last up to 8 hours when fully charged, which is an impressive amount of time to illuminate this space for us. 

These spotlights are supplied with both a ground spike, which can be adjusted to the angle you want, or, if you prefer, you can have these screwed into the wall to have a wall spotlight instead. A very versatile product light. 

So the overall look in our garden using solar-powered lighting for a pergola works so well, warm lighting leading the way through the arches into a seating area that is well-lit and cosy. 

Video Of Our Solar Powered Lighting For A Pergola 

How To Install Solar Powered Lighting For A Pergola 

As we had a slatted screening in our pergola we needed to screw the wall lights into the battens, the positioning of the battens and width meant we needed to add a bit of wood in between to create support so the wood didn’t split. We did this by adding a piece of wood in between the gaps. 

The wall light bracket has two holes for the screws to go into, so it is set where you need to screw it in. So mark on the wood where you want the screw holes to go. 

Do a small pilot hole to allow the screw to have something to bite into next. 

Then you can add the wall light bracket onto the slatted screening and screw in the screws.

Then the light just slots into the bracket that is already screwed securely to the screening. 

Tuck the cable underneath and through the gap. 

There is a small screw that needs to be attached to the back; please don’t lose it, as it’s tiny. 

We then hammered in small cable clips to keep the wire tucked away nicely on the back of one of the battens. 

The cables were run all the way up onto the roof, where we have our solar panels. There was a lot of length of cable, so you have lots of flexibility on where you’re panels and lights can be installed. If you place these panels where you can reach them, you can access the on and off buttons easily. 

I am over the moon with our solar powered lighting for a pergola, it’s been so easy to install with an instant impact for the space. Come nighttime, it looks super beautiful up there, and it makes it a space that can be used all day and night too. I love that I can use solar powered items to light up my pergola at night, makes me wish I got a solar panel installer like Skylamp Solar to install solar panels on our home to power the house! 

x4 Lindby Maurun LED Solar Wall Light / x4 Esotec Solar Light Spotlight With Warm White / x1 Lindby Canua LED Solar Lantern 30cm /  x1 Lindby Sadiye Solar Lantern 21.5cm