Small solar lamp

[emordnilap]

I bought some solar lamps from Ikea about a decade ago (called 'Sunnan') and they were brilliant.

One day, two of them just gave up the ghost. I suspected dead batteries but no. In both lamps, the solar panel seems to have simply stopped working. No output from either of them.

I suspect heat damage, as they always stood leaning against an upstairs window to charge. Shame. They were superb for reading books at night. About four hours from each charge.

[adam2]

I suggest keeping the failed lamps. In time others may suffer from battery failure. One lamp with a failed PV module and another with a dead battery can probably be cannibalised to make one functioning lamp.

[emordnilap]

I've just found ANOTHER failed PV module. Seems like some sort of planned obsolescence.

[adam2]

PV modules and the connections thereto are very vulnerable corrosion caused by damp. Large PV modules intended for outdoor use are well sealed and generally last for decades.
The very small PV modules used in cheap consumer goods have no such protection and often succumb to damp damage in a few years or less.