Disposable Solar Lights

Every couple of years, I go to Home Depot and buy another box of 6 solar landscape lights to put along our driveway.

The first year, they work perfectly fine. The second year, less so. And by Year 3, I'm back at Home Depot buying another box.

And the old ones? Well... into the trash they go. And it annoys the heck out of me. Why do they die so quickly?

I've tried putting new batteries into them. Nope... makes no difference. The battery chamber often has bugs in it and the battery terminals are sometimes corroded.

The solar panel on top of the lights also gets all cloudy and even with a new battery, it's just not sucking up the solar power they way it should.

Now $20 for 6 solar lights isn't the end of the world but... there must be a better way? I know the Dollar Store has cheap little ones for $1 or $2. But that just contributes to our disposable lifestyle.

I've thought about getting wired driveway lights put in and I guess that is an option but it seems like an expensive one. And sooooo... I just pay $20 every 2 years for a new box of crappy battery operated ones. Which irks me to no end.

Could we do without the driveway lights? Probably not. Our basement suite is an Airbnb and at nighttime... it's nice to have the edge of the driveway lit up for them. But does that mean that "nice" is essential? I would say "yes".

Ugh... if anyone out there has a better suggestion than crappy disposable solar lights from Home Depot... please let me know!