The lights are much brighter than I thought they would be. However because we have them strung on a tree in our backyard, the solar panel doesn't get enough light throughout the day to keep the lights charged for more than 6 hours. For us it's not that big of a deal because we really won't spend more than 6 hours a night sitting outside.  If the cord was longer from where the actual lights began and the solar panel were located you could move the piece further if need to be to get more sunlight.