Why Sonnenglas?

The difference

In cheap lamps, everything is built in

Battery, electronics and housing are often one piece. When the battery gets weak after a few seasons, you can hardly get to it. So the whole lamp goes in the bin.

In a Sonnenglas, the light sits in a module of its own: the SOMO. By day it charges in the sun, at night it glows in the jar. And it moves with you: from the Sun Jar into the Light Carafe, or simply into your hand.

Repair, don’t replace

If something breaks, you only replace that one part

There are spare parts for the Sun Jar, SOMO, Light Carafe and Lightshade, straight from us. And we replace the battery in your SOMO for you.

Spare parts →Battery replacement →

Upgrade, don’t rebuy

Keep the glass. Upgrade the light.

Today’s SOMO fits every older Sonnenglas, all the way back to the first one from 2013. If you already have one, your serial number or an old order number gets you a voucher for a new SOMO.

You may send us your old module, but you don’t have to. We reuse it or recycle it properly.

The upgrade programme →How the SOMO came about →

Quality has its price

We don’t save on materials

We don’t optimise for the lowest price. We build as affordably as we can — but without compromise: real glass, stainless steel and a light made by hand in Johannesburg.

• Sun Jar: glass with recycled content, lid and handle in stainless steel
• Six LEDs, warm white at 3000 K, flicker-free
• 100 lumens, CRI above 80, dimmable
• Charges with the sun or via USB-C
• With a day/night sensor
• Up to 100 hours of light on the low setting

Victoria Yards, Johannesburg

People who actually make a living from it

Since 2013, we have built every Sonnenglas product in Johannesburg, today in our Fair Trade certified factory at Victoria Yards. These are steady, fairly paid jobs — in a region where more than 60 percent of young people have no work.

Whoever starts here learns a trade: soldering, electronics assembly, welding, robotics. 100 percent of the profits flow back into the company and its people. And the factory runs almost entirely on solar power.

See the factory →Fair Trade at Sonnenglas →

So, why?

Because good solar light is not a throwaway item

Sold over four million times. You get a light you can repair and upgrade, and it shines with the power of the sun. Behind it are people who make a living from it. That is why evenings feel even better: light with a clear conscience, for you and for everyone who makes it.

See all products →Our story →