Sunforce 82080 80-LED Solar Motion Light
If you are looking to light up you driveway or garden at night, you may be in the market for the best solar lights. These lights are great because you can put them anywhere without having to worry about wiring them into an output. Solar lights help save you electricity and are now so efficient that they don’t need to be constantly monitored.
Solar lights draw upon solar energy during the day time to power and charge the lights. There are usually solar panels either integrated or separate from the light that converts sunlight into energy to be stored in batteries used to power LED lights. Normally these lights are LEDs, which require a lot energy to achieve to same level of brightness. LED bulbs also last a long time and usually last for a lifetime.
The majority of solar lights require somewhere around 10 hours of sunlight to fully charge. When you are looking for the best solar lights you really have three choices: path lights, accent lights, and spotlights/task lights. Accent lights are designed to add a low level of illumination to your landscape. They usually run for several lights following a charge. Solar path lights are meant to light up driveways and walkways and come with a variety of mounting options. They can be high power or low powered and have color lenses or timers. You can also have task lights and spotlights, which are usually the most expensive and are often the brightest as well. They can brighten plants or entryways by casting a focused beam on them.
Best Solar Lights Reviews
- Sunforce 82080 80-LED Solar Motion Light (Top Pick)
- SolarGlow 15 Lumens Solar LED Garden Light
- Litom 24 LED Outdoor Motion Sensor Solar Lights
Sunforce 82080 80-LED Solar Motion Light
The Sunforce 82080s are some of the best solar lights if you want high intensity motion sensor lights. We like the fact that the solar panel is separate from the solar lights, so you can have the lights in a dark spot and charge them in another spot that has more sunlight. The solar panel charges the 3 AA batteries which is more than enough to power the 900 lumen, 80 LED solar motion lights. The solar panels are amorphous, so they are good at generating light under all weather conditions.
They even work on cloudy days, since they still absorb some of the light that penetrates through the clouds. There is 15 feet of wire from the solar panel to the lights so there’s plenty of space to find the perfect spot to mount the lights and solar panel. These motion lights are many settings you can adjust like the time the lights remain on once motion is detects. You can also control the distance of the motion detection from low to medium to high. These solar lights have great durability and are fully waterproof. They definitely don’t feel cheap and will last you potentially a lifetime. Overall, these are great motion solar lights if you want something very bright and has the solar panel separated from the lights.
SolarGlow 15 Lumens Solar LED Garden Light
SolarGlow offers the best solar lights if you are looking for a good set of path lights. These set comes with 6 path lights that can be firmly set up on stakes and light up a path. Or you can stick them in the ground anywhere in your garden or backyard. At 15 lumens, these are not very bright, but for path lights, you don’t want them to be that bright. When you put all them of them together they do a great job lighting up a large area. Low dim lights look cooler at night when lighting up a pathway.
The SolarGlow pretty much comes setup out of the box. It uses rechargeable batteries, so you don’t have ever replace them. The solar panel is attached to the lights and on a full charge the lights can last over 8 hours at night. They are very durable and weather resistant. The stake has a premium stainless steel design and the entire system plants firmly in the ground so that no wind can blow it over. The color of the light is original and it gives off a cool white tint. Since these are not motion detecting lights and instead remain on at all times, we were a bit worried that they would go out overnight. However, since they give off low lumens and the solar panel charger is efficient, we have never encountered a situation where the lights did not work anymore.
Litom 24 LED Outdoor Motion Sensor Solar Lights
Litom makes some of the best solar lights if you are looking for a set of powerful LEDs for your garden, drivways, or deck. These are motion sensor lights and provide pretty decent lighting for whatever area you need.  The selling point of these solar lights is the wide angle of luminosity as it can reach 270 degrees. This is because there are LEDs on both sides of the main solar light that covers the side and creates a wide cone of luminosity.
Another great part about these solar lights is that you can adjust the brightness, which is actually not that common. There are three modes you can put it on: full on brightness, reduced brightness, and motion sensor mode. The motion sensor system works very well with no false triggering and can detect motion from 10 feet to 26 feet away. In terms of the solar panels, they are very efficient and reaches full charge anywhere from 6-8 hours. The solar panels charge a lithium ion battery that is replaceable. The Litom 24 LED is waterproof and built rock solid. All in all, these solar lights are very good value for your money and offer a wide coverage area, so great for decks and driveways.
Choosing the Best Solar Lights
Many people turn to the best solar lights to light up their homes, garden, outdoor area, walkways and driveways because it is convenient and cheap alternative to normal corded lights. Solar lights have the benefit of being cordless so you don’t have to use extensions to find a place to plug them in. You can pretty much put them anywhere where sun will shine on them. They are also brighter and require less energy than fluorescent lights.
They also are way more durable and last a lot longer and perhaps even a lifetime. Â Finally, they offer cost savings over time as you are not using an external source of electricity to power them. When it comes to finding the best solar lights, it becomes a bit of a nightmare. There are a lot of different brands, styles, and functions for solar lights that you really need to hone in on the exact features you need and understand what lights work best for certain occasions. See below for some things to look out for when shopping for the best solar lights.
LED lights: When shopping for solar lights, we highly recommend you use solar lights with LEDs. LED lights can hold up to harsh elements and inclement weather. They also need less energy to produce the same amount of light, so they are great to be powered by a solar source. You can also use these for LED grow lights for various vegetation.
Solar path lights: These types of lights are usually set up on stakes and softly illuminate some sort of path at night. Many times, these lights have motion detectors that only turn on when you walk near it so that they conserve energy. These lights are definitely not as bright as electric path lights so you may need to install more lights if you want the same amount of brightness.
Ambient/decorative lights: These lights are even less bright than solar path lights and are used mainly as decoration. They usually have a warm low glow and can be colored with blown glass and used as a lantern or to create a cool zen garden look.
Task/Spotlights: These are probably the brightest type of solar lights and can have the brightness and intensity equivalent to a 40 watt bulb. Although it will probably not be as bright as an electrical outdoor spotlight, it will definitely shine enough light on a particular area.
Hue: You can either get a naked solar light or just use the normal color of light, which is usually a white yellowish color. However, there are a lot of LED bulbs that have tinted covers that can give off a different color of light. You should try out different light colors if you feel adventurous.
Charge time: Ideally you should look for solar lights that charge quickly. Of course the amount of light time and brightness depends on the amount that is charged during the day. On some days that are raining and there is a lack of light, the solar light may be turned down in terms of brightness so adjust for the lack of charge.
Durability: You should look for solar lights made with durable materials that can withstand some bad weather. The lights should be able to stick firmly enough in the ground so that strong winds don’t blow them over. Your solar lights should also be waterproof so that rain or snow doesn’t affect them.
Functionality: The best solar lights are also extremely versatile and loaded with features. Some solar lights should have different modes that have different degrees of luminosity. There should be a motion sensor mode and a low light mode. Some lights have the ability to switch from wide angle which lights up a huge area to spotlight mode which hones in on one area.