Solar-powered lights are convenient, durable, and cost-efficient. I’ll help you find the best solar powered motion security light to protect your house and save energy!
While regular motion security light has its benefits, it’s rendered useless during a blackout. Your house then becomes unprotected, and the dark leaves a chance for theft.
Not to mention, the electricity bills pile up, and you find yourself paying a fortune at the end of every month. That’s where solar-powered motion security lights come in. They don’t consume energy, and they stay on during blackouts. It’s a win-win situation, if you ask me.
Follow this buying guide to learn everything you need to know before making a purchase!
The Verdict
If you’re in a hurry, my top pick for solar powered motion security lights is undoubtedly the LITOM 315. The light features a wide design with a 270-degree angle to ensure excellent coverage and a wide detection range for motion.
Not only that, but the fixture also has three light modes for saving energy. You can have the light on High or Dim when a motion is detected. Or, you can have the Permanent mode on, so it doesn’t shut down no matter what.
The next best alternative is the URPower Solar Light, which offers more brightness than most of its competitors. On top of that, it comes at a highly competitive price.
The Best Solar Powered Motion Security Lights on the Market
Motion security lights provide a sense of safety outside of your house. The fact that they only turn on when there’s someone around saves a lot of energy. Imagine how much energy a solar-powered light will save!
Here’s a roundup of the best solar powered motion security lights on the market.
1. LITOM 315 LED Large Solar Security Outdoor
If you prefer motion security lights with wide designs as I do, you’ll love this Litom 315 LED light. It features a wide, angled design with 315 LED bright beads—more than most options on the market.
Thanks to the wide design, the security light can illuminate up to 1600 square feet easily. It also comes with an indicator light that tells you when the battery needs recharging.
You won’t need to recharge the battery as frequently as you think. The Litom light has a higher conversion rate than competitors, and it comes with a 2200mAh lithium-ion battery that should keep the light on for a while.
Not to mention, the mono-crystalline solar panels will absorb all the light they can get to save energy.
When you need to recharge the battery, use the USB charging mode. It’s easy to plug into any wall outlet you have, and you can use a power bank.
The Litom security light has three light modes with two adjustable colors. The three modes are High, Dim, and Stay-On.
You can choose any of them according to the time of the day and your preference. The variety of options ensure no energy is lost because you only choose what you need.
As for the light options, there’s warm light and white light available. This way, you match the color to your outdoor decor. Whenever you need higher security, just switch to the white light.
Pros
- Affordable price compared to competitors
- Two light colors and three modes available for versatility
- USB charge function available for your convenience
Cons
- Some users reported it’s not waterproof.
2. URPOWER Solar Lights Outdoor
The URPower Light has everything you may need in a solar-powered motion security light, including a weather-resistant design, 50,000 hours of operation, and a wide angle of motion detection.
Starting with the design, the URPower solar lights have 120-degree angles, and they’re capable of detecting motion up to a 10-feet length.
Once the security lights detect someone moving, they’ll turn on for precisely 30 seconds and then turn off again to save energy.
The solar panels work efficiently at absorbing sunlight. However, the lights will still need six or eight hours to recharge, so make sure to place them correctly for optimal light collection.
Moving on to the functionality, the URPower lights have eight LED lamps that will illuminate your backyard brightly.
The manufacturers claim that you can keep using the lights for five years, which is quite impressive compared to competitors. It’s mainly thanks to the weather-resistant design.
The URPower lights can endure heavy rain, dust, and heat.
In my opinion, the only downside to these lights is the lack of dim options. You either turn the light fully on or switch it off. A dim mode would’ve been better for saving energy, but I can’t complain much considering the affordable price.
Pros
- IP64 waterproof rating and weather resistance
- A long lifespan of five years
- Affordable price for a pack of four lights
Cons
- No dimming option available
3. Aootek solar lights outdoor
The Aootek Solar Lights are designed to collect as much sunlight as possible. They come with wide solar panels that are conveniently placed on top. This way, you won’t go through a lot of hassle trying to find a suitable place for the lights.
The lights come in a package of two fixtures, with each fixture containing 182 LED lights. They shine brightly, so you don’t have to worry about your yard being dark again.
With the price it comes with, the Aootek light has leverage over its competitors. None of them have that number of lights in this price range.
The lights cover a 270-degree angle, and their motion sensors can detect movements up to 26 feet away. If any slight movement happens in that range, the lights will immediately turn on.
Additionally, there are side panels to illuminate wide angles.
Moreover, the Aootek lights come with three operation modes. There’s a security model that normally works in detecting movements around.
Then, there’s a smart brightness mode that keeps the lights on all the time. However, when the sensors detect a motion nearby, they’ll illuminate brighter.
Lastly, there’s a permanent-on mode that keeps the light on all the time at full brightness. Of course, the security mode is the most energy-efficient one, but it’s nice to have more options.
The light fixtures have a waterproof rating of IPX65, which means they can withstand heavy rain and extreme weather conditions just fine.
Pros
- It illuminates brighter than most competitors
- Three operation modes available for more versatility
- IPX65 waterproof rating for extreme weather conditions
Cons
- The lights need recharging often.
4. DrawGreen DG08-A Solar Outdoor Motion Sensor
If you live somewhere with constant heavy rain or extreme weather conditions, the DrawGreen light may be the one for you. It has an IPX66 waterproof rating, which is more than all the options on this list.
The high rating means the light will withstand heavy streams of rain, dust, and heat without a hitch. It’s one of the best lights available for areas with bad weather, thanks to its aluminum alloy chassis.
Most lights on the market are made of ABS plastic, which doesn’t stand for long against bad weather.
That’s not the only good thing about the DrawGreen, though. The light has an innovative design that lifts the solar panel on top of it, making sure it catches as much sunlight as it can. I would’ve preferred a bigger fixture for illumination, but it’s ideal for small yards and pathways.
The round lamp of the security light can rotate 360 degrees, which means you can place it anywhere you’d prefer. Its light will still reach where you want. This feature makes it a bit easier to find the perfect place for it.
The DrawGreen takes around five or six hours to reach a full charge. Then, the battery should work for around three days, which is quite impressive. This way, you don’t have to depend fully on solar energy—in case the weather remains cloudy for a few days.
If you don’t like what you get, the manufacturer offers a 160-week money-back guarantee.
Pros
- Durable aluminum alloy chassis for durability
- High waterproof rating of IPX66
- 360-degree rotation for easier placement
Cons
- Some users complained that the solar panel barely moves.
Buying Guide: Things to Consider Before Buying
Motion security lights are essential for your house’s wellbeing and protection. If the lights you bought aren’t working as they should, it’s probably because you missed one or two features.
In this buying guide, I’ll show you the most vital features to consider when buying solar powered motion security lights. Otherwise, you may get a fixture that’s not suitable for you.
Design
How your motion security lights look may not be of much significance—however, their design matters for their efficiency and their illumination capabilities. For example, some security lights have wide designs with side panels for better coverage.
These are more capable of illuminating large areas and sensing any motion around them. The primary reason is the large surface area that allows for better diffusion of light.
If you need to illuminate more than one area or your yard is too large, you can get small fixtures instead. They’ll allow you to hang various ones around your yard, covering more area.
A lot of security lights on the market are flat, but they aren’t too efficient in diffusing the light around. I’d recommend a fixture with wide angles instead for better coverage.
Placement
Motion security lights generally need some thought before placing them. You want them to be in the right place to illuminate the whole area, and you want the sensors to detect as many movements as they can.
Solar-powered lights are a whole other story because you have to consider their placement closely. If you don’t place them somewhere with sufficient sunlight, you’ll be rendering them useless.
Make sure to put the lights up where a lot of sun rays reach them for most of the day’s hours. At the same time, place them so they’d catch anyone moving around the yard, not just in front of the door.
Detection Range
To ensure optimal protection for your backyard, porch, or garage, you need motion-detecting sensors to have a wide range. If they only detect 10 feet in front of them, anything moving out of the range will go unseen. Of course, this may compromise the safety of your house.
For that reason, it’s better to get lights with LED motion sensors that have a wide detection range. The distance isn’t the only thing that matters. You’ll have to ensure the sensor’s range goes for various angles.
This way, even if the movement is next to the light, rather than in front of it, the sensors will still catch it.
Illumination Intensity
If your yard is totally dark, you’ll need a pair of fixtures that provide considerate illumination intensity. That also goes if your yard is large or if you want the lights to cover your house’s door, garage door, and porch.
Some lights, like the URPower Solar Lights, provide more intensity than others. Some lights also come with dimming options, so you can lower the intensity at times when you don’t need it. These help you save energy, as well as give you various operating options.
When choosing your security light of choice, make sure to weigh your options and consider the illumination.
Battery
The solar panels will save energy and money, and they’ll keep the lights on all night long, even during blackouts. All that said, solar energy is still not enough to keep the lights on for long. Chances are, the lights will turn off after a couple of hours if the battery is weak.
That’s why it’s essential to choose a light fixture with a good battery capacity. Lithium-ion batteries generally have longer lifespans than their counterparts. They also provide more power, so the lights will work for longer without the need for recharging or replacements.
When the battery has a high capacity, it’ll keep the lights working for long without sacrificing the energy from sunlight. So, you’ll always have a backup light for blackouts and outages.
Timer Modes
Some motion security lights have adjustable timing modes, so they don’t stay on for the whole day and waste energy when you don’t need them.
The way these modes work, you get to choose how long your lights will work before shutting off. Light typically stays on for a standard time of 30 seconds after detecting a movement. If your light has adjustable timer modes, you’ll be able to extend this time to five or ten minutes for better security.
How Do Solar Powered Motion Security Lights Work?
A lot of people don’t understand how solar powered motion security lights work, which leads to wrong placements and other issues.
Here, I’ll tell you how these lights work by breaking down their components.
Motion Detecting Sensors
Motion detecting sensors are the sole most critical component of security lights. They’re responsible for detecting any movement around, whether it’s a human, an animal, a car, or anything else.
There are a lot of different sensor types on the market, such as microwave, contact, and vibration sensors. The ones in security light don’t need contact to operate, making them more efficient in protecting the house against theft.
They often work by detecting infrared waves, so they’re highly accurate. Hardly anything will pass without being detected.
Most sensors have an observation frame of 180 degrees, less or more. Their detection range differs from one light to another.
When the sensors catch anything moving in their range, they know there’s a new wave of energy around. They then take note of the change and turn the light on immediately. Their reaction is almost instantaneous, but it typically differs according to the quality.
Solar Panel
The solar panels are as vital as the motion-detecting sensors in a security light. They’re responsible for absorbing the sunlight and converting it into electricity. They save energy and money, and they have leverage because they keep the lights working during outages.
When the panels absorb the light, they separate the electrons and atoms found in photovoltaic cells, thereby storing the electricity for later use.
When you have solar panels in your security lights, you don’t need to connect the light to the electricity grid, and you don’t have to use any wires.
Photocell Sensors
Along with solar panels and motion-detecting sensors, security lights also have photocell sensors. These sensors are responsible for determining whether it’s night or day, so the light turns off if the sun is out.
On the other hand, when it’s dark outside, the fixture becomes in a standby mode, waiting to turn on the light when the motion-detecting sensors feel something around.
How do they do that? The concept is pretty easy. Photocell sensors work on measuring the radiant energy of infrared or ultraviolet light within the light spectrum range.
When the sensors detect a surrounding light that went over the standard limit, they know it’s day, and so they turn off the lights until night.
So, you can say the photocell sensors determine whether the light will work or not. They’re essential for saving energy. If they’re not working properly, they may mistake night for day, and the lights will stay on for nothing.
Wrap Up
Now that you read the reviews of the best solar powered motion security lights on the market, I trust you can make the right choice that fits your house.
Remember to consider all the necessary features and to place the lights in the best position for optimal sunlight collection.
If you make the right choice, your lights will hopefully keep working for as long as you use them.