Spring is here, and whether you’re a renter or homeowner, it’s time to spruce up your garden and lawn. Luckily, solar garden lights are an economical, super-fast way to bring instant night-time charm to a neglected garden. You can quickly add some gentle fairytale luminescence or a riot of instant party-appeal colors to your home with our guide to great springtime buys!
Before you get out your credit card, arm yourself with a few basic facts to make sure you pick the best solar lights for your circumstances.
Since all solar lights work on the same principle it’s easy to compare apples with apples. Each unit has a solar panel, which charges the rechargeable battery, which, in turn, powers the LED light source at night. So far, so similar, but next, we’ll get to the features that can actually make a difference in your enjoyment of your newest garden accessories.
We’ve made a list of those important criteria, and we’ve made sure that each unit on our comparison list conforms to the minimum standards so that you can buy with the greatest confidence.
Read on for a quick summary of the important features, plus our recommendations for some totally cool buys!
What features should I consider before I choose a solar garden light?
- Brightness and color temperatures: As a general guideline, you’ll need a blue-white colored light (popularly called a cold white light) of around 5000-6500K lumens for security or general lighting. For mood- or feature lighting, go with a warmer white light of around 3000K lumens. All units on our list have at least 2 color or brightness options, so we’ve got you covered both ways.
- Brightness (lumens or luminosity): More LEDs don’t always mean more luminosity – a single high-powered LED can outperform 10 dimmer LEDs. All of our units have at least 18 high-quality LEDs.
- Lighting direction and swiveling parts: You’ll agree that you must be able to change the angle of the light head without ripping it from the wall or planting the stick at an angle! All of these units allow you to swivel the light itself. However, the solar panel must also be adjustable so it doesn’t get in the way of your light, while you must still be able to adjust the angle and inclination of the solar panel unit to make the most of daylight charging hours and to keep pace with the seasonal movement of the sun. All of our units can be sufficiently adjusted to guarantee full sun exposure.
- Battery capacity, wattage, and running time: All units have a running time of at least 6 hours when switched to their brightest mode, and a running time of 10 or more hours on a lower intensity mode.
- IP rating: The IP rating refers to how well the units are sealed against damage from dust (the “I”), and water, the “P”). When you compare two lights, one may be an IP66 and the other an IP65. That would mean that both offer a grade 6 protection from dust, but that the IP66 offers higher protection (6) against water infiltration. All of these units have a minimum IP rating of IP64 or higher for use all year round.
- Every one of the solar lights on our list of recommended buys can be either wall-mounted or used as a stick fixture.
- They all have ambiance sensors to check whether it is day-time or night-time, and will auto-switch on at night, and switch off in the morning.
So, now that we know that all of the lights on our list have all the good features you need, we can make our comparison list short and sweet, and highlight only the important differences!
1. LereKam 40 LED Waterproof Solar Garden Light
This veteran garden light has an excellent track record for true dusk-to-dawn lighting, even during the darker winter months, due to the 3 economical lighting modes.
- Solar light and panel form a single unit that can rotate 360° and tilt up to 120° vertically.
- Brightness and color temperatures: 3 lighting modes (high, medium, and low) with a corresponding difference in running time (8, 12, and 25 hours). Color temperature warm white (4500K)
- IP Rating: 65
Best feature
This is the only unit on our list that has a dual power supply setup. If solar power recharging fails during a long period of rainy or overcast weather, you can simply plug it into your mains using the USB Charger.
2. InnoGear Upgraded Waterproof Solar Powered Landscape Spotlight
The InnoGear solar panel boasts one of the highest energy conversion rates in this product category, so it’s a fantastic buy for regions with many short, overcast days.
- Light tilts up to 180°. Solar tilts up to 90°.
- Brightness and color temperatures: 2 lighting modes (high and low) for either a spotlight or more diffuse lighting effect, with a running time of 6 hours in high and 10-12 hours in low mode.
- Color temperature changes differ between white light for super brightness and a warmer 3000K color temperature in low mode.
- IP Rating: IP65
Best feature
The 1.5W Monocrystalline silicon solar panel offers an energy conversion rate that is 30% faster than older solar panel technology, so the unit needs just 6 hours to obtain a full charge.
3. Roshway Solar Spot Lights Outdoor
The Rosway is popular amongst outdoor living- and al fresco dining enthusiasts because it’s got a suitable color profile for any occasion. Perfect for patios and outdoor entertainment areas.
- Light rotates 120°. The solar panel rotates 360° and tilts by 180°.
- Brightness and color temperatures: With 18 LEDs, the 2 auto-adjusting lighting modes (high and low) provide a further 7 different adjustable color profiles for both basic and subtle mood lighting, with a running time of 6 hours on high and 10 hours on low mode. The color temperature changes between the nine working modes with a blue-white light at the top end of the range, fading into a warmer color temperature in the low mode.
- IP Rating: IP65
Best feature
The adjustable, super-smooth surface of the solar panel surface does a fantastic job of keeping dirt and dust from accumulating on the solar panel surface.
Perfect for larger areas of lawn, the garage, or any larger space where you want a good strong light to see smaller details.
4. JSOT 22 LED Solar Outdoor Spotlight
If you need a good lighting all-rounder, the JSOT 22 LED is a pretty good choice to start with.
- Solar light and panel form a single unit that can rotate by 360° and tilt up to 90° vertically and by 180° horizontally.
- Brightness and color temperatures: Manual switching between the 3 lighting modes with a running time of 6 hours on High and 10 hours on Low. Color temperature with a blue-white light in both the high and low mode.
- IP Rating: IP65
Best feature
The JSOT 22 LED beads offer 700 lumens, which means that although there are other solar light units out there with more LEDs, the quality of the 22 LEDs produces a very bright light, certainly comparable to other units with more LEDs.
5. Claoner 32 LED Solar Waterproof Spotlights
The Claoner 32 LED’s marathon 2-day runtime is the best solution for parts of the country where the sun frequently takes a day off.
- Solar light and panel form a single unit that can rotate by 360° and tilt up to 90° vertically and by 180° horizontally.
- Brightness and color temperatures: 3 lighting modes with a running time of 8 hours on high, 15 hours on the medium setting, and up to 25 hours on the low setting. 32 LEDs for outstanding bright blue-white light in high mode and a warmer color temperature in low mode.
- IP Rating: IP65
Best feature
Claoner’s claim of a solar light that can run for up to two full nights is based on their very efficient 18650 lithium rechargeable battery.
6. AloftSun 30 LED Motion Sensor Solar Landscape Spotlight
If the steady, continuous lighting in your garden gets a little overwhelming in the middle of the night you may want to switch to a sensor-activated lighting system.
- Light rotates 115°. Solar panel and tilts by 45°.
- Brightness and color temperatures: The AloftSun spotlights can operate at a dim, medium or high light mode, with or without using the motion sensor mode. Running time at low setting without the motion sensor is a full 12 hours. The medium setting stay-on light will run for 6 hours, as will the high setting movement sensor only mode. 30 LEDs provide excellent cold white light, plus a warmer white light on the lower setting.
- IP Rating: IP68
Best feature
This is the only solar light on our list that offers a motion sensor. The sensors can detect motion within a 120 degrees detection angle, will switch on automatically, and cast a bright light to about 33 ft./10m away.
7. Multicolored – Linkind 16 LED Solar Landscaping Lights
In case you wondered: with good planning and attention to detail, multicolored garden lights can look stunningly sophisticated.
- Solar light and panel form a single unit that can rotate by 360° and tilt up to 90° vertically and by 180° horizontally.
- Brightness and color temperatures: Switch between the static or dynamic modes, plus you can set each mode to a high or low-intensity setting. Furthermore, each mode allows you to pick either a single color (choose from Red, Green, Blue, Lemon Yellow, Purple, Cyan, Rainbow, and Cool White), or the color cycling mode which will continuously loop through all of the 8 colors.
- Running time in the dynamic (cycling colors) mode on the high brightness setting is 6 hours, and 12 hours at low brightness. Running time in the static mode is 12 hours.
- IP Rating: IP67
Best feature
This unit is the only multi-color solar light on our list. You not only have a choice between static color or white light, but you can also switch each mode to dynamic status for a party appeal featuring either one of the 8 colors or a disco-effect auto-changing color.
A final word of recommendation
Forget about those typical ugly old bulbs of yesteryear. The newest solar technology lets anyone add some awesome temporary or more permanent spotlights, security lights, wall- or fence lights, and especially a spectacular array of garden lights – to any home.
