The 10 Best Solar Spotlights
This wiki has been updated 35 times since it was first published in October of 2015. If you want to add a touch of brightness and security to your garden, patio, or front porch, consider these solar spotlights. Powered by energy from the sun, they’re an eco-friendly way to provide illumination without adding to your electricity bill or requiring a complex installation. They’re available in wall-mounted or ground-stake models and can keep your outdoor space lit up for hours. When users buy our independently chosen editorial choices, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. Solar Light Mart Mini
2. Westinghouse Bluetooth Crystal
3. DBF Dual Head
Editor's Notes
November 23, 2020:
In today’s update, we rounded things out by adding an item that can be placed just about anywhere, without the use of a ground stake or wall mounting. The Hampton Bay Hand-Painted Rock can be set down anywhere the moment you take it out of the box, to begin soaking up sunlight. It blends in well around any landscaping in front of or behind your home, and is an aesthetically pleasing way to illuminate plants, statues, or your mailbox numbers. Anyone who would like to control their outdoor lighting from inside should consider the Westinghouse Bluetooth Crystal, a set of two that can be paired with your mobile device via the companion app. You can dim them as well as select your preferred color settings. They can shine in white or your choice of other colors. You can even choose from among various fun preset scenes. No wiring is needed for these, as the panels are attached to the top of the fixtures.
If you’re partial to a light with a panel that’s not attached to it, look to the newly added Solar Goes Green SGG-S12, the two components of which are connected by a 12-inch cable. Both the light and the 7-by-8-inch panel have ground stakes, and the light can also be mounted to a flagpole when you purchase the bracket that’s sold separately. We also added in the highly adjustable Consciot Dusk-to-Dawn, which can be rotated up and down, as well as up to 180 degrees left and right. This gives you plenty of wiggle room to aim them at precisely the right angle to hit your flag, sign, or tree. Just push the handy button to switch them from low to high modes or vice versa. To make room for the new models in this update, we removed the Amir Garden and the Solvao Outdoor, both of which were too similar to the InnoGear 2-in-1. We also say goodbye to the Aptoyu Patio and the Robust Natural, neither of which are available at this time.
April 23, 2019:
Solar spotlights are ideal for adding extra security to your home and for highlighting aspects of your landscaping, like trees or statues, that you'd like to showcase when it's dark out. They come with plenty of features, like multiple brightness settings, motion sensors, automatic off/on, and ultra-long light lifespans, among others, so we endeavored to add only the most feature-rich selections of the highest quality. The category is notorious for quality control issues, so we chose models with warranties and money-back guarantees, just in case.
Units in this category are always being upgraded, so we tidied up this list to reflect that. Removed the Aootek Adjustable, Opernee Double, and Frostfire Glowzest due to availability concerns, and replaced them with equally compelling models. The DBF Dual Head is great for users who need more illumination in the same place (like above a garage), while the LC-Smarts Fountain are subtle and small, but have the added value of being completely waterproof, making them that much more versatile. The Solar Light Mart Mini was elevated to the top spot because they use materials like cast aluminum and impact resistant lenses, which gives them a longer lifespan than many competitors.
Special Honors
Patriot Lighting Solar LED Landscape Spotlight Sold in a pack of two, these white LED lights are easy to install with no wiring necessary. Their solar panels comes with preinstalled, rechargeable batteries. They turn on automatically at dusk and can provide up to eight hours of illumination at night. They each feature a protective black finish and a durable plastic lens, so they’ll withstand the elements year-round. They’re safe to use near water and each have an output of 3.6 lumens. menards.com
4. Litom Upgraded
5. UrPower 2-in-1
6. Consciot Dusk-to-Dawn
7. Hampton Bay Hand-Painted Rock
8. Solar Goes Green SGG-S12
9. InnoGear 2-in-1
10. LC-Smarts Fountain
Ideal Landscaping For Aesthetics And Security
Beyond building walls or installing fences, there's one other landscape design element that can both improve your home's look and can greatly enhance its safety and security.
A well landscaped property adds immense value to a property in two ways: it increases the actual value of home by making it more desirable, which in turn of makes it easier to sell or rent out the residence. But great landscaping also adds a more intangible value to a residence by making it a place you and your family enjoy more and of which you feel proud.
Initial landscape and hardscape design is hard work and require planning and patience and a good deal of time and money for proper execution, but once you have established your ideal property, the maintenance can become much less of a chore and more of a pleasurable hobby. This is true whether you are trying to establish an edible garden, an English garden, or a playscape for the kids to enjoy.
Landscaping work can be about more than just aesthetics and use, though: smart landscape and property design can make your home safer, too. This can include the more obvious elements like the addition of walls or fences, or the planting of thick hedges that create barriers to easy entry. It also means making sure to keep bushes, trees, and areas of dense foliage trimmed and under control so they don't create an area for any unwanted lurkers, either in the form of a person or an animal pest. It's also important to keep the areas near doors and windows clean and clear enough to be seen at a glance for the same reason.
Beyond building walls or installing fences, there's one other landscape design element that can both improve your home's look and can greatly enhance its safety and security. That element is a thoughtful exterior lighting plan.
Using Solar Spotlights For Aesthetic Enhancement
A truly well landscaped property looks as good at night as it does during the daytime. To enjoy all the natural and designed elements of your outdoor space at night, you need to make sure they are properly illuminated. Brightening patios and decks may require fixed, wall-mounted lighting that is hard wired and controlled by a switch. Pathway lights can be likewise be on a circuit or they can be operated by solar power.
For highlighting the trees, shrubbery, planted beds, and other features of your landscape, a solar spotlight is the ideal choice. Most solar spotlights are compact and can be tucked away behind a bush, a flowering plant, a rock, or a planter. Many are bright enough to shine up and through the branches of all trees, bringing depth and height to your yard's landscaping even at night. And should you choose any of the solar spotlights that feature multiple colors of LED light, you can even enjoy a unique, colorful yard long after the sun has gone down.
Solar spotlights provide a versatility and flexibility a hard wired light just can't match. Repositioning a solar spotlight, whether that means slightly adjusting its angle or carrying the light all the way to the far side of the yard, is an easy task thanks to the light's lack of permanent wiring and its independent power source.
Using Solar Spotlights For Improved Safety and Security
A property that is well lighted at night is much safer than a home cast into darkness by the setting sun. It is especially important to keep the areas around your doors and first floor windows readily visible, as these are the go-to points of access for anyone trying to break into a property illegally. Solar spotlights can be subtly positioned near doors and windows and angled low enough not to shine light directly into the home, so as not to disturb evening relaxation or sleep, but to make sure that the unseen approach to home isn't possible.
Clearly visible address numbers also mean less likelihood of the accidental arrival of someone uninvited who shows up to the wrong house.
Solar spotlights can also be used to illuminate the walkways, steps, and patios around a home, making it safer for residents and guests to walk around outside in the dark and avoid tripping over debris, garden hoses, decorations, and other potential hazards. Lights can also help to keep unwanted critters such as raccoons, skunks, and stray cats from getting too comfortable around your home, which can reduce the mess of spilled garbage and animal waste.
A solar spotlight can also be used to help illuminate the address numbers of your residence, whether they are affixed to the wall by your door, on a fence across the property from the house, or on a separate placard or stand placed near the street. When your home's address is easier to see, it will be simpler to locate the home for those guests or delivery people meant to find your residence, saving them time and reducing frustration. Clearly visible address numbers also mean less likelihood of the accidental arrival of someone uninvited who shows up to the wrong house.
Karen Bennett lives in Chicago with her family, and when she’s not writing, she can usually be found practicing yoga or cheering on her kids at soccer games. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and a bachelor’s in English, and her writing has been published in various local newspapers, as well as “The Cheat Sheet,” “Illinois Legal Times,” and “USA Today.” She has also written search engine news page headlines and worked as a product manager for a digital marketing company. Her expertise is in literature, nonfiction, textbooks, home products, kids' games and toys, hardware, teaching accessories, and art materials.