Fulcrum LED Solar Porch Light

First, there’s the Fulcrum Motion Sensor LED Porch Light, available in white, silver and bronze. This motion sensing security light is designed for both indoor and outdoor use and because of the six bright LED lights within each unit it has a much wider lighting area than most LED lights.

The motion sensor can detect movement with a 25-foot range and stays on until no motion has been detected for more than 30 seconds. Each Fulcrum lighting unit is self-contained – no need for wiring – and the whole unit can be angled round by 100 degrees to shine into otherwise difficult to light parts of the garden or yard. Mounting the unit is no more complicated than two screws.

Dorcy LED Solar Security Light

The main difference is that the light unit comes with a four-way swivel allowing it to shine into deeper, darker corners around the outside of your home. The beam is brighter too, with a range of 350ft. There are actually two levels of brightness available so you can prolong battery life. The manufacturers say the Dorcy should run for a year without needing a change of batteries.

Like the Fulcrum, the Dorcy is simple to attach and you can set the motion sensor to switch off the security light after 30 seconds or two minutes.

Maxsa Innovations Solar Panel Light Kit

The motion sensor on this solar security light is another notch up the sophistication scale because you can adjust the reaction sensitivity to keep the light off if a passing squirrel wanders through your garden but activate the light if a vehicle pulls up.

Because the solar panel is separate and not built-in to the main light, installation is a little more involved but nothing too major and it does have the advantage that you can angle the solar panel exactly in the direction that works best, regardless of the direction the two lights are pointing.

Final Verdict: If you’re looking for the cheapest solar security light go for the Fulcrum Porch Ligh, for simplicity and a bright light beam at a good price go for the Dorcy Flood-Lite and for the brightest light with the biggest coverage area we reccomend the MAXSA Dual LED Security Spotlight.

Solar Powered Christmas Lights

Here’s a great way to make your house look inviting and festive – Solar Powered Multi Color Christmas Lights. This string of 60 multi-colored lights charge up during the day – even in Winter sun – and come on automatically at dusk.

Because they’re solar powered, you won’t need an extension cord to power them – very helpful if you have young children around. At $19.98 these Solar Powered Holiday Lights are fun to wrap round a tree, outside railings, etc..

There’s also a version with white lights instead of colored lights.

Solar Stake Lights

This solar powered stake light provides up to 15 hours of light on only 5 hours of daylight and comes in a modern, silver finish with transparent diffuser. The Solar Bud is ideal for path lights and as it’s a solar stake light there’s nothing to install. Just push into the ground where you want a little extra outdoor lighting.

If you’re looking usable outdoor lighting you’ll need brighter lights and to install them in the places around your patio and garden where you actually need light – near doors or places you’ll be eating or entertaining friends, for example.

If your solar lighting is more for mood and atmosphere you can get pretty creative with positioning. Try putting them in trees shining down into the patio / garden or along the edges of your patio / deck. It’s a good idea to experiment with where to put your solar lights – live with them for a couple of evenings before settling on a location.

Bear in mind that the only rule with placing outdoor solar lights is that it must be in a place where that gets at least a few hours of direct sunlight a day – otherwise they won’t be able to recharge enough for night use. Sounds obvious, but it’s easy to forget that.

If you really want to have evening light in a place that doesn’t get much sunlight during the day, consider buying an outdoor solar light kit that has a separate solar panel on a cable. That will allow you to place the panel in direct light while the solar lights themselves can be in a more shaded area.

Solar Star LED Lights

They come with their own small solar panel that can be driven into the ground a little way from where you want to hang the outdoor lights. Then, after a day of solar charging, when the light fades they automatically turn themselves on.

Each solar star light string measures 23ft / 7m in length and you can even buy a double pack if you feel like going a little crazy. Each engery saving LED light will provide up to six hours of solar powered light per night. In winter, when a full solar charge might not be possible, regular rechargeable batteries can be used as a power supply for up to fifteen night without needing a recharge.