The Best Outdoor Solar Lights To Brighten Up Your Yard

There are many options when choosing outdoor lighting, but solar lights are growing in popularity. Best of all, the best outdoor solar lights provide brightness around your home with minimal effort—and best of all, they won't hit your electric bill. Our top pick is AloftSun's motion-sensing solar landscape lights for their versatility and affordability, but there are several great outdoor solar lights that made our list.

If you are not familiar with it, outdoor solar lights use solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity. This electricity is stored in lighting batteries and used to light your home at night.

"Solar outdoor lights are low maintenance, environmentally friendly and visually appealing, making them a great source of outdoor lighting for many people," says Angie's Home Expert Mallory Mycetich. "It's especially useful for people who want to reduce their impact on the environment or want a wireless lighting option they can set and forget."

When choosing outdoor solar lights for your home, it is important to consider how much area you need to cover, how bright you want your lights to be, which model you prefer, and of course, your budget. These are the best outdoor solar lights on the market for lighting up your front yard, driveways, and more (While you're at it, check out our list of the best solar chargers, electric lawnmowers, and smokeless fire pits.)

The AloftSun Motion Sensor Solar Light does many different things at affordable prices for most families. There are three different lighting modes that allow you to set the light, low light or high light when motion is detected, no light when motion is detected, and the option to choose high light or steady medium light. Each light contains 30 LED chips that light up a bright path. The lights can detect motion from 33 feet away and they're water and snow resistant, so you don't have to worry about them dying off after a heavy storm. You also have options when installing these lights - they can be floor, pole or wall mounted. Worth noting: It has a lifespan of 40,000 hours, which should last you a few years.

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At $114, you get 10 beautiful street lights for less than $12 a pop. The lights are easy to install: just place them where you want them and enjoy your day. The 18-inch light has a beveled glass lens to create a beautiful pattern on the ground and produces 10 lumens of bright light. Hampton Bays Jefferson Lights work in tandem: They turn on automatically at dusk and last eight hours when fully charged. You only have to touch them if you want to adjust their position. Although these rust and weather resistant lights don't move, they reliably illuminate a clear, consistent path when needed.

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Linkedin Starray Lite gives you options when it comes to activity detection. Turn the lights on for 25 seconds before stopping motion, or dim them for 10 seconds when motion is detected. The waterproof lights can be placed on the floor or mounted on the wall - your choice. They don't have a separate solar panel (built into the light), which gives you plenty of range to move the light up, down, and sideways. To save battery, the light turns on automatically in the dark and turns off in the morning.

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Vont LED Solar Outdoor Lights are a fan favorite on Amazon, with over 3,100 great reviews. The lights can be floor-mounted or wall-mounted, and can be rotated 120 degrees, and you can shine light wherever you want. The line lights turn on automatically at night and give you two brightness settings to choose from - low and high. The lights are made of high-impact, water-resistant ABS material to help them stand up to the outdoors. But anyway, it's nice to know that they have a lifetime warranty.

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The Ring brand trace lights feature plenty of bells and whistles that owners of modern home security systems will appreciate. The lights can be controlled via an app, allowing you to toggle functions like motion detection or simply turn them on and off. This is a great feature if you tend to travel and want to make sure the lights don't go out when you're at home. The ring lights provide an impressive 80 lumens of brightness and send you alerts when they detect motion. You can group the track lights with other ring lights for easy operation or separate control. If you don't always use your phone, it's good to know that you can control your lights with your Amazon Echo.

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By their very nature, outdoor solar lights are often more affordable. But if you want to take a leap, consider this wall lamp from Canora Gray. The wall lights are made of weather-resistant, rust-resistant resin with a black finish and LED panels mounted to the top, so there's no bulky solar panel to interfere with your decor. The light glows in the dark and provides an impressive brightness of up to 150 lumens for up to 12 hours. The lamp is waterproof and stainless. It even boasts a lifespan of 50,000 hours, giving you years of service.

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How to choose the best outdoor solar lights

The right outdoor solar lights can change the look of your home at night, as well as light the way to help you navigate in the dark. To help find the best outdoor solar lights, we consulted Mallory Mystic, Angie's home expert, for advice on the best features to look for in these devices. Next, we looked at the most popular outdoor solar lights on the market and analyzed them based on brightness, ease of installation, durability, and price. We looked at reviews from real owners to see how these lights perform in different homes.

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What brand makes the best outdoor solar lights?

As with many home appliances, there isn't necessarily one brand that makes the best outdoor solar lights. This segment is dominated by brands that are not necessarily familiar to the average homeowner. Our top pick is the AloftSun Motion Sensor Solar Landscape Spotlight, but Ring, Font, Hampton Bay, and others have reliable products for brightening your home's exterior. But if you feel more comfortable with a well-known brand, consider Ring Solar Pathlight. It's a bit more expensive than the average outdoor light, but it uses the ring technology that many homeowners know and love.

What is the best wattage for outdoor solar lights?

It depends on your needs and the type of light you choose. Some outdoor solar lights mount on a wall and provide light outside the front door or porch, while others are used to illuminate the exterior of a home or special outdoor features. Street lights are also specifically designed to illuminate a driveway or private driveway. Typically, 40 watts is a lot of power for outdoor solar power, especially if you want street or landscape lighting. However, some outdoor solar lights are rated up to 80 watts, which is useful for lighting intended to cover a large area. But remember that sunlight is usually measured in lumens. There's a range here too, but from 10 lumens (for track lights) to 500 lumens and more (for floodlights) is quite impressive.

How should you choose outdoor solar lights to buy?

There are a few important things to consider before purchasing. “Before you buy outdoor solar lights, make sure your yard is getting enough sunlight for them to operate,” says Misetich, adding that solar lights work best when they get about eight hours of direct sunlight a day. "You need to make sure that the lights you choose can meet your lighting needs," says Misetich. "Solar string lights, for example, are a great decorative option, but they don't produce as much light as moving flood lights. Know your lighting needs and go from there."

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