The Best Solar Spotlights In 2021
Solar Light is one of the most important category for outdoor garden lighting, with the features of environmental-friendly and safe, powered by solar energy make them cost-effective, no wires need and easy to install.
Then you will find in the catalogue of solar lighting, there are different kind sub-categories according to different usage scenarios, like solar pathway lights which are used to lighten up your pathway or walkway; Solar post cap lights are installed on the deck posts, add guards and illumination to your entire outdoor space; Solar deck step lights are used to guide and illuminate the steps you back to front door.
Solar spotlight is also an important category in outdoor solar lighting. It can bring a unique dynamic kind of landscape decoration and illumination. Highlight your yard and garden with these bright solar powered spot lights is a great way to create an exciting and attractive setting. They can light up you pathways, trees, bushes, fences, walls, trellis or features without need to dig up the garden to lay cables and no running costs.
With all the features of all solar lights, they will turn on the lights automatically at night and a solar panel to charge them without any work, solar spotlights are the easiest, greenest way to highlight the best parts of your yard at night.
In order to simplify your search to find the best solar spot lights, we’ve done a great of work to look at the dozens of lights available and select our top favorites. The key elements: price, features, guarantee, and customer reviews are we most focused on to narrow down the selection, and eliminated the lights that have too many negative reviews and the price is not affordable.
And now, without further ado, let’s get straight to the reviews.
Best Solar Spotlights Review
Top Recommendation
VONT Solar Spotlights 2 Pack
Upgrade Option
50X Twin Solar Spotlight Metal
Special Recommendation
Hampton Bay Solar Flag Spot
1:Vont 16 LEDs Outdoor Solar Spot Lights 2 Pack
The VONT solar spot lights are made out of high-quality weather resistance ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) plastic material that allows it to withstand various severe weather conditions. All the plastic parts are good injected make it looks sleek and valuable.
The spot lights come with a high quality and high convert efficiency mono-crystalline solar panel, laminated with matte frosted PET on the surface, make it can collect more sun lighting and convert it to electricity. meanwhile the laminated solar panel is hard and anti-scratch.
It has 16 pieces of 65000K CCT LED Bulbs, that gives off a bright white lighting, throwing a 120° lighting angle, it will illuminate your whole backyard or your desired areas. Integrated with a 2000mAh 18650 3.7V high capacity lithium rechargeable battery, can make it run up t0 12 hours at night after full charged.
These spot lights give off 100 lumens output, and have push button at the rear side under the solar panel, you can push it to adjust the brightness, 1 push is low lumens output , and 2 push is high, 3 push is back to OFF, you can choose the right mode you prefer. If the weather is cloudy or not good, especially in winter, and you hope it can work more hours at night, you can change it to a low lumens mode.
When it comes to the lumens, I have to say VONT is really a good and honest manufacturer, it claims the lumens as the actual lighting output, while you can find a lot of other sellers claimed like 1000 lumens, 1200 lumens, even 2400 lumens with the same design, it is ridiculous and they totally have no idea about the lumens of solar light. ( we will explain it at follow in this article). how is it possible for these solar lights with small solar panel to have such a high lumens ? It is a cheating.
Another Feature for these solar spot lights is they can pivot to up to 90 degree up and down for your desired, you can adjust the angle to make the solar panel face to sun and absorb the maximum sun lighting, or make the lighting shoot to your desired direction on landscape.
It has the wall mounting screws and anchors, you can installed on your wall or just plant them on the ground, it is very easy to install, VONT also has a video can guide you to install them.
The other features like it has the dusk to dawn sensor, it will turn on automatically at dawn and off at dusk, and it has the IP67 waterproof, and so on . These are the basic features for a solar light, that we wont introduce too much.
Another thing we like about these lights and STRONGLY recommend VONT spot lights is the LIFETIME warranty, “ covered for life, it’ warranty against LOSS, THEFT, and defects in materials and workmanship as long as you own the product, or as long as you are alive..”
Let’s see what the reviewers say:
They make sturdy, useful ,innovative products and back them with great customer service (they answer the phone right away) and a guarantee that is lifetime and INCLUDES loss.
Somehow I lost the rear bike light that I got from them and called to see if I could buy a replacement. A very nice lady said that they would just send me a new set. I told her-again -that I lost it and would be glad to BUY a new one. She said it is covered by their guarantee and sent me a new set right away--FREE!!. I was amazed and called them to ask how they can do that--she said it gets good word of mouth.
As their mission said ： the company is built on a reputation for quality and service. If you are ever anything less than 100% satisfied with anything they sell, they will replace it, or refund your money, promptly and courteously.
With these guarantees, I think you can just buy it, don’t hesitate for a second. VONT equal to Quality.
Disadvantage or some improvement suggestions for the manufacturer:
- Add some 3000K CCT warm white lights option for different customers preference.
- The push button at rear side under solar panel is black, some customers may not find it easily, suggest to change it with a white rubber, that will be easy to find there is a push button here for customers.
2: Mini 50X Twin Solar-Powered Cast Aluminium Warm White LED Spotlight 60-100 Lumen
Specification:
Solar Panel: 3W 6V poly crystalline solar panel .
Battery: 2000mah 3.7v rechargeable lithium battery .
LED: CREE LED chips.
Product size: 8.86 inch height.
Material: Metal construction for fixture , ABS solar panel housing.
Lumens: 60-100 lumens brightness adjustable .
Lead wire/cable: 16 ft cable with connector
Run hours: 5-15 hours
Brightness: 3 level brightness setting by push button.
Mounting: stake and wall mounting option.
For some homeowners who have the solar spot lights to highlighted their featured landscape, or trees, bushes ,walls, may have the issue that when the solar spot lights are installed under a tree, or wall, that the run hours of the spot lights is short sometimes. That because solar panels are blocked from sun lighting by the trees and walls. Then the Mini 50x Twin solar spot lights with remote solar panel from Solar Light Mart is your choice.
The twin solar spot light comes with a kit include two fixtures and one remote solar panel . The fixtures are made of cast aluminum and textured black finish. The metal construction is sturdy and weather resistance. The two fixtures are connected by a 16ft cable, and then one is connected with the remote 3W solar panel . the long 16ft cable can make sure the two spot lights can be installed at different location, and the remote solar panel can be planted far from trees and walls that under direct sun lighting without shade, Ensure it can absorb adequate lighting and store the power in the durable 3. 7V 2000mah rechargeable lithium battery .
The LED covered by a special optical lens that do a terrific job of focusing the light into a narrow to medium cone, this kind of lens won’t fade or yellow like other plastic lens. The LED have a nice ,warm color and very bright. Each of the twin lighting pieces displays superb Cree LED lights with 60-100 lumens, and have 3 levels brightness setting to run 5-15 hours on a full charge with adjustable brightness setting.
This twin mini 50x solar spot lights is very convenient for mounting, and won’t consume you too much time and effort to install. You can simply stick it to the ground or hang it on the wall by the hardware included. Thanks the long cables with connector and plus a large remote solar panel help you to maneuver the solar panel and battery from afar, and you can even install the solar panel on the rooftop to collect the maximum sun lighting.
Reviews from customers:
update after 3 months: Still going strong and I'm very pleased with them. Even on overcast days, the battery charges enough to last through the night; even after several overcast days in a row, the light hasn't gone off before daybreak yet.
With decent but not great sun, they'd go off somewhere close to 4 AM. That would be about 7 or so hours which is respectable on high. With some constant sun recently, even with limited direct sun during the day, I check cameras yesterday and they were going off at about 6AM. That's about 9 hours on high.
Disadvantage or some improvement suggestions for the manufacturer:
- Still have some reviewers complain the operating hours is short, that depends on the weather condition and mounting location. Improve the battery quality inspection.
3: Hampton bay Solar Flag Pole Light
The U.S.stars and strips flag symbolize the nation’s value, freedom and justice, that is why a lot of patriotic Americans like to display the American flag in front of their houses and business buildings. But when sun goes down , your flag will fade from visibility, that no one will be able o see it. You might be surprised to learn that the U.S. Flag Code discourages homeowners and business owners from displaying the American flag at night. But the U.S. flag Code also says “When a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness,” So it is important to illuminate the flag with an exterior light if you are planing to display the America flag at night.
That comes to our today’s recommendation: the solar flag pole spot light, we’ve been looking for an exterior light to illuminate the front yard flag at night for long time, and are suffering from the pain of the wiring work. Finally one day we stumbled across this solar flag post light system at Home Depot Store. We purchased one and it works great. We think it is worth for us to recommend it to those patriots who are displaying the flags.
Specification:
- Product Type: spot light
- Durable ABS plastic material
- Product size: 6.5 in W x 5.12 in D x 4.16 in H
- Fit for flag pole diameter: Min 1 inch Diam -- Max 2 inch Diam
- 2 watts poly crystalline remote solar panel .
- 1100mah 3.2v 18500 LiFePO4 rechargeable battery.
- 50 lumens lighting output.
- 3000k warm white
- Hardware included
This Hampton Bay solar flag pole light operates automatically from dusk to dawn and is virtually maintenance free once installed. For first time use, there is a switch at the back of the solar panel, you just need to switch it to the ON position, the solar panel will collect the sun lighting in the daytime and store the energy in the lithium battery, then it will turns on automatically at night.
This flag pole spot light contains one solar panel , and one spot light , connected by a spring cord with around 12 inch long and maybe extending another 6 inch. Both the solar panel and spot light head are adjustable for direction and angle. The mounting is versatile with the hardware of bolts, butterfly nuts and anchors, that it can be mounted on a wall or directly on a flag pole.
Another thing we think the manufacturer is thoughtful, they prepared some bolt rubber caps in the hardware bag, you can put the cap on the bolts after it was installed, the caps can prevent the flag from tearing in the wind in case the flag is hung on the bolts.
The solar LED flag pole light comes with a 2-year warranty and is guaranteed not to rust.
Shine a light on your waving symbol of freedom, This Hampton Bay Solar Flag Pole Light will be your best choice .
The features of solar lights
The advantage and disadvantage of solar lights
Before you make the decision to buy any solar lights: solar spot lights, pathway lights, post cap lights etc , you need to have enough knowledge about the features of solar lights. As the name SOLAR means they need to absorb the sun lighting then convert it into electricity and store the power into a rechargeable battery. So that it can turn on the lights automatically at night with the power from battery.
The important features are:
- The work hours at nights depends on the power stored in the rechargeable battery .
- The power in the battery depends on how much sun lighting it collects and converts.
- How much sun lighting it can collect depends on the size of solar panel, the bigger solar panel , the more power it can collect.
- The brightness depends on the discharge current, the bigger discharge current is ,the much brighter, but the shorter of the work hours at night .
Most of the solar lights offer a good balance between the specification of solar panel size , battery capacity, brightness , and work hours at night, to ensure the lights work more than 8 hours after full charged. But it has a condition that : the solar lights are charged at STC (standard testing condition) and at least 5 peak sun hours , to make sure it is full charged.
Advantage:
- Powered by solar, green energy, no electricity bills.
- No wires need
- Easy to install, anyone can install it by following the instruction manual.
- Anywhere has the sun lighting can be installed at
- Dusk to dawn, auto turns ON and OFF.
Disadvantage:
Need sun lighting to charge, different areas, different weather conditions, and different installing ways will make it have different charge status. That mean the work hours depends on these above conditions.
The lifespan of solar panel and battery is short from 1-3 years, you need to replace them with new one regularly.
How to choose the best solar spotlight?
There are hundreds of solar spotlights in the market today. Some of the factors you should consider before you buy them.
How you intend to use them ?
There are different kind of usage scenario for the solar spotlights, for example, if you want to use the spotlights to illuminate the whole wall at your back yard, or a big tree, you need to choose the solar spot light with big beam angle like we recommend above the VONT spot light with 120 degree beam angle. If you just want to light up the small bushes, the mail box, or the house number in your font yard, you are suggest to choose the spot lights have small beam angle. Normally we call the spot lights with big beam angle as flood lights ( check here to see the difference). Or you are planing to shine a light on your flag, there are special solar flag pole spot lights are your option.
Where are the solar spot lights installed ?
The general mounting ways are stake in ground, mounting on the wall, or pole mounting. Some homeowners need to install them on the wall and light down t0 illuminate the back yard. Some are just planting them along the walkway to light it. That need the solar spot lights can be mounted on the wall or in ground, like above the VONT solar spot light is versatile can be mounted both on the wall or in the ground.
Some spot lights are installed under a wall or a tree, any maybe one spot light can not illuminate the big area enough, and since they are installed under a tree / wall, the direct sun lighting is not sufficient. That spot lights with detachable solar panel , and the kit with 2 or more spot light heads are your best choice like above Mini 50X Twin Solar-Powered Cast Aluminium Warm White LED Spotlight 60-100 Lumen
Brightness
An solar spotlight may not be as bright as a traditional spotlight although they are reasonably bright. Thus you will have to estimate the area that needs light and buy enough spotlights to fill the area. When shopping, look for these spotlights that offer high brightness (in terms of lumens). Choose these spotlights with the brightness at least 50 lumens, but do not trust in those claim that the lumens is over 300lm, 500 lm, 1000lm ,or more but powered by solar, except the spotlight with a PIR sensor, otherwise it is very difficult for solar powered spotlights reach to 300 lumens, that will need a very big solar panel. We will explain it by link: how to know the lumens of a solar light.
Color Temperature (CCT)
On the market, the most common color temperature for these spotlights are 3000K and 5000K, the 5000K LED produce bright white light , while the 3000K has a amber or soft white that give you a warm feeling, you can decide according to your preference.
Battery
Choose the high capacity battery, the most commonly used battery for solar spotlights are LiFePO4 or Lithium rechargeable battery. Which the voltage is 3.2V or 3.7V . the higher capacity batteries means they can store more power, and the light can run longer time at night.
Housing construction
Most of the solar spotlights are designed with weather resistance ABS plastic but a few are metal construction. Made of aluminum can make it last long time, but a little pricier. When taken care of, the plastic units can also last for years. For Solar Spotlights , we think the ABS plastic housing is OK.
Why you can trust us ?
1: professional, we’ve worked in the solar lighting industry for more than 15 years, have rich experience and knowledge about the solar light from design,development and manufacture. We know how to match the solar panel, LED, and battery to make the solar light have the best performance. We know how to add a gasket to improve the waterproof. We know what kind of solar panel is best fit the solar light, and how to fix the solar panel once it becomes haze. As an expert on solar light, you can trust us .
2: We won't recommend some products arbitrarily to our audience just for the commission. Not like some other bloggers that choose ten or more similar items in one category, that you still need to distinguish which one is better. We just choose these are most representative, with different features ,or usage scene, or function. With the knowledge of long time work in the industry, and read a lot of comments from reviewers. We always recommend the one we think the best.
Conclusion
You can benefit a lot from using a solar spotlight in your garden, including the time efficiency, affordability, even your neighbors’ compliments. It can offer convenience and reliability that you are looking for , just plant it anyway with sun lighting, it will automatically turn on and off. With only one-time spending, you’ll be able to set them up and take advantage of free energy for years.
Hope above reviews we’ve made can help you choose the best solar spotlights. You can choose one of them for easy if you trust us, or you can just refer to our buying guide as the main consideration to check when comparing your options, and make the decision by yourself. Buying the solar spotlights that fit you best today.
