Are solar lights the right product right for you?

Aside from a traditional rooftop solar panel installation, you can take advantage of solar energy with outdoor solar lights that capture, store, and then use the sun's energy to light your property. A wide variety of outdoor solar lighting options fit most needs. This article covers the basic types of outdoor solar lighting you may want to use on your property.

Outdoor solar lights work like a miniature version of a rooftop solar panel system with one important distinction: outdoor solar lights must include battery storage. When the sun is shining, solar cells attached to the outdoor solar light generate electricity and store it in a battery during the daytime. Because they don't rely on your home's electricity, you have greater flexibility when deciding where to place your outdoor solar lights on your property.

Most outdoor solar lights include a darkness sensor so that come night time, they automatically turn on and start using their stored electricity. While many solar lights have their solar cells built right into the same unit as the light itself, some products will have lights you can detach from the solar panel powering it.

Most outdoor solar lights are LEDs that only use a small amount of electricity. Because of this, they can run for a whole night (if not longer). Outdoor solar lighting systems often have a "nightly run time" rating that indicates how long you can reasonably expect lighting to last, given a certain amount of sun exposure. However, remember that these run times will vary significantly from the actual lighting time you get from your outdoor solar lights, as factors like shading, geographic location, and cloud cover will all impact how much sun the attached solar cells can convert to electricity.

There are many types of outdoor solar lighting solutions. We'll discuss some types you might be looking to use around your home:

Solar lawn, garden, and path lights

One way to use outdoor solar lighting is in and around gardens and paths. Many solar garden lights are quick and easy to install – bury the pointed end in a sunny space on the ground, and you'll be good to go. Each light has an attached solar cell to generate power for use at night. It's important to be conscious of how close your solar garden lights are to plants and anything else that might cause shade so your solar lights are exposed to enough solar energy during the day to keep your property illuminated at night.

Solar garden, lawn, and path lights are relatively low-cost products; they typically cost between $3 and $40 per solar light, depending on quality, aesthetics, and other factors. You will want to consider things like hours of light provided and where you will be placing the light, in addition to the visual aesthetics of the solar lights and what you want them to look like on your property.

Buyer's guide: solar lawn, garden, and path lights

Hampton Bay

Hampton Bay offers a wide range of outdoor solar lights for you to choose from. The option above comes in many different metal finishes, and they offer many highly rated designs at various price points.

Gigilumi

Gigalumi has a vast selection of traditional outdoor solar lights on stakes that are perfect for lining walkways or gardens. Some of their options don't include batteries, so be sure you're aware of this before making a final purchase decision.

Smart Solar

Smart Solar lights are well-rated on consumer websites and offer a variety of styles to suit your needs. The outdoor solar lights we have listed above are a bright copper finish, just one of the options to use if you want to match metal finishes to other outdoor items.

Gama Sonic

This higher-end brand of outdoor solar lights promises longer hours of light on a full charge and sleeker designs. If you want a certain aesthetic to blend in with other lighting on your property or do not want a traditional solar garden light look, this might be the brand for you.

Outdoor solar string lights

Another popular solar lighting option is outdoor solar string lights. Unlike solar garden lights, these products often have a separate unit to house detached solar cells. Solar string lights can provide lighting around a firepit or a deck and have the added benefit of not requiring an extension cord or close proximity to an outdoor outlet. Instead of attaching to an extension cord, they hook up to a small solar panel that can be placed in a sunny spot like the edge of a roof to charge up its battery during the day.

Solar string lights are more expensive upfront than traditional string lights, but you'll save money over time by not using electricity from the grid. You can expect to pay between $10 and $30 for a standard set of solar string lights.

The products listed below are great options to replace current outdoor string lights or add solar outdoor lights to your backyard setup. Outdoor solar string lights can be used year-round and are also a great option for holiday decoration. If you're looking for Christmas lights, check out our article on solar Christmas lights to learn more.

Buyer's guide: outdoor solar string lights

Britech

The Britech lights are a great option for lighting areas of your property away from a house or shed. Their solar panel can be set in the ground with a stake, allowing you to put these outdoor solar string lights up around a firepit or near a pool. This brand has solar string lights in different bulb shapes and designs to suit your needs.

Brightown

Brightown's outdoor solar string lights have the highest bulbs per foot ratio, which means even one strand can add a little flair to your patio or deck. Many of the Brightown outdoor solar string lights can also be charged with a USB plugin, just in case you're hoping to use them on an overcast day where they may not be able to get a full charge.

Sunthin

Similar in price to the other options, the Sunthin outdoor solar string lights are another great option for solar string lights. They are chargeable by USB in addition to their solar panel.

Solar motion sensor lights

Solar motion sensor lights can be used as security lighting around your property. Solar motion sensor lights often come with a larger solar panel than solar garden lights to power a more robust LED. A traditional motion sensor flood light system can be replaced with solar-powered motion sensor lights that do not use your home's electricity.

A common use for solar motion sensor flood lighting setups is security lights near a front door or garage or to illuminate driveways and walking paths that do not need to be constantly lit up at night. Buying a solar flood light will cost more than solar garden lights, as flood lights are more powerful and require a more robust solar setup.

Buyer's guide: solar motion sensor lights

LEPOWER

This solar motion sensor light provides motion-activated flood lighting to your property. The light is charged by a solar cell attached to a cable, allowing you to place the solar cell in more direct sunlight than where you may want to place your light.

GLORIOUS-LITE

These Glorious-Lite solar motion sensor lights can be charged by a detachable solar cell, which attaches to the lights via a cable. They also have a run time of up to 50 minutes at full brightness, which lets them double as a floodlight if you ever need bright outdoor lighting at night for a more extended period than the solar motion sensing light offers.

TBI

The TBI Security Solar Lights are the cheapest option for solar motion sensor lights but can still provide motion-sensing light technology. Be sure to place them somewhere that can accommodate the attached panel and allow adequate sun exposure to charge the light; unlike the other options, they cannot be removed.

Solar lanterns

Larger options are available to illuminate deck or garden areas or replace lighting, such as post lanterns outside your home. A wide range of solar lanterns are available to meet your lighting needs. From hanging solar lanterns to solar lanterns on posts, these lighting options have the added benefit of needing no electrical wiring. They are designed to withstand the elements so that they can be placed anywhere on your property. The price of this type of outdoor solar lighting reflects their larger size and may cost from $15 to hundreds of dollars depending on the lighting you are looking for.

Buyer's guide: solar lanterns

GreenLighting

The GreenLighting outdoor solar lanterns are a good choice if you want solar lanterns to mount on your deck or fence posts. They sit on top of 4x4 or 5x5 posts and charge during the day, turning on at night to light up areas of your property. GreenLighting makes a variety of styles of this mounted outdoor solar lantern to fit different design goals.

Pasamic

Like the solar post lights, the Pasamic solar lanterns can be mounted on the outside walls of your home or fence or deck posts. The version of Pasamic's outdoor solar lanterns linked above hang from the mounted hooks, but there are many styles of solar lanterns to choose from. They come equipped with different light settings and can turn on and off automatically.

Greluna

If you hope to replace your post lantern with a solar lantern or add lighting to a backyard or garden, the Greluna solar lantern comes mounted on a post. This is one of the more affordable options for pre-mounted solar lanterns and allows you to add lighting where you may not have an existing fence or other structure.

Gama Sonic

This higher-end brand of outdoor solar lights promises longer hours of light on a full charge and fancier designs. If you are looking for a certain aesthetic to blend in with another lighting on your property or to replace an existing light, this might be the brand for you: it's a double-headed post lantern that looks like a typical post lantern you may already have.

Solar flagpole lights

You may be interested in solar flagpole lights if you have a flagpole in your yard. These outdoor solar lights illuminate the flag, so you don't need to worry about your flag going dark during the night. Solar flagpole lights sit on top of your flagpole or attach to the flagpole itself and point upward. Each solar flagpole light has its individual solar panel that charges during the day, providing the light with all of the electricity it needs to keep your flagpole lit up throughout the night.

Many flag codes require any flags flying at night to be lit, so a solar flagpole light is the perfect way to ensure you follow flag codes and don't need to take down your flag every night and put it back up every morning.

Buyer's guide: solar flagpole lights

Deneve

The Deneve solar flagpole light sits on top of your flagpole, illuminating the flag from above. This light has solar panels on the top and LED lights on the bottom. This top-of-flagpole solar flagpole light is in the typical cost range for this type of solar flagpole light.

Gefolly

This solar flagpole light from Gefolly has one light with a detached solar panel that lights the flag from below. It sits on the flagpole, with the solar panel attached to it at a different point, allowing you to optimize placement to charge your solar flagpole light.

Enrybia

The Enrybia solar flagpole light has three separate LED lights that light up your flag from below. They are powered by a solar panel attached to the flagpole. This more expensive option has more lighting than other flagpole lights that light the flag from below, with three separate lights trained on the flag.

Solar camping lights

Solar camping lights are a reliable solution for car campers, backpackers, and through-hikers alike. When purchasing solar camping lights, there are multiple factors that you should consider depending upon what type of camping you will be using the solar camping light for and what you need to get out of it. We've looked at some options for solar camping lights and considered their weight, charge time, and how much light you can get out of them on a full charge.

We also have listed out additional functionalities to note about some of the lights, including whether they double as a camping solar charger – having multi-functional items is essential to cutting down on backpack weight and generally limiting the things you need to worry about when you're camping. The more your solar camping light can accomplish, the better!

Buyer's guide: Solar camping lights

MPowered

The MPowered solar camping light listed above is the "pro" version of their Luci light. The distinguishing feature of the pro version of their solar camping lantern is that it doubles as a charger for cell phones and other items. This can be useful if your phone is running low as you return to the trailhead or if your handheld GPS or other device needs additional power while you are out and about.

Goal Zero

Goal Zero's collapsible solar camping lantern is a backpacker's dream. It is light, collapsible, and can clip onto your pack after you break down camp. It packs a significant amount of charge for a small package and, like the other options, can be charged via USB before you hit the trail to set you up for success.

KIZEN

The Kizen solar camping light combines the cheaper price point of the Goal Zero solar camping light with the charging feature of the MPowered solar camping light. This solar camping light is ideal for car camping or short trips because it does not have the longest run time but does boast the added security of having a backup charger.

Solar energy can do much more than power your outdoor solar lights. The best place to compare options for home solar installations is the EnergySage Marketplace. By registering your property to get solar quotes, you can compare offers side by side from qualified, pre-vetted installers near you and speak with an Energy Advisor to discuss which offer is the best for you. If you want to see how much you can save by going solar, check out our Solar Calculator for an instant estimate based on your unique property.