Just realized solar lights are not all the same - my string lights vs spot light test was eye opening

I tested 6 packs of solar string lights and 4 packs of solar spot lights in my Phoenix backyard over 3 months and the string lights barely lit up after 2 hours while the spot lights lasted all night - does anyone else find that the type of light matters way more than the brand or panel size?

3 comments

3 Comments

wood.faith1mo ago

Hang on, is it really that big of a deal? I mean yeah sure, some lights are gonna be better than others but testing them for three months in Phoenix sounds like a lot of work for some yard lights. Probably the spot lights just have bigger batteries or something, not some huge mystery about light types. And brands and panel size still matter a ton, you just picked a few that didn't work great.

jade_jenkins1mo ago

My cousin tried to test out a bunch of solar pathway lights for his desert landscaping in Tucson and ended up just giving up halfway through because the pack rats chewed through the wires on three of them. So maybe the real enemy here is local wildlife, not the light itself.

emmaclark1mo ago

Honestly, maybe pack rats are just better judges of solar tech than Consumer Reports.