13 Best Solar Flood Lights (2022 Reviews & Buyers' Guide)

2022-06-15 15:09:08 By : Mr. Alex Chen

Solar flood lights are an increasingly cost-effective way to illuminate indoor or outdoor areas. With options reaching over 5000 lumens, it’s possible to illuminate even large areas without much trouble. To help you find the best solar flood lights for you, your home, and your budget – we’ve rounded up our top 13 picks out of thousands of models elbowing each other for your attention. Without further ado, lets hop right in and begin with our quick comparison.

Between numerous power options, wide illumination, and the ability to work for longer than it charges, this model earns our best overall rating.

Here are our reviews for the best solar flood lights currently available. After reading our solar flood light reviews, with our top 13 most easy to install, bright, and well-constructed sun collectors, choosing the right one for you will likely be much easier. Starting with our #1 pick of the year, the ETENDA 2-Pack our best overall choice, let’s take a closer look.

Etenda’s two-pack of solar flood lights is our best overall choice for homeowners. This set comes with large solar panels, so you don’t have to buy them separately and offers up to 8000 lumens of brightness. This makes them suitable for public and private functions, including those taking place in extreme weather conditions.

Each of these solar flood lights can illuminate about three hundred square meters. If you need to illuminate a vast area, you can space them out to provide consistent lighting levels. While the 200W versions are moderately expensive, most of that price goes into the efficient solar panels. There’s a lot to love with these solar flood lights, so they’re worth looking at before anything else.

LEDMO’s two-pack is a great budget pick, especially when you consider its features. Each of the panels in this two-pack lights up about 3150 square feet (almost as much as our best overall pick), while a remote control system allows you to control the lights from up to 49 feet away.

However, the options to switch between full and half brightness are what set this apart as a budget option.

You can also program these to light up for three, five, or eight hours based on how much time you plan to spend outside, making them even more effective than they seem at first.

Between that and no need to wire things up, these solar flood lights easily earn our recommendation for budget-conscious buyers.

This is only a single solar flood light instead of the two-packs listed above, which makes it ideal for buyers who don’t need to illuminate as much space. More importantly, this is our best industrial-grade flood light, and it comes with a more-durable battery and casing than most other products on the market. This makes it an excellent choice for heavy, long-term use.

This solar light effectively covers areas up to 30 feet wide and 50 feet deep, which is respectable for a flood light. It provides some illumination beyond that, although whether you’ll need to get more lights depends on your location.

The main drawback to this product is the price. It’s more expensive as an industrial-grade product than most other options, though you will receive a better lifespan and durability. Ultimately, this may end up being more cost-effective than other options if you plan to use it daily.

Solar panel: 12V/35W polysilicon solar panel

Most LED floodlights are monochromatic, producing light somewhere in the 3000K to 6000K range. That’s fine for most people, but sometimes you want a little more color in the area you’re lighting up. That’s where this spotlight, our best RGB option, comes into the picture.

With the illumination of up to 12,000 lumens, this spotlight is also one of the brightest options on our list. It supports discharge over up to 24 hours, and the manufacturer rates it for up to 2000 discharges, so you can expect it to function well for several years with little or no maintenance required.

Unfortunately, you can’t configure the colors on multiple lights simultaneously. However, you can set the remote control to manage multiple lights, making it much easier to light landscapes or other large outdoor areas.

This isn’t quite as good as the two-pack from LEDMO we described earlier. However, this solar flood light covers up to 350 square meters (higher than many other options), making it our best full coverage choice. Sustainable 15-20H lighting time offers functionally endless illumination for targeted areas. A built-in light sensor automatically activates this light at dusk.

This solar flood light is better for home use than business or industrial use, though. Its remote control only reaches about 8 meters (or 26 feet), which is too short for broader areas unless you start wiring in other control systems. Even so, the 1400 lumens of illumination make this a functional and practical choice for many buyers, and it’s cheap enough that you can get several.

High-Efficiency Poly-crystalline Solar Panel 12Watt

SUNLONG’s 120 LED flood light produces about 1200 lumens of output over the 50,000-hour operational lifespan of the lights. The 16.4ft extension cords are a nice touch here and provide more mounting options than many competing products. That alone makes this worth considering, though it’s not quite good enough to be one of our top overall products.

Light-wise, this product operates at 5000K, which is a neutral white suitable for most situations. It emits light for about 1-1.5x the amount of time charged, so it’s not quite suitable for areas with longer nights during the winter. However, southern areas will get better use from its 8-12H discharge time.

While this solar flood light isn’t quite as bright or long-lasting as some alternatives, it’s relatively affordable which makes it a good choice for budget-focused buyers.

BestDrop’s Orb LED light is significantly better than it looks like at first glance. With up to 18000 lumens of light across its entire illuminated area, it’s better than many competitors at illuminating local areas. It also lasts for up to 50,000 hours of light time, and its high-efficiency battery usually charges in just 4-5 hours of daylight. This makes it a great choice in northern areas that don’t get as much daylight in winter.

However, despite this unit’s power and efficiency, it does have one big flaw that holds it back from moving higher on this list, and that’s the remote control. With a control distance of just 20 feet, it’s hard to operate this unit from anywhere except extremely close. It’s better to leave it in automatic mode if possible. Otherwise, you might want to try linking another remote to it, but that’s complicated.

One other factor sets this unit apart. Most LED flood lights are highly directional and illuminate a roughly rectangular area. In contrast, this LED is orb-shaped and provides much wider coverage. This makes it better for illuminating more significant regions or creating a softer look without a directional lamp’s strictly-defined areas.

Power of Solar Panel: 40W

CYBERDAX’s 300 LED lamp is unusually bright for an LED floodlight, capable of outputting up to 8000 lumens over about 400 square meters, which is a broader range than most LED flood lights. However, the other features are what set this option apart from the competition.

The main feature we like here is the inclusion of a radar motion sensor. Unlike scheduled lamps, the motion sensor makes this unit an excellent choice for irregular needs, such as lighting paths only when you walk through them. It’s also suitable for areas like playgrounds where minimizing costs is essential.

At about 300 watts of power, this lamp is also more powerful than competitors. Most LED flood lights operate in the 200-250W range. It supports about 10 hours of working time on a good charge, which is reasonable for most areas. It might fade closer to dawn in some northern areas.

This solar-powered LED flood light is fundamentally weaker than most of the other options on this list, but it’s also more affordable. While it’s capable of outputting up to 1500 lumens of brightness, its battery only supports that for about 2 hours. This unit works much better on a 500 or 150-lumen setting, where it can last up to 12 hours at a time.

As you can see, just from the brightness and charging times, this isn’t a good choice when you need to illuminate large areas for extended periods. However, it’s affordable and extremely useful when you want to illuminate small areas for shorter periods, such as coming home in the dark after work.

That fact makes this unit worth considering even though it’s fundamentally not as good as our top options. Buyers have different needs, and sometimes a smaller, weaker system is the best choice.

This industrial-style LED solar flood light is excellent for long-term illumination. Over 200W of illumination from 156 LEDs give it reliable coverage, while the 12V battery has enough capacity to keep your lamp lit until dawn.

The long lifespan of the battery at night is the main reason to consider this LED flood light, particularly because it’s several times more expensive than most of the other options on this list. That said, it also comes with a remote control that functions up to 90 feet away, which is useful if you’re installing this in high or hard-to-reach areas.

We only recommend this option for businesses due to the cost, but it’s worth considering if you want reliable performance in areas that need to stay lit all night.

Five thousand lumens is enough for most casual buyers, and that’s what this aptly-named Barn Light delivers. As the name suggests, this is a mixed indoor/outdoor LED flood light. That matters because most of these solar powered flood lights are only rated for outdoor use.

This unit also comes with multiple settings to support different sunlight levels, which is ideal if you need to install this lamp in an area that doesn’t get as much light as you prefer. A three-step indicator helps you see how much power the unit is getting, which is useful if you want to test it in different areas.

The manufacturer prices this product competitively, so it’s worth considering if you’re on a budget.

150 Watts High Power Solar Flood Light

With about 150W of power, this LED solar lamp helps illuminate things until dawn. It works best when placed about fifteen feet away from the area you want to light. That said, it’s not as bright or as covering as some of the cheaper options on our list, which is why it’s near the bottom here.

While it’s relatively dim at around 500 lumens, the fact that it lasts 10-12 hours is worthwhile in its own right. The remote control functions from about 75 feet away, which is particularly helpful if you’re installing this in higher areas and don’t want to climb up a ladder at night to modify the settings.

As a high-demand flood light, this is a good choice for areas that need help nightly, rather than irregular parties or late-night arrivals.

With 300W and about 20,000 lumens in a focused area, Tin Sum Solar Energy’s flood light is easily one of the brightest, and most affordable, options on this list. The main problem with this flood light is that it’s almost too bright. It needs a full, proper charge to display its maximum brightness, but that’s more than most people need.

This light also has some production issues that stop it from being quite as useful as it otherwise could be. It also tends to spread its light over an area, so it doesn’t provide the full claimed brightness, making this a slightly deceptive product. It’s not fundamentally flawed, but most of the options on this list are better choices.

Knowing what you’re buying is essential to purchasing the right solar flood light. Even if a product is fundamentally good on its merits, it could be the wrong choice for your location or the amount of light. Here’s what you should know about the best solar flood lights of the year before you buy one.

You probably need fewer watts than you think. LED lights are incredibly energy-efficient (1), and they lose power exceptionally slowly, so you often need fewer watts than you think to illuminate a decent-sized area. The main question is whether you just need it bright enough to see things, or if you need to illuminate an area enough to imitate daylight.

These are the dimmest solar flood lights, suitable for lighting small areas or giving just enough light to see by. A 40W LED can produce about 600 lumens, while just 100 lumens is enough for outdoor walkways. This is a good range if you’re looking for a solar flood light that can get you between your car and your house when it’s dark outside.

This range is also suitable for some lamp posts, landscape segments, sheds, and certain commercial pathways. However, this is too dim for security purposes, especially because they may not be bright enough to let security cameras record proper footage of the area you want to observe.

This is a brighter range, although still dimmer than LED flood lights typically allow. Unlike regular bulbs, which aren’t trying to totally illuminate an area, flood lights fill a specific area with as much light as possible. These flood lights are decent options for large landscaped areas or other zones that you want to illuminate for extended periods.

Most LED flood lights are in this range. Up to 200 watts is bright enough to illuminate a relatively broad area to near-daylight conditions. However, even with LEDs, these require relatively large batteries to keep things lit for extended periods.

Lamps at the higher end of this range are ideal for lighting up larger areas, such as stadiums, large indoor shopping areas, or similar facilities. (2) However, such areas tend to be so large that buyers usually purchase several flood lights and string them together in sequence.

Figuring out how many solar flood lights you need to cover a large space is essential to minimizing expenses.

If you’re not sure, consider contacting the manufacturer and asking for input. They can usually provide guidance on the number of lamps you’ll need for a particular area.

These are the most powerful solar flood lights on the market. Most solar flood lights in this range illuminate vast areas, making them popular choices for parking lots and other areas where space is an issue. Companies often mount these solar lights much higher than other flood lights to help avoid blinding people.

Solar flood lights with more than 200 watts also tend to be more expensive than the competition. The price increase has more to do with the solar panel size and the battery than the light itself.

The best solar flood lights offer more than just an on/off switch. Here are some of the most common extra features and why you should consider getting them.

Multi-packs include more than one LED flood light, which is ideal when you need to illuminate larger areas. Many people need more than one, so buying lights in bulk can reduce the cost and ultimately help you achieve your goals.

That said, companies rarely sell more than two lights at a time. Most people don’t need more than four lights at most, so it’s easier to sell in bulk than it is to create single, large packs of solar flood lights.

It’s hard to call this a bonus feature because practically every solar flood light has this. However, this is important to note because when you compare wireless security systems vs wired, having a waterproof rating allows solar-powered units to go where grid-powered units cannot.

That said, most of the better outdoor solar flood lights have a waterproof rating, or otherwise called Ingress Protection rating of 67. However, this rating isn’t as clear as it sounds at first. It’s actually a two-part rating, and here’s what it means.

The first digit goes from 0-6 and refers to the light’s protection against solid objects. The second number goes from 0-8 and reports the protection against water. At IP67, flood lights are basically impervious to rain and can usually resist snow and other inclement weather, too. (3)

When asking, how long do LED lights last with solar flood lights, it’s important to look for models with automatic on/off systems. Most of these include light sensors that determine when dusk happens, then run the lights for 3, 5, or 8 hours depending on how you configure them. These are ideal for places where you don’t want to have to turn them on and off manually.

In rarer cases, you may find solar lamps with optional motion sensors. These are particularly useful when you want to illuminate an area only when people are using it. This is common for some businesses, as well as home environments with long driveways.

While some of the models on this list have these capabilities, dusk to dawn solar flood lights are built solely for this purpose.

Charge times vary based on your location. Areas closer to the poles of the world usually have longer nights, so solar flood lights with low charge times are particularly helpful. Areas that are closer to the equator have more sunlight, so they can get by with longer charge times.

Most solar flood lights have a fixed color, usually somewhere in the “natural white” range. This is ideal for general situations where you want clarity for whatever you’re illuminating, and they suffice for most situations.

In rarer cases, though, you may want to change the colors on your solar flood light. That’s where any color LEDs, also known as RGB flood lights, come into play. Most of these let you set the color gradient to anything you wish, though you usually have to set them individually instead of altering a whole network at once.

Note that changing colors on solar flood lights can affect its Color Rendering Index. (4)

Extended warranties are great because they help you test the solar lights to ensure that they meet your needs. When possible, try to get a warranty on the solar panel and the battery for at least one year. Companies rarely offer much more than that, but take advantage of a better warranty if you see one.

Finally, brightness (and how long the lamp can stay bright) is perhaps the most important part of any solar flood light. High brightness lamps are suitable for illuminating large areas, including some commercial spaces, parking lots, stadiums, and similar zones. (5) Regular homeowners rarely need these, but they are an option if you’re willing to pay a premium for them.

Here are the top factors to consider when looking for the best deals on the best solar flood lights.

How fast do the lights ship, and how fast do you need them? Free shipping is always better if you can get it, although solar panels can be large enough that free shipping is hard to come by. If money isn’t a factor, you can look at places with expedited or overnight shipping instead. These can be useful for businesses that need to replace lights as fast as possible.

Some stores offer time-limited deals and discounts for those looking to buy the best solar flood lights. If you’re buying on a budget, taking advantage of these can get you more solar flood lights at a lower price than you could afford otherwise. However, since most solar flood lights last for years, it’s hard to guarantee that you can take advantage of these when you need them most.

Some people, instead, end up buying extras whenever they’re on sale and not installing them until the old ones burn out. However, waiting a few years to install a panel can have negative effects on its battery, so this isn’t as viable as it sounds on the surface.

In summary: limited-time deals are nice if you can get them, but if your units are just going to lay around, their battery life can suffer which is something you don’t want. Look for limited-time deals, but weigh all your options before buying one of the best solar flood lights of the year.

Finally, what’s the real price of your solar flood light? This isn’t limited to the list price, any applicable taxes, and shipping fees.

The final price also includes anything you have to spend to install your solar flood light, such as employee wages or buying ladders. This can vary a lot if you’re buying in bulk, so try to estimate it early on. That way, you’ll get the most value out of one of our favorite DIY outdoor lighting ideas without electricity this year.

The best solar lights to buy are the ones that meet your needs, including how much light your installation area receives. There are three main factors to consider when evaluating solar flood lights:

Coverage: How much space does the flood light illuminate? Bigger isn’t always better, because illuminating a large area with powerful lights means draining the battery faster. Many people have to sequence lights together to illuminate everything.

Brightness: How bright is the solar flood light? You don’t need an industrial-strength flood light to illuminate a small path from your driveway to your house. Figure out how much light you want before you go shopping. Remember that LEDs slowly lose light over time. (7)

Features: Extra features like long-range remote control, color changes, or motion sensors can help solar flood lights stand out from the crowd. If such features could be useful, consider lights with those before you look at anything else. (8)

Solar flood lights that meet your criteria in all three areas are the best choices. Budgets aren’t as much of a concern, either. Most solar flood lights cost around $150/unit, and while some are more expensive, you can usually find something appropriate in that range.

Estimating the actual brightness of solar lights is difficult because some of them only report their luminous flux. This is the brightness across their entire area, rather than their regular illumination. Luminous flux is generally higher than regular lumens. (6)

That said, the brightest solar lights are around 22,000 lumens.

In our view here at Energy Center of the World, the ETENDA 2PACK is the best overall solar flood light to buy in 2021. Between its light-yet-durable body, excellent illumination, short charging time, and sustained illumination, it’s a great highly-reviewed option for most buyers. If you’re this far in our guide and still don’t know what to get, we recommend buying this pack and trying it out. You won’t be disappointed.

Dara Brant is the Managing Editor at Green Building Elements. Prior to joining us she covered alternative energy news and local developments at Your Energy Blog. Dara has a passion for sustainable living and wants to do more than her fair share to help build a better tomorrow for future generations. You can connect with Dara on LinkedIn.

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