It happened to most of us. Trying to back into your driveway in the dark, being off by a few inches, taking out your garden, ripping up your grass, maybe even knocking down your mailbox.
Sure, there are street lights or a lamp post around, but others don’t light up your driveway enough to be confident about where you are driving. The best solution to this problem is investing in solar driveway lights.
They will light up the edges of your driveway so you can see exactly where to pull your car. Solar driveway lights are a great option because they are environmentally friendly and they don’t require any wiring.
You can put them anywhere on your property and they will work in any weather conditions. Another great feature of solar driveway lights is that they increase the safety of your home.
If you have steps leading up to your porch, solar lights can help prevent anyone from falling. Solar driveway lights are a great investment for your home. They come in a variety of styles and prices, so you can find the perfect ones to match your home.
In this article, you will find many solar lights. The list can be found on Amazon for under $100. So, if you are looking for a way to light up your driveway and everything around your home, solar driveway lights are the way to go.
Top Picks Solar Driveway Lights
Top Recommendation
Jackyled Solar Lights
The Jackyled Solar Driveway lights are the best solar driveway lights for multiple reasons. These solar lights for outdoors are tough and durable, weatherproof, bright, and long-lasting.
Best Upgrade Option
Westinghouse Solar Flat In-Ground Lights
The Westinghouse In-Ground solar driveway lights are a great upgrade choice for your driveway. They provide an easy installation process, using a stake pushed into the ground, while being completely flush with the ground so you don’t have to worry about them getting knocked over.
Best Value Option
Maggift Solar Path Lights
Looking for some outdoor solar driveway lights that won’t break the bank, but will give good, bright light? The Maggift Solar Path Lights are very budget friendly. For less than twenty-five dollars, you can get twelve of these pathway lights.
How Do Solar Driveway Lights Work?
Solar driveway lights do not need to be connected to electricity to light up. Like solar deck lights products, driveway lights have solar panels that absorb sunlight and turn it into energy.
This energy powers the battery to light up the driveway lights when the sun goes down. Solar batteries last for varying times, depending on what kind of battery is installed. Most units come with a rechargeable battery that can be recharged for up to three years.
Solar batteries are replaceable, so when the battery stops charging, you can buy a new one from the manufacturer. Battery life and led bulbs lifespan can be extended with proper use and maintenance.
Unlike other solar LED lights, most solar driveway lights, for a reason, are not replaceable. If you just replaced the battery but the lights still won’t work, the lights are most likely dead.
You will need to replace the whole fixture if this happens. Make sure you buy another solar light that uses the same type of battery so you can keep your current batteries as backups.
How To Choose the Best Solar Driveway Lighting
When looking for solar driveway lights, you need to consider what features and specifications are most important to you. Brightness, details, appearance, and settings are all huge factors in looking for solar driveway lights.
The length of how far do you need to be able to see, and the amount of light you need are both important factors to consider. Do you want constant path lights, or are you more interested in motion only solar lighting?
There are many different options available, so you need to decide what style and look you are going for in your solar lighting. It is also important to consider where the solar lighting outdoor placement will be.
Does your driveway get enough sun to charge the lights? Are you able to place the driveway lights with ease? Are there elements to be considered that may be preventing placement, such as rocks or extra concrete?
Are you looking for solar panel lights to line your walkway or patio? Do you want to add some extra light to an area in your yard? There are many different solar lights on the market and it is important to find the right type of solar lights for your needs.
There are solar lights that are made with water-resistant materials or waterproof to work in all types of weather conditions and there are also solar lights that are made to work in specific spaces. They come in different designs and brands.
It is important to find solar lights that match your aesthetics and that will work well in the space that you have available in your house or business. Solar driveway lights can come in different modes, such as dim mode or bright mode. Power sources are from the solar panel and batteries.
You may be wondering if driveway lights are the right option for you. How do you pick the best solar driveway lights for your driveway? You need to know what different types of light solar-powered lamps do, so you can pick the best solar light for your wants and needs.
Best Solar Driveway Lights Reviews
Best Overall Option
Jackyled Solar Lights
The Jackyled Solar Driveway lights are the best solar driveway lights for multiple reasons. These LED solar lights for outdoors are tough and durable, weatherproof, bright, and long-lasting.
Best Upgrade Option
Westinghouse Solar Flat In-Ground Lights
The Westinghouse In-Ground solar driveway lights are a great upgrade choice for your driveway. These are the best solar driveway lights if you are looking for something that can be as out of the way as possible.
Best Value Option
Maggift Solar Path Lights
The Maggift Solar Path Lights are very budget friendly. For less than twenty-five dollars, you can get twelve of these pathway lights.
Best Alternative Option
Litom Garage Lights
This alternative option is a solar powered light that is meant to be used in the garage. These lights make a good choice for solar lighting outdoors because it features motion detection.
Best Overall
Jackyled Solar Lights
The Jackyled Solar Driveway lights are the best solar driveway lights for multiple reasons. These LED solar lights for outdoors are tough and durable, weatherproof, bright, and long-lasting.
This solar driveway light comes in 4-pack but you can also purchase it in other packs such as 1-pack or 8-pack. These solar lights are made out of polycarbonate, making them super durable.
They can hold up under twenty tons of pressure, which means if you happen to run over them, they won’t crack under the weight. The material allows the solar lights to be weatherproof(IP68 rating), continuing to work in snow, rain, or heat.
Installation is easy and permanent, so you can set them and forget them. During the day, these solar lights will charge for up to eight hours. The solar battery will then power the lights for up to 72 hours on one day of charge.
The lights are also bright enough to spread light over 875 yards in the dark, extra helpful if you have a long or wide driveway.
Advantages And Disadvantages
The advantages of the Jackyled lights are the warranty, the durability, the range, and the long use of one charge. The main disadvantage of this light is it does not offer an auto-off feature.
These lights come with a one year warranty, so if anything happens to them, you will be able to get a replacement. The warranty is helpful especially if the lights are defective.
Being made of aluminium makes these lights extra durable, so they won’t break under the pressure of your car if you accidentally run over one. They are also able to continue working through any kind of weather, being snow, rain, or heat.
This unit also comes with installing screws that you can fix it anywhere you want. The best feature of this solar powered driveway light is the ability of its premium quality LEDs to provide users with super bright color and steady light up to 875 yards.
This makes them ideal for a home with a long or wide driveway, or if you just want to be able to see your yard and your garden when you pull into your driveway at night. Another great feature is the 72 hour run time of one charge, supported by solar power source and 600mAh battery.
Charge the light for eight hours, and it will stay on for 72 straight hours. Which brings us to the one disadvantage of these pathway lights. There is no auto-off feature on these lights.
They will run all day long and all night long. While this may be appealing to some people, it causes the lights and the battery to wear down quicker than a driveway light that doesn’t run during the day.
Stand-out Features
The Jackyled has a unique design, allowing it to get screwed directly into the ground and stay there. They can also be anchored directly into your driveway, near the fence, or landscape, making them useful in different areas around your yard.
This feature also allows them to sit very close to the ground, almost flush but still sticking out a little bit.
Best Use
The best use for Jackyled solar powered lights is a long driveway, because it has such a wide range of visibility. These can also be used as garden lights to illuminate your flowerbeds in the dark.
These are also a great option if you do not want something that sticks out of the ground. Since they are anchored into the ground, they will stay in place through bad weather, kids, pets, and the occasional running over.
With a 72 hour run time, they will also be extra beneficial to those who live in states that have a lot of rain, or have long periods of darkness such as Alaska or Washington. Being able to last on one day charge will allow you more use than another option that only lasts for 12 hours on one charge.
Best Upgrade Option
Westinghouse Solar Flat In-Ground Lights
The Westinghouse In-Ground solar driveway lights are a great upgrade choice for your driveway. They provide an easy installation process, using a stake pushed into the ground, while being completely flush with the ground so you don’t have to worry about them getting knocked over.
These are the best solar driveway lights if you are looking for something that can be as out of the way as possible. The flat design is beneficial if you have kids and pets because they won’t be able to mess with the lights, knock them over, or pull them out of the ground.
You also don’t have to worry about them flying out of the ground during a rough storm. These in-ground solar lights use a unique design, placing the three LED light bulbs in a triangle shape on the outer ring of the stainless steel lamp.
The LED light also features a day and night sensor, the lights will automatically turn on when the sun goes down, and turn off when the sun comes up. A great feature if you are looking for the best solar powered dusk to dawn light.
Unlike others that are made of plastic, these in-ground lights are made out of stainless steel protectingng the solar lights from unexpected conditions. It is capable of staying strong during a hail storm, being ran over by your car, and little feet of babies and animals.
You can’t go wrong with this solar driveway light.
Advantages And Disadvantages
The stainless steel design protects the fixture from all kinds of elements, rain, sleet, or snow. They also feature a unique three LED design, forming a triangle to work almost as a spotlight.
Installation is easy, they come with stakes that get pushed completely into the ground, making it possible for the lights to be flush with the ground. Also featured is an auto sensor, so they will turn on at night and off in the morning.
The disadvantage of this choice is the price. You get eight lights for the price of ninety-five dollars, making them more than ten dollars each.
Stand-out Features
The biggest stand-out of this option is the in-ground ability. There aren’t many lights solar outdoor fixtures that are able to be pushed all the way into the ground, they usually all have to stick out.
This is beneficial if you receive a lot of bad weather, because the fixtures will stay in place the whole time.
Best Use
The best use for Westinghouse In-Ground is in a yard with lots of traffic, such as kids and dogs who like to play in the front yard. The flush design helps them stay in the ground and not get knocked over during play.
Best Value Option
Maggift Solar Path Lights
Looking for some outdoor solar driveway lights that won’t break the bank, but will give good, bright light? The Maggift Solar Path Lights are very budget friendly. For less than twenty-five dollars, you can get twelve of these pathway lights.
These solar lights feature a clear lens making the lights brighter and more clear. They put off a bright white light, making it much easier to see your driveway. It is also possible for these lights to double as garden lights if you have a smaller driveway.
The Maggift Lights are weather-resistant, easy to install, and very tiny. Installation is a breeze with the stake method. All you need to do is pick your spot and place your light.
The material can stand strong during all types of weather. Being a small two inches wide, these outdoor lights do not take up much space, but are powerful to light up your driveway path.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The price for twelve stake lights is just over twenty dollars, making these a very affordable option at about two dollars for each fixture. These solar driveway path lights feature a soft, but bright, white light to illuminate your driveway.
The price is so attractive, you can buy them as deck lights, and for your garden as well. The matching lights will give your home a very nice curb appeal. You will also be able to draw attention to the parts of your yard that you want to be most visible.
These lights are only two-inches wide, making them very petite and allowing them to take up minimal space in your yard. They also have automatic day and night sensors, so you don’t have to worry about turning them on at all.
One small disadvantage of these lights are the durability. Since they are so tiny, they are very flimsy and can be broken if ran over or stepped on.
Stand-out Features
The Maggift lights feature a decorative lens to make them very appealing to the eye. This lens allows a calming, but bright, white light to illuminate your yard.
Best Use
The best use for the Maggift lights are to line your driveway, draw attention to your garden, and be used as deck lights to create a flawless transition between areas.
Best Alternative Option
Litom Garage Lights
This alternative option is a solar powered light that is meant to be used in the garage. These lights make a good choice for solar lighting outdoors because it features motion detection.
When you pull into your driveway at night, the lights will automatically come on and stay on for twenty seconds or as long as motion is detected. This light is unique because it offers a 270-degree lighting angle.
This offers a wider range of light around your home, garden, driveway, and deck. The wide angle allows for more lights and a larger battery, meaning you can get more use out of it before needing to replace than other types of solar powered outdoor lights.
Advantages And Disadvantages
The biggest advantage of the Litom Garage lights being used as driveway lights is the wide range of illumination it offers. Since they are angled, they have the ability to illuminate 270-degrees around.
These solar driveway lights offer a motion sensor, which can detect motion up to 860 square feet around the fixture. When there is detected motion, the light still come on immediately and stay on for twenty seconds, or until there is no more motion.
These lights are a great security feature for your home, as well as a great option to light up your driveway when you come home in the dark.
Stand-out Features
The best feature of this light is the wide range for the motion sensor and lights. The Litom Garage lights offer a sense of security with the quick reaction of the motion sensor, and the wide range of illumination.
Best Use
These are best for short driveways because they are designed to be mounted on the outside wall. The light can shine up to 215 square feet in front of your home.
Conclusion
When searching for the best solar driveway lights, it is important to keep in mind what features you will benefit from the most. Do you need motion or step sensing? Or what about auto sensing?
Do you want lights that stick out of the ground, or would you prefer to have them flush because you have kids and pets. Durability is another really important factor to keep in mind.
If anyone accidentally runs over your lights, you want them to be able to handle that pressure. It will happen more times than you think, and you don’t want to be buying new lights every two weeks.
It is clear that based on our review, the spotlights on with Jackyled, it has the most desirable features that you may be looking for when shopping for lights. They are durable, bright, and have a wide range of visibility.
They can withstand up to twenty tons of pressure, so your car won’t break one if you run over it. They are not completely flush with the ground, but they are anchored, meaning they will stay in place at all times.
The best upgrade option is the Westinghouse In-Ground because they are bright, installed with stakes to be completely flush with the ground, and made of stainless steel to make them extra durable and weatherproof. They are the most beneficial for those who do not want them to get ripped out on accident or blown away during a storm.
The most affordable option is the Maggift. They are very reasonably priced, small enough to not take away attention from your yard during the day, but bright enough to draw attention to the right places in the dark.
They also have a clear decorative lens, making them appealing to the eye. As for a light that isn’t necessarily designed for your driveway, the Litom is a great option.
It features a 270-degree angle of visibility. This light also has the widest range for motion detection, with an instant reaction time, staying on for twenty seconds or until there is no more motion.
