Add solar fence lights to brighten up your yard, enhance your landscape and make your outdoor space remind you of your favorite outdoor nightspot.
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Solar Fence Light Considerations
Fence lighting can dramatically transform the look of your yard by creating a parameter of warmth and inviting ambience. Solar fence lights are a practical choice because you don’t have to worry about cords or hardwired connections that take a beating outside.
Using power from the sun, solar fence light batteries charge during the day and illuminate your fence at night.
Features that matter:
- Battery life: The average solar battery powers a fence light bulb for six to 12 hours. What you’ll get depends on the battery size and age, plus wattage usage and the amount of sunlight it receives during charging. After about a year, batteries can lose their ability to hold a charge. When that happens, just replace the battery.
- Recharging time: The more direct sunlight they get, the better (and faster) they’ll recharge. The average recharge time is about eight hours.
- Brightness: Lumens indicate brightness. For a soft, ambient glow, 10 lumens is good. For better visibility, try 100 lumens. (Fence lights are not usually installed for security purposes.)
- Durability: For all-weather resistance, a waterproof rating of IP44 (Ingress Protection from liquids, dust, dirt, etc.) or higher is recommended. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) material holds up best against sunlight damage.
- Bulbs: These days, most solar fence lights feature LED bulbs, which can last as long as 10 years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Before you buy an outdoor solar lighting system, check to see if replacement bulbs and batteries are available. Some don’t provide replacement options.
- Color: Kelvins indicate a light’s temperature (white to blue). If you want a light that’s not too warm or too cool, 3,000K is the midpoint.
- Installation: Most solar fence light fixtures are easy to install, with screw-in mountings or double-sided tape. The mounting method will depend on the fence material (wood, plastic, metal) and positioning. Once the fence lights are up, they’re low maintenance.
To help narrow down your choices, we’ve assembled a collection of top-rated solar fence lights for you to consider.
Brightest Solar Fence Lights
You’d be hard-pressed to find a brighter solar fence light than the Zookki Outdoor Solar Motion Sensor Lights. Each of the 28 LEDs produces 400 lumens of light, with a wide illumination range and motion detection. Sensors pick up movement from 26 feet away. Perfect on fence posts, they can also be mounted on walls, over patio doors and on the garage.
Writes one Amazon reviewer, “These are great for a fence perimeter. We use these in our decent sized suburban backyard, and they are great! We live in [Colorado] and we occasionally get coyotes, but these allow us to see what is back there. Nice and bright.”
Best Solar Fence Lights Value
If you’re on a tight budget, the four-pack of Othway Solar Fence Post Lights ($21) is a smart purchase. These glowing half-orbs produce about 12 lumens each, and their pretty honeycomb-inspired plastic covers shine a decorative starburst effect below.
Their size (approx. 4- x 3- x 2-in.) makes them super versatile — they can be placed almost anywhere. Although their run time is less than others on our list (four to eight hours), for the price they’re totally worth it.
Best Waterproof Solar Fence Lights
The Lohas Four-Pack LED Solar Fence Lights, with an IP rating of 65, are more than ready to get you through the most severe weather — wet, dry, freezing or torrential.
Another big plus: Each individual light is smaller than most cellphones, yet blasts a brilliant 150 lumens of 6,000K daylight white light from its eight LED chips. Burn time is up to 12 hours on a single charge.
Best Solar Fence Post Cap Lights
Engineered to fit securely to the top of any fence post between 4- to 6-in. square, Maggift’s Set of Six 15-Lumen Solar Post Lights illuminates your fencing in a sleek, low-profile design. They won’t rust because they’re made of high-quality plastic.
Attach the cap lights to the posts with two screws and you’re in business. Each light has a solar panel that recharges the AA NI-MH battery during the day, so it can shine all evening long.
Best Solar Fence Lanterns
Add dramatic appeal to your fence with the two retro-style Derynome Solar Lantern Outdoor Lights. Made of real glass and black matte stainless steel, these lanterns throw a soft, warm glow onto your patio or garden when the sun goes down.
They charge in six to eight hours and shine up to 10 hours. Mount them on a fence post or wall with the enclosed brackets.
Best Color-Changing Solar Fence Lights
Boasting a new generation of solar panels, the Sunface Solar Fence Post Lights with two-mode LEDs experience a homey, warm glow. Or let them rotate among seven colors when set on switching mode.
“Nice and modern light,” writes one happy Amazon customer. “I put these on the six-foot-tall fence around my backyard. The lights are pretty. I use the soft white now and will use the color option at Christmas.”
Best String Solar Fence Lights
These Brightech Solar-Powered Outdoor String Lights are commercial grade so they’re built to last. Each 27-foot string has 12 Edison-style LED globe bulbs; the 48-inch length features 15 bulbs. The solar panel (included) can be staked into the ground, or clipped to a gutter or the edge of the fence to ensure the best sun exposure.
