Solar-powered disk lights are one of the best ways to light up your garden and yard for safe entry while adding some decoration. The solar lights are easy to install, easy to maintain, and most of them have auto on/off mechanisms, meaning you don’t have to worry about a thing, once you’ve put them in place.
Let’s take a look and see which path lights are most beneficial and interesting for your home and garden setup.
What Are Disk Lights?
Disk lights are a solar-powered, disk-shaped light which is mounted either horizontally or vertically on a surface or staked into the ground. These get charged by the sun using a built-in solar panel. Their batteries can hold up to ten hours of power for lighting a LED bulb.
Depending on the model purchased, there are a variety of features that come with a disk light. These include on and off switches, color change, and, the function to dim the lights.
LED lights are a low-profile light that is ideal for illuminating driveways, walkways, and garden illumination. These are designed to work in all weather conditions, however, a prolonged lack of direct sunlight may affect how long the charge lasts.
How Do Solar Powered Lights Work?
Solar lights work because they are powered by solar energy which is collected by a solar panel. Electricity is created when sunlight shines on the panels. Electrical current is created by the cells inside the panel. This process is known as photovoltaic.
Solar panel cells are designed with layers of crystal silicon and chemicals. These elements work together and create a semiconductor that allows electrons to be stirred and made into energy when the sunlight hits the panels.
How Solar LED Lights Can Be Used
There a ton of different ways you can use these little lights in your yard. The unique design makes them perfect for garden lighting, pathway illumination, and so much more.
Motion Sensor Lighting
A standard feature of various brands of solar lights is motion sensing. Motion detectors can detect movement in the outdoor area. This type of solar disk has a small electronic eye that senses heat waves from objects and then turns on the light.
Pathway Illumination
If you are wanting to illuminate your driveway or walkways, path lights are a great choice. This type of light is used to provide safe walking paths at night. While these are similar to garden lights, path lights are brighter.
This bright light works best when placed at the base of bushes, trees, or porch pillars. This will give a spotlight effect which will better show off your intended item.
Garden Lighting
If you want a new way to appreciate your garden, accent lighting is the way to go. This allows you to enjoy your garden at any time and can be used to showcase statuary or water features.
Spotlighting
This bright light works best when placed at the base of bushes, trees, or porch pillars. This will give a spotlight effect which will better show off your intended item.
What Are The Different Types Of Solar Disk Lights
There are a variety of different solar lights to meet your need. Depending on its use, solar disks are divided up as motion sensing, path lights, spot lights, and garden lights. Whatever your outdoor lighting needs, one of these can meet it.
What Are the Advantages of Solar Lights Over Other Lights?
LED lights offer several advantages over other landscaping light sources. Despite being dependent on solar power (and fair weather) they are still capable of getting a good charge despite inclement weather. The only downside is that the cloudier the weather, the greater the change of a shorter charge. It’s also important to make sure the solar panels are kept free of any debris or snow to maximize the length of the charge.
They’re Solar-Powered
A great advantage of using solder disk light is that they only need sunlight to stay powered. This makes LED lights great for off-the-grid light sources. Regardless of the reason, it is always good to have solar power lights for when you don’t have electricity.
Wireless
Solar lights have the tremendous advantage in not needing to be placed near outlets or electrical lines. As long as the disk has sufficient sunlight it can be placed anywhere. This convenience saves the hassle and mess of wiring.
Intelligent Sensor
If your light has an intelligent sensor, it can be set to be turned on when it starts to become dark. This worry-free setting allows you to have the light whenever you need it without the worry of stumbling around in the dark.
Artistic Lighting
There are a variety of options when it comes to picking a solar disk light. Classic and modern designs both offer a variety of lights that can add an ambiance to your garden, pathways, or home.
Easy to Install
They are an easy installation that takes less than five minutes. Solar disks come attached with a stake that just needs to be pushed flat into the ground. All that is left to do is to let the light charge during the day and then the light will turn on when it becomes dark enough.
Cost-efficient
Solar-powered lights can provide a cost-effective way of lighting up outdoor spaces without having to pay a high electric bill. This light can be used to light your way from your car to your front door or to provide ambient lighting for quietly reflecting after a long day. With the solar-powered lights, you won’t have to worry about this confidence being added to your electric bill. After the upfront purchase of the light, you are done paying and free to enjoy.
Increases Property Value
If you are looking for a way to improve your landscaping and increase your property value at the same time, then you should consider adding solar lights. The initial investment in the lights can pay off in many ways, including a better price for your property.
Disadvantages of Solar Power Disk Lights
While solar lights offer many positives, there are some disadvantages to be aware of.
They will charge most efficiently during sunny days. Depending on how thick the cloud cover is, the lights can struggle to charge during stormy weather.
If you live in a place where there is limited sunlight, the solar power lights may not be able to get enough of a charge to last through the night.
How We Chose These Lights to Recommend
As solar technology has become cheaper and more widely available, there are now more products with several features. While it is great to have options, it is important to know what you are looking for so that you can get the best deal for your hard-earned money.
With so many details and options it is easy to become overwhelmed while searching. To make the search easier, focus on which features are most important to you and your project.
Durable Construction
Solar lights will vary in price depending on their design and what they are made of. Not all lights are made equally because some are intended for heavy-duty use and will be made of steel, while other cheaper models are made of plastic.
Keep in mind your lights will be outside 24/7 and need to be tough enough to survive the elements. It is important to make sure you pick models that will be rust-resistant and can handle whatever mother nature throws at them.
Light Brightness
How bright of lights will you need and how large of an area do you need to illuminate? Answering these questions will help you determined the number of lights you need and the number of lumens they will need to have.
If you are wanting to use your lights for security purposes, then you will need bulbs with high lumens. However, if all you want to do is accent your outdoors, then you can get away with having lower levels of brightness.
Light Range
Every manufacturer creates its solar disk light to have different ranges. Depending on the strength of the light, they can light a distance that goes as far as ten feet. With strategic placing, you can cover the area you need with fewer lights.
Recharge Time and Run time
Each brand of solar disk light has a different recharge and run time. Recharge time refers to how many hours of exposure to light is required before the battery is fully charged.
Run time refers to how many hours the light can operate on its battery. Recharge and run time both depend on the strength of the battery and how easy it is for the solar panels to absorb light. The better quality the solar panel the easier it is to charge.
Waterproof/Weatherproof
The only way for a solar disk light to effectively work outside is if it can survive the elements. One of the biggest concerns is making sure the light is waterproof, otherwise, it will short circuit as soon as the rain begins. The IPX system is used for gauging how weatherproof your solar disk light is, the higher the rating and the better equipped it will be to survive bad weather.
Aesthetics
These lights are not only good for lighting up and highlighting the areas of your garden you want to show off, but the lights themselves are often designed to look good. If you have a specific theme or look you wish to accomplish, it is important to find the light which meets your requirements.
Part of this look involves the type of light the disk light emits. The lights range from being bright and illuminating, to soft warm light. The disk light’s variation in brightness and warmth can be used to give the outside of your house a unique look.
Compare Prices
While comparing various lights it is important to consider the price of your light. While a quality light will cost more than a poorly constructed light, just because a light is expensive does not mean it is the best.
Pay attention to reviews and customer experience to make sure you are striking a balance with your purchase. It won’t’ do you any good to buy a subpar light that requires so much maintenance that you pay more to fix it than the light is worth.
Warranty
One last thing to consider is the warranty for the light you are purchasing. The cheapest of lights won’t come with a warranty but if you will be investing a large amount of money into this type of light, make sure you are protected.
A normal manufacturer estimate is for the lights to last 2-3 years, however, there is no guarantee that this estimate will hold true. The great thing about a warranty is that if anything goes wrong, your investment is protected.
Top 4 Disk Lights to Consider
After all the research and study, we’ve come up with this list of the best disk lights for your home. Each has its own distinct advantages and meets all of our requirements, plus high ratings from real life users.
#1 Editor’s Choics : Solpex Solar Ground Lights
- Super easy to install
- Exceptionally bright
- Staked or adhered to flat surfaces
The Solpex Solar Ground Lights are our top choice for best disk light overall. These small but bright lights have eight LEDs per disk, stay on for eight hours when fully charged, and are 100% hassle free. Plus, they’re versatile, being able to install on spikes or on flat surfaces.
- Charge time: 4-6 hours
- Stay lit: up to 8 hours
- Number of LEDs: 8 LEDs per light
- Number of Light Stakes in Pack: 12 pack
- Color: bright white
- Special Features: Can be used on stakes or adhered to flat surfaces for more flexibility in placement
What We Loved
One of the main things we love about this particular disk light set is that each of the lights is brighter than most of the other options out there. While many others have just four or six lights each, the Solpex Solar Ground Lights have eight high power LEDs to keep your path or garden light all night.
We also love that they have an auto on/off setting, meaning you just plant them and let them go. You won’t need to adjust, turn them on, or otherwise deal them, unless you want to move them around.
The Solpex Solar Ground Lights have an IP44 grade for weatherproof design and are made of a unique stainless steel lamp shell with six screws holding everything together to ensure that heavy rain, snow, sleet, or frost stay out of the lights.
Like all solar lights, they’re also wireless and super easy to install. It’s a win-win with these lights for sure, especially since they also have a 90-day trial during which you can return them if you come across any issues.
We love the aesthetics of these LED lights, too. Because they’re good for staked use or adhering to flat surfaces, like cement walkways, they add that extra shine and sparkle in places you might not otherwise expect.
What We Didn’t Love
We really couldn’t find anything about these lights that we don’t love. They’re affordable, versatile, easy to install, and super bright.
Our Verdict
If you’re looking for bright garden or path lights without hassle, these are the best option out there. They’re versatile, easy to install, long-lasting with up to eight hours of light when fully charged, and stand up to foul weather.
Note: If you don’t need twelve lights, the same product comes in a pack of eight solar lights.
Close Runner Up: The Gigalumi Solar Ground Lights
- Eight bright LED lights
- Fast charging, long-lasting
- Easy to install and virtually no maintenance
The Gigalumi Solar Ground Lights are a super close runner up with our top pick. The primary aspect that bumped it ahead is the rating given by real-life users. Gigalumi come super highly rated still, though, and actually have a little higher weatherproof rating, listed as IP65.
- Charge time: 4-6 hours
- Stay lit: 8-10 hours
- Number of LEDs: 8 LEDs per light
- Number of Light Stakes in Pack: 12 pack
- Color: bright white
- Special Features: N/A
What We Loved
We absolutely love how easy these are to install, maintain, and generally use. They don’t require any special handling and turn off and on automatically for you, so you don’t have to worry about remembering to make sure they’ve been turned on when someone gets home after dark.
We also love how weatherproof they are. They’ve got a pretty high weatherproof rating at IP65 and can withstand snow, hail, sleet, frost, and heavy rain without issue.
They don’t take long to charge, either, only needing four to six hours of daylight. This means they will work summer, spring, autumn, or winter.
We also love the aesthetic on the lights. Very simple, bright, and lovely after dark.
What We Didn’t Love
The Gigalumi Solar Ground Lights also don’t appear to have any consistent issues we could spot. There might be a lemon batch out there, but otherwise, high praise follows these high quality, easy to use solar pathway lights.
Our Verdict
Overall, the only real difference we noticed between these and the Solpex lights is that they’re not quite as versatile. The quality is still high, the benefits high, and the ease of use equally high. They’re great for your garden walkway planters on the patio, or just about anywhere else you might want some easy access lights.
Best Colored Solar Lights: LeBreak Solar Ground Lights
- Multicolored lights for a festive atmosphere
- Easy to use and change settings on
- Ultra-bright with a whopping 10 LEDs per disk
For those looking for something a little different in their backyards, the LeBreak Solar Ground Lights are a great way to go. They have seven different colors that light up the night and still maintain the easy components we love about the other options on the list: easy to install, virtually no maintenance, and bright.
- Charge time: 4-8 hours
- Stay lit: 8-10 hours
- Number of LEDs: 10 LEDs per light
- Number of Light Stakes in Pack: 4 pack
- Color: multicolored/colorchanging
- Special Features: Multi-colored lights that change colors throughout the night
What We Loved
Obviously, we are loving the colors on these lights! They rotate through green, red, orange, pink, purple, blue, and yellow. Plus, they have white lights for that extra brightness, when needed. The colors can be fixed to stay put or they will change, depending on the setting you choose.
We love how bright they are, too, with ten LEDs per light disk. That’s more than pretty much any others we’ve seen, which is especially nice with the color change effects.
They’re incredibly durable and weatherproof with an IP65 rating. That means they’ll not only handle the wind and rain and snow, but if you’d like to have your pool party lit up, you can take them off their stakes for a few hours and float them around a while.
What We Didn’t Love
There’s really not much we didn’t love about these. They’re bright, they’re vibrant, and fun. The only potential issue is that there are some knock offs being sold as the product and they’re not as high quality. Be sure the brand is LeBreak to ensure they match this review.
Our Verdict
If you love to party – even if it’s just with lights – these are a great choice for your backyard or garden path. They’re vibrant, super bright, loads of fun, and do all the things we’d hope they’d do as pathway lights. They’re durable and extremely weatherproof, too, which certainly doesn’t hurt!
Best Faux Stone Solar Lights: GLIME Solar Ground Lights
- Covers look like fairly realistic stone
- Attractive and subtle
- Easy to install, use, and shine brightly
The GLIME Solar Ground Lights are a great option for anyone looking for something a little more subtle to blend in with their stone-lined path through the yard. They’re subtle and attractive for more formal backyard settings while still providing plenty of light.
- Charge time: 6-8 hours
- Stay lit: 6-8 hours
- Number of LEDs: 8 LEDs
- Number of Light Stakes in Pack: 8 pack
- Color: white
- Special Features: N/A
What We Loved
We love how attractive and subtle these are. A lot of times folks complain about solar products being kind of iffy in the good looks department – but not these! The faux stone blends in really nicely with more elegant settings as well as casual backyards.
We love how bright they are, too. Along with the other lights we’ve reviewed here, they use at least eight bright LED bulbs to brighten the path or light up those plants or landscaping features.
We also love that they come in a moderate sized pack of lights. Eight lights is a pretty good number for most backyards or walkways.
And, like the others, they’re durable, weatherproof, easy to install, and stay lit for most of the dark hours, even in winter.
What We Didn’t Love
The only thing we don’t love about these is that they take a little longer than some of the others to charge. Instead of 4-6 hours, which is ideal for winter, they can take up to 8 hours of daylight to charge.
Our Verdict
Ultimately, if you’re looking a neutral or more natural look for your solar lights, these are a great option. The faux stone cover blends in easily and looks great in colorful cheerful backyards or more subtle, muted places that rely on elegance as their attractor.
Runners Up
There were several other great solar lights we’d like to mention as well, even if they didn’t make it to our top four list.
The LCared Solar Ground Lights are a great option that come in a 16 pack and have warm white instead of bright white lights. They’re great for someplace you need a little bit of light in a lot of places.
The Solar Ground Lights from KingMazi are made of stainless steel and ABS material for sturdy construction. They’re another popular in warm white lights in an 8 pack.
Loren offers a great 4 pack of 10 LED bulb solar ground lights as well. The lights are the bright or cold white color, and work great for backyards that need a few super bright spots of light.
Solar Disk Light FAQs
What brands of solar lights can you trust? And how do you know?
Solar energy used to be an exclusive game that had only a few really trustworthy brands. But as the technology has advanced during the past decade, more and more brands offer high-quality options that genuinely work. You don’t have to question most options any more, unless they’re incredibly cheap or chintzy looking. Some of the most trusted brands in small solar products are Solpex, Gigalumi, Leknes, Leeyarlam, LeBreak, Glime, and LCared.
Are solar lights really weatherproof?
Solar products are almost always weatherproof, since they require being outdoors in order to charge. Disk lights are no exception to this. Most can easily withstand high levels of rain, snow, sleet, wind, and other weather. Check the IP rating to understand how truly weatherproof a given product is. If the rating isn’t listed, it probably isn’t as high-quality as you’d like.
Should you trust solar products from the dollar store? What about other retailers?
While solar products like disk solar lights and other garden lights from a dollar store might work for a while, they likely won’t last for more than a year and can’t withstand as harsh weather as higher quality brands. You should be able to obtain high-quality lights from stores like Home Depot and Lowes, as well as many online retailers like Amazon, from which we choose the products to recommend to ensure they’re accessible to all readers.
How do you install solar lights?
Most disk solar lights come with a few pieces each. The light itself will be complete and will have stakes included in the package with them. Most are so easy to install that you don’t even have to read the instructions that come with them. Just remember, when you place them outside, turn on the switch to put them into “auto” mode for that on-off setting that kicks in at daybreak and evening, and if there’s a tab separating the battery, remove that before placement.
Are these lights easy to maintain?
Once you’ve placed solar lights in your backyard or lawn, they’re virtually maintenance free, assuming they have that automatic on-off switch. They may occasionally need snow swept from the solar panel to keep them lighting up, or leaves removed if they become wet and stick. Otherwise, they’re pretty much good to go without any intervention from you.