Best Security Lights Reviews: Solar Powered, Motion Sensor, Outdoor, Flood, Battery Powered, LED, And More

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Floodlight With Camera
Ring logo
LED Floodlight
Solla logo
Spotlight
Mr. Beams logo
Solar
Sunforce logo
Long-Range Motion
Heath Zenith logo

Having your home well-lit at night can deter criminals from lurking around your property. But if you’re only leaving them on while you’re on vacation, it may send the opposite signal — that you’re not home. Also, leaving the porch light on all night isn’t the most energy-efficient or cost-saving solution.

Smart security lights that can come on when necessary not only can give your home a “lived-in” appearance, but they can also reduce your energy bill, make your light at home easier (motion lights don’t require a switch), and you won’t have to swap bulbs as frequently. Our experts comb through the best lights from top providers.

Article Overview

What Are The Different Types Of Security Lights?

You’ll come across all sorts of terms when shopping for security lights. Some of these include flood, motion detection, solar powered, camera, and LED, just to name a few.

Flood Lights

Flood lights do what the name implies — they flood the area with lots of light. These are great if you want to light up a larger area, such as your driveway, carport, outdoor pool area (learn more about pool security), etc.

Motion Detection

Lights with motion detection will only turn on when they sense motion. This is helpful for three reasons:

  1. Lighting patterns will be more natural – i.e. they will only light up when there’s movement.
  2. Energy savings – by not running 24/7, the bulbs will last longer and your energy bill will be lower.
  3. Draws attention – a light that suddenly comes on can alert you and your neighbors to activity.

How Much Can I Save?

One of our lights that’s on 24/7 cost us $35/year in energy use. Once we upgraded that bult to a motion sensor light, our bill went down to just $2/year. And that math is only for one bulb in one location — add up all your bulbs and you’re saving quite a bit of money.

Solar Powered

Solar powered lights are great for areas that get sufficient sunlight. Solar technology has improved to the point where you can get just as powerful a light with a good solar panel as you can a light drawing from electrical power. The economic advantage here is also a zero energy bill.

Read Our Reviews Of Solar Security Lights

Camera

Lights with motion detection and cameras are able to record footage when motion is detected. This can help track down intruders, as well as speed up the dispatch of law enforcement to your premises since “video verified events” receive police dispatch priority over non-verified events in most precincts.

LED

Most light technology has switched away from incandescent to LED (Light Emitting Diode) — a more environmentally friendly, more powerful (brighter) and longer lasting light technology that is becoming the norm.

Best Security Lights

Below are some of our experts’ picks for the best security lights. We’ve broken them down into “best of “categories to help you with your particular needs. Note: all of the lights we review here have motion detection. 

Floodlight With Camera | LED Floodlight | Spotlight | Solar | Long-Range Motion Sensor | Budget

Floodlight With Camera: Ring Floodlight Review

Ring Floodlight CamView on Amazon

The Ring Floodlight is the bells and whistles offering in this review, featuring motion detection and a built-in camera. It detects motion from up to 30 feet away, and you get video footage of what’s triggering the light to turn on (as long as you have a cloud recording plan).

Ring Floodlight performs well, but it comes at a hefty price, and you have to pay extra for video storage. If you want a device with lighting and a camera all in one system, this is an excellent choice. But if all you want is some extra lighting, there are less expensive options below.

Pros

Cons

  • Includes a camera built-in
  • Two-way talk
  • Ring app
  • Quality material
  • Responsive
  • Bright (1800 lumens)
  • Easy setup
  • Weatherproof
  • Expensive
  • Must be hardwired
  • Must pay monthly for video recording

Pricing

Ring Home Security

Ring has more than just security lights — they offer entire home security systems. Our experts review Ring’s security solution in-depth with features, pricing, pros, cons, and real user feedback.

LED Floodlight: Solla Review

Solla LED Solar Motion Sensor Flood LightView on Amazon

If you have a big yard, the Solla LED Solar Motion Sensor Flood Light is an excellent choice. It’s more user-friendly than most solar security lights, and it’s easy to set the sensor to detect at various ranges (20, 33, 49 feet) and lengths of time (30, 60, 120 seconds).

Reviews revealed some questions about the product material quality and the consistency of the sensor.

Pros

Cons

  • Waterproof
  • Two modes: permanent on and auto mode
  • Adjustable light-up time
  • Adjustable heads
  • Up to 180° wide sensing angle
  • Detects motion up to 49 ft
  • Lithium-ion battery
  • 30-day return policy and 24-month warranty
  • Easy to install
  • Must install under a roof to prolong the working life
  • Only 950lm brightness output
  • Some customers complain that the motion sensor doesn’t work consistently

Pricing

Spotlight: Mr. Beams Review

Mr. BeamsView on Amazon

This LED security flood light senses motion to turn the light on and off automatically. It is weatherproof and wireless, so you can install it anywhere without a technician. Each LED light provides 400 square feet of coverage and detects motion from up to 25 feet.

It is operated by four D-cell batteries (sold separately), which should last you one full year if the lights are activated eight to 10 times per day. The light automatically shuts off 20 seconds after the motion has stopped. The light sensor prevents it from being activated during the day time.

Pros

Cons

  • Wireless (battery operated)
  • Responsive
  • Easy setup
  • Weatherproof
  • Material feels cheap
  • Not as bright as others in this article (300 lumens)

Pricing

Solar: Sunforce Review

Sunforce lightView on Amazon

The Sunforce solar flood lights are our pick for best solar security light because they charge in all weather conditions, have a detection distance of 30 feet and a range of 180°. This flood light has an amorphous solar panel, which means it has silicon sprayed onto the glass.

This allows it to generate electricity better in all lighting conditions, so no more worrying about locating these in shady locations or having a cloudy day. These are great for places that have unpredictable sun conditions. You get to choose the duration of light once motion is sensed (30, 60, or 120 seconds).

Pros

Cons

  • Wireless (battery operated)
  • Choose the light duration
  • Responsive
  • Bright (900 lumens)
  • Easy setup
  • Weatherproof
  • Wires connect the solar panel and light
  • Light only rotates vertically

Pricing

Long-Range Motion Sensor: Heath Zenith Review

Heath ZenithView on Amazon

Heath Zenith has some of the best outdoor security lights. It detects motion from up to 70 feet away, and you can select the duration of light (one, five or 10 minutes).

It does not turn on during the daytime, so the charge is preserved for nighttime use only. The biggest downside for this light is that there isn’t as much information compared to others in this article.

Pros

Cons

  • Quality material
  • Responsive
  • Bright
  • Easy setup
  • Inexpensive
  • Light bulbs not included
  • Must be hardwired

Pricing

See Security Lights In Action (Video)

Check out this video from Mr. Beams showing the effectiveness of outdoor security lights.

Man looking into security camera: Home Surveillance Cameras 101Add Security Cameras To Catch Intruders In Their Tracks

While motion sensor security lights can definitely increase the security of your home, a camera can improve it even more. If you’re interested in learning more about your options, read our experts security camera guide.

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The information provided through this website should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease; it is not intended to offer any legal opinion or advice or a substitute for professional safety advice or professional care. Please consult your health care provider, attorney, or product manual for professional advice. Products and services reviewed are provided by third parties; we are not responsible in any way for them, nor do we guarantee their functionality, utility, safety, or reliability. Our content is for educational purposes only.

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