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Motion Sensor Outdoor Lights

The 5 Best Motion Sensor Outdoor Lights of 2024 – Reviews & Buyer’s Guide

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This article will look at five of the best motion sensor outdoor lights of 2024 to help you make an informed decision on the best picks for your needs.

It used to be enough to have a burglar alarm in your home.

Sirens and lights were considered an effective deterrent to criminals, and alarms reduced premiums on contents insurance policies.

Many items such as jeweler and family heirlooms cannot be replaced with insurance claims. Criminals, of course, prefer not to be visible, so using motion sensor outdoor lights is another way of reducing the risk of burglary.

There are different types of motion sensor lights.

Some have long-range sensors and large light spread, some, mainly solar-powered, have a reduced range. However, several of these lights come in packs with multiple units.

If you want the light around a property, rather than just focused on a specific entry point, then you may not need extended depth of field.

Rather than comparing the lights feature for feature, it is essential to consider the reason you are purchasing lights and what your needs are.

The different products here are not necessarily better than each other. The products were designed for different use cases.

5 Best Motion Sensor Outdoor Lights – Reviews:

Here’s a list of the 5 best outdoor motion sensor lights we found:

1. SANSI LED Security Motion Sensor Outdoor Lights – Best Overall

Upgraded SANSI LED Security Motion Sensor Outdoor Lights

The SANSI LED Security Motion Sensor Outdoor Lights are great value for money, providing very bright light while consuming little power.

It has four different working modes and additional settings to meet a wide range of needs.

It also has a five-year unlimited warranty.

Key features include:

  • Auto mode, with time setting of up to 10 minutes which gives you ample time to get in and out of your car.
  • Time mode allows you to have the lights go on and off at preset times.
  • Dusk to dawn mode automatically turns the lights on when it gets dark and off at dawn so that you don’t need to change a timer for seasonal differences.
  • The LED lights are very bright, yet don’t consume much power, giving you lots of light without a big power bill.

The SANSI LED motion sensing outdoor lights are a great all-purpose light source and particularly valuable in areas where crime and vandalism are frequent.

It can provide an excellent deterrent for people who don’t want to be seen.

Pros

  • Very bright, but low power consumption
  • 5-year unlimited warranty
  • Easy to install and set up

Cons

  • Probably requires an electrician to install. This constraint where you can use them.

2. Lemontec 62 LED Outdoor Motion Sensor Lights – Best Value

lemontec solar lights

Solar outdoor motion sensor lights can be good value if you live somewhere that gets lots of direct sunlight.

The Lemontec has 62 LED’s and is designed to make efficient use of the stored solar energy.

They look modern and demonstrate your commitment to sustainability and are great to showcase your garden/outdoor area.

If you live somewhere with plenty of year-round sunlight, I feel this is a tremendous outdoor motion sensor light for personal convenience when arriving at home, and going in and out of the house.

Still, the sensor range of 10-26 feet reduces its appeal as a security light.

On the other hand, the low cost (and the fact that it comes in a pack of two) means that you can purchase several lights to cover a full area around your home or property.

Key features include:

  • A competitive price and it comes in a pack of two.
  • Auto on at night and off at sunrise.
  • Dim light when there is no motion provides reassurance that it is working.
  • The passive infrared sensor, or PIR motion sensor, activates the light, but if no further motion is detected in the first 10 seconds, it turns off again, keeping power usage to a minimum.
  • It provides twelve hours of light from 7 hours of charging.

Pros

  • Eco-friendly solar power – no power bill
  • Very easy to install. No need for an electrician.

Cons

  • Motion detection is 10-26 feet. This range may not be enough for some locations.
  • Being solar, this is not suitable for areas that have short winter days. When the battery is flat, there is no light.

3. Amico 3 Head LED Outdoor Motion Sensor Lights

3 Head LED Security Lights Motion Outdoor Motion Sensor Light Outdoor

Often outdoor motion sensor lights have a ‘sweet spot’ in width and depth of range. The Amico 3 head has at least 150 degrees infrared motion detection spread and can sense motion up to a maximum of 49 feet away.

Combined with having three lights instead of one, this makes it very suitable as a security light around the home, garage and workshop.

While the power consumption is low at 40W, its brightness is equivalent to a 200W halogen light.

Where some lights only stay on for a fixed amount of time, this outdoor motion sensor light has three modes, as well as a daytime test mode; so that you know it is working when you need it.

Key features include:

  • 180 degrees swiveling angle and up top 49 feet of reach provides excellent coverage to deter burglars and vandals.
  • Three motion sensor modes of 1 minute, 5 minutes and 10 minutes allows you to set it up according to your needs.
  • It is waterproof to IP65, which makes it suitable for locations which experience heavy rain and snow conditions.

Pros

  • The ability to swivel the three heads makes it very flexible to suit different environments without having to buy multiple sets of outdoor sensor lights.
  • The IP65 rating provides confidence that it will be reliable in locations that experience harsh weather conditions.

Cons

  • It doesn’t have an ‘always on’ option.

4. Aootek Solar Motion Sensor Outdoor Lights

Aootek New solar lights 120 Leds

The solar motion sensor outdoor lights from Aootek come in a pack of four allowing you to install them to suit your environment, rather than just focussing on the main entry to your property.

The bundled kit makes it very useful around the home for both security and showing off gardens and outdoor features.

Solar power reduces energy costs, and these motion sensor outdoor lights are rated IP65, making them waterproof, but also suitable for a sweltering climate.

The PIR sensor has an excellent angle of 120 degrees.

However, the range is up to 26 feet. Because there are four lights, this range limitation is compensated for, by the ability to place multiple lights around your house.

Because the lights are solar-powered, there is no need to pay an electrician for installation, which would be costly if installing four sets of lights in different locations around your house.

Pros

  • Pack of 4 lights means you can run them along a pathway or around the house, increasing the spread.
  • 4-5 hours of solar charging is enough for the lights to work all night in triggered mode.
  • Reflectors reduce lighting loss and increase brightness.
  • Three lighting modes, including one which stays on all night, but still goes brighter when motion is detected.

Cons

  • The mode selector is on the back, which needs to be taken into consideration when deciding where to install them.
  • Many lights have a more extended range, however for some properties, having multiple motion sensor lights in different locations is more suitable.

5. Hmcity Solar 120 LED Outdoor Motion Sensing Lights with 270°Wide Angle

Hmcity Solar Lights

The Hmcity 120 LED Outdoor Motion Sensing Lights have an extended angle of operation and comes in a pack of four units to provide flexibility for a great spread of light.

This bundle makes it well suited for lighting along a fence line, garden paths, decks and driveway.

The 12-month warranty should provide confidence that the manufacturer stands by their product.

One feature that is quite uncommon is a fixed buckle mounting system that makes it easy to pick up the light unit and move it to a different location.

You could even charge it outside and then use it inside at night, for example in a long hall, or another site where people may need to walk at night that isn’t handy to light switches.

The portability can also make it suitable to take away on holiday, for example, to use on the side of a caravan.

Each light features  solar panels, which have a high conversion rate increasing its charging capability. The motion sensor range is 10-26 feet, which, given the multiple units, suits it to a distributed area, as opposed to a single entry/car parking area.

Pros

  • Very easy to install and no electrician required
  • A pack of four lights provides flexibility and spread
  • 120 LED solar lights for good even spread
  • The fixed buckle mount makes the lights portable, and they can be taken to other environments such as inside a house, or on the side of a caravan or motorhome.

Cons

  • It only has one mode, sensor mode. It does not have the multiple mode options some other systems offer.

Buyer's Guide

You might think buying motion sensor outdoor lights is as easy as picking one that looks good and has a price to meet your budget, but that is precisely the wrong way to go about it.

In the reviews above, I have provided you with 5 of the best motion sensor outdoor lights of 2024, and I would hope that at least one of them meets your needs.

In this buyer’s guide, I will explain several things I recommend you take into consideration before making a buying decision.

1. Why are you looking at buying outdoor motion sensor lights?

There are many reasons why you might want one of these systems. One size and shape does not suit all. Here’s a list of some of the reasons:

  • To deter burglars, criminals and vandals. These people like to operate in the dark. The last thing they want is to be seen and caught in the act of doing something malicious or illegal. If your property is instantly bright when they enter the property, they are likely to go and find somewhere less secure and leave your property alone.
  • To provide people who live in or visit your home with proper lighting when they approach your house, with enough light to go to or from the car and easily see what they are doing. This purpose requires bright light that needs to be there consistently all year round.
  • To show off your property, the fences, gardens and paths, setting off features that look attractive at night.
  • Portability. You might want the ability to move the lights around for different reasons, rather than being a permanent fixture. You might want to take them with you on holiday or to lighten up an entertainment area on a summer’s evening.

2. What is the area you are looking to cover?

If you are looking to cover a car park and the walkway to the house, or perhaps between the house and the garage, you might be looking for bright light to cover a reasonably large square or rectangular area.

If it’s to cover a path going along the side of the house or to highlight a garden area, you probably don’t need a very bright light.

In fact, for the garden, a less bright ambient light would probably be more attractive while still providing enough light to guide someone walking around the outside of your house.

Are there areas where objects like stairs, fences, or trees create shadows, blocking light? In that case, you need to either consider where the sensor lights will be mounted, or you may need more of them.

Typically, electric powered lights, wired to your power supply will have more extensive range both in the spread of the light and in the field from which a sensor picks up movement.

3. Do you need a variety of settings?

Some people only need a light that goes on when motion is detected, and that will turn off again when the movement has stopped after a short time.

You might want lights to stay on for several minutes after being activated, for example, when making trips to and from the car, perhaps unloading grocery bags after doing the shopping.

Sometimes you might want the lights to stay on all night and other times just a short period.

It’s important to consider all everyday use cases so that you aren’t disappointed after you have installed your new lights, and something comes up that you hadn’t thought of.

4. Environmental considerations

If you want very bright lights, then you should consider lights that can be connected to your main power.

The same applies to ensure that you will have good lighting every time you need it, irrespective of the weather, or time of year.

If you live in an environment where there are not a lot of sunlight hours during winter, then solar lighting may not be suitable for you.

The same applies if you are in an area which has a lot of rainy days where the sun does not come out.

If you experience frequent bad weather, you will probably want brighter light, to improve visibility under all conditions.

Some areas have extreme weather conditions.

These might be heavy rain, winds, heat, frost.

Such situations need to be taken into consideration so that the lights will reliably work when and where you need them.

Where do you want to mount them? Some lights can be installed on a ceiling, some only mount from the side.

Solar lights can be mounted almost anywhere, providing they will get plenty of sunlight all day.

They are well suited to fences and garden areas where connecting to the mains is not practical.

Motion sensitivity may also be a consideration.

Do you have pets that might set the lights off, when you don’t need them?

Some people don’t want pets to want to set them off, whereas some people live in areas where wild animals can represent a danger, and they do want them to set off the motion sensors.

Summary

These top picks of best outdoor motion sensor lights for 2024 don’t suggest that the motion sensor outdoor lights featured are better than each other.

What matters is understanding your needs and coming up with a solution that best meets those needs.

It is a good idea to really consider why you want them, perhaps experience you have had with previous outdoor lights, and then look at which option/s best meet those needs.

There is quite a lot to think of to make the best selection to meet your needs. A little homework should result in making the best purchase to meet those needs.


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