Battery Life

Whether you’re just using your solar lights casually or regularly, you’ll want a model with strong battery life. Solar lights that only last for a few hours are relatively useless, especially if they take a long time to recharge. The average battery life of a fully-charged solar-powered light is 4 to 5 hours, so we consider 6 or more hours to be a huge plus.

Charging Time

For those that live in mixed climates- which is most people- the average time it takes for a lamp to charge is important. Every area has a gloomy day here or there, and a succession of 2 or more grey skies could lead to no light for a week. This is especially true if your model takes more than 8 hours to charge in full sunlight. Solar lamps that have a quick recharge rate are better suited for all, even those that live in tropical climates.Pack Size

Who doesn’t like to save money? Few of us are buying only 1 or 2 solar lights for a path, especially if it’s in a garden or lining the perimeter of a house.

Generally, 10 or more lights are needed to cover an entire outdoor area, unless it’s a small walkway. Most solar lamps are packaged in packs of 2 or more, which gives a better bang for your buck. We recommend looking for a minimum of 4 per pack unless you’re purchasing them purely for decorative purposes.

Lumens

As we outlined before, a light’s lumen rating dictates how bright it is. The higher the lumen rating, the brighter the light will be. Regardless of whether you need an area to be brightly lit, having a higher lumen rating will be better in the long run because you won’t need to purchase as many lights to cover your area. Most solar lamps run between 2 and 50 lumens, with the lowest being intended for decorative purposes only.

Here’s a quick way to convert lumens to watts:

• 5 lm = 0.08 W
• 15 lm = 0.25 W
• 30 lm = 0.5 W
• 50 lm = 0.8 w

Attractiveness

When placing something in public view, you’ll always want to be conscious of how attractive the product is- especially if you’ll be spending a lot of time looking at it. Even path lights that are built to be sturdy and practical should still have some level of attractiveness. Overtly plastic or fake-looking models, ones with design flaws or bulky elements, are all considered not suitable for the average home or outdoor structure.

Material

Besides being unattractive, cheap-looking materials, like thin plastics, can literally make or break your product. Weak materials allow for more damage from external forces like rain, lawnmowers, accidental kicking, or pets.