How To Shop For The Best Motion Sensor Garden Lights in 2021

Motion Sensor Garden Lights: A Comprehensive Guide

You must be thinking:

Why do I need motion sensor garden lights?

Well, guess what?

The reasons are endless, but the most important one is simply having peace of mind.

Imagine strolling around in your garden at night without the fear or possibility of tripping, slipping on an icy path, or someone getting the jump on you.

Relaxing, right? 

Just the way every home and garden should feel.

The utility and convenience of these lights are bolstered even more because of their motion-sensing capabilities.

This feature means that the lights will only turn on when motion is detected – but more on that later.

Now, before you go shopping for these fixtures, you’ll need to know what exactly you should be looking for.

For instance:

What makes for an excellent lighting fixture and what doesn’t? Or, what type of features will best suit your needs?

Well, that’s what you’ll find in this guide.

This article has everything you need to know about motion sensor garden lights and will help you make an informed purchase.

Well, let’s dive in.

What are Motion Sensor Garden Lights?

This question is both easy and complicated, but here are the basics:

First off, a garden light can be any outdoor lighting fixture used to illuminate your lawn/exterior area – anything from spotlights to floodlights.

Meanwhile, exterior motion sensor garden lights are devices that activate whenever they sense motion.

They do this using an “electronic eye” – often passive infrared – that detects waves that radiate from moving objects.

So, when the motion detector senses movement, it will automatically turn ON the light.

Simple and convenient, right?

Shopping for Motion Sensor Garden Lights: Important Tips

So, now that you know what a garden sensor light is, here are some crucial tips and features to look out for while shopping for one.

1. Detector Range

Arguably the most important feature on any motion sensor lighting fixture, the range will determine how far the sensor can see (or the size of the area within coverage).

The range is usually measured in feet, e.g. 20ft, 50ft, 100ft, etc.

In addition to this, you should also consider the motion detector’s angle coverage – measured in degrees – which defines the detection field’s width.

As such, you should opt for a higher ranged sensor for large areas, and a lower ranged one for smaller areas.

2. Power Source

Another equally important feature to consider is how the light will be powered. Most motion sensor garden lights are powered through:

1. Solar panels.
2. Batteries.
3. Direct Wiring.

Now, different power supplies will suit different people, preferences, and needs. 

So, here’s a quick overview of all three:

Solar-powered lights are easy to install and will eventually save you a lot of money in the long run, but they have a high initial cost and need to be installed under direct sunlight to function properly. 

However, they are still a bargain as you can install them yourself and they won’t need a lot of maintenance.

Next comes the battery-powered fixtures which, as the name suggests, are powered by batteries.

These fixtures are easy to install and use, but they will need regular maintenance and battery replacements, and the illumination will decline as the battery fades.

Lastly, we have directly-wired lights. These lights are wired onto your home electrical system.

This design ensures they have a steady supply of power, making them by far the most reliable and brightest of the three. However, the fixtures may cost more in terms of installation, maintenance, and power costs.

3. Camera Functionalities, anyone?

Another cool feature of motion sensor garden lights is that some often come equipped with cameras.

Awesome, right?

These lights usually transmit footage in real-time, allowing you to monitor your home’s exterior at all times.

So, if you decide on a lighting fixture with a camera, make sure the camera has a wide-angle lens to capture a more significant field of view.

What’s more?

If you’d like to capture far-off objects, get a powerful lens fixture that will give you crisp, clear images of most distant objects.

Now, for the best of both worlds, get yourself a varifocal lensed camera that will allow you to adjust the lens as needed remotely.

Nice, huh?

4. Lumen Output Rating

A lumen refers to how the light intensity is measured. 

So, the higher the lumens, the brighter the light emitted.

This feature is different from Watts, which is used to measure energy used by a light fixture. Lumens are usually listed on the packaging, e.g. 1600 lm.

On this subject, there are other factors to consider like:

• Lighting type; usually general illumination lights – like floodlights – or spotlights. Your needs should dictate your lighting method, but general illumination lights will cover larger areas while spotlights provide focused illumination.
• Another feature for consideration is the type of bulb used in illumination. In my opinion, you should opt for LED motion sensor garden lights because they produce clear and vibrant light while staying cool and consuming less energy – unlike other bulbs like incandescent and halogens.

5. Network Connectivity

Are you looking for something a bit more modern in your outdoor garden lighting fixture?

Then consider getting a fixture that offers Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity. Combine this feature with a camera, and the result is a powerful security tool that also looks beautiful on the landscape.

Get this:

When the sensor detects movement and turns on the light, it will also activate the camera, which will start recording video footage.

Now:

Here’s the best part:

This footage can be transmitted in real-time via Wi-Fi to your devices – phone, tablet, or computer. With which, you can monitor your premises remotely.

Impressive, right?

What’s more, these lights can blend into the landscape, making them virtually invisible – until they are triggered.

6. Motion Sensor Garden Lights – Weather Resistance (IP Rating)

Considering that you will use these lights outdoors, it is vital to get lighting fixtures that can withstand harsh weather – especially heavy rain and snow.

To determine whether a particular fixture fits the bill, check its ingress protection (IP) rating. 

Basically:

A higher rating means better protection from the elements – like IP65 is better than IP44 and so on.

7. Customer Reviews of motion sensor garden lights

Now, I can’t stress this enough, before you make any purchases make sure you read the reviews. Honest reviews are some of the greatest gifts the internet and fellow buyers have to offer.

Why?

Well, you’ll be able to determine if a particular fixture serves your needs and preferences purely on someone else’s experience.

What’s more?

User reviews will help you foresee any issues you may encounter and determine if the manufacturer is reliable or not.

Other Optional Yet Convenient Features

Now:

This section deals with features that aren’t a must-have in motion sensor garden lights but help to improve convenience.

1. Adjustable Sensitivity

Some lighting fixtures will allow you to adjust the level of the detector’s sensitivity so that only strong-motion – like human movement – will activate the lights and not something simple like wind or falling leaves.

Moreover, you could tweak the sensor’s range to make sure it doesn’t pick up movement way outside your compound.

Great, right?

2. Adjustable Illumination

So:

Just like the sensitivity, having adjustable illumination coverage can be quite handy. 

Some lights will even come with adjustable heads that will allow you to tweak the illumination pattern into a narrow or broad beam depending on your needs.

3. Auto-Reset Functionality

Without a doubt:

This is a convenient feature to have in direct-wiring motion sensor garden lights.

Why?

Because such lights are susceptible to power surges that interrupt electricity flow, causing the lights to come on – and remain on – or stay off.

Admittedly:

This flaw can be a nuisance, but an auto-reset feature will automatically reset the lights after a surge – effectively taking care of that problem.

However, the alternative would be to manually reset the fixture by turning it off for some seconds.

4. Adjustable Light Duration

If you decide to go with battery-powered or solar powered motion sensor lights, then a fixture with adjustable light duration will be useful.

How?

This feature allows you to adjust the amount of time the light stays ON once activated.

As such, this feature is vital because if the light stays ON for too long, it can quickly drain the battery or solar cells being used.

You don’t want that, do you?

Conclusion on Motion Sensor Garden Lights

There you have it: 

Everything you need to know about motion sensor garden lights.

Now, these lights are popular for many reasons; including the fact that they provide safety and security for your premises by scaring away potential criminals and preventing possible injuries.

And:

With that in mind, you know what makes for a suitable exterior lighting fixture; so, go and grab one for yourself.

Whether it’s for security, decoration, or convenience, motion sensor garden lights are a welcome addition to any compound and will prove to be a worthwhile investment for you.

Well, that’s all for this one.

If you have any questions or comments about motion sensor garden lights, please let me know below. Thanks!

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About the Author

Nat Huang is the Chief Marketing Officer for ShineLong LED Technology Company, a Chinese manufacturer that specializes in providing LED Triproof lights and commercial lighting solutions to its global customer base through an official website. Follow him on Twitter @imrNat.