The problem with a solar security light is never the light. It is that the only wall dark enough to need one is usually the wall the sun never reaches. This one splits in two: the panel goes up where the sun lands, the light goes down where you need to see, and five metres of cable joins them. The side path, the back of the shed, under the carport — all the places a one-piece unit never charges.

Why It Stands Out

• The panel and the light are separate — the whole point. Panel on the roof or the sunny end of the wall, light head wherever the dark is, 5 m of cable between them.
• 160 COB across the face — a wide flat wash rather than a few bright dots, which is what you want on a path or a driveway.
• Three modes, and they are genuinely different — off until someone moves, low until someone moves and then bright, or a whole evening of steady medium light.
• Both heads swivel — 360° around and 100° of tilt on each, so you can angle the panel at the sun and the light at the ground independently.
• No wiring and no electrician — two screws and a plug for each bracket.
• IP65 — it stays out through the wet season.
• One button does everything — on, off and mode. Nothing to pair, nothing to configure.

Where to Put It

• The side path down the house — the job it does best. Always dark, always narrow, and never anywhere the sun hits the wall.
• The shed and the back of the garage — panel on the roof, light over the door, so you can find the mower at six in the evening in June.
• Under the carport — the roof is in full sun, the space under it never is.
• The back steps and the deck stairs — where people carry things in the dark.
• The gate and the bin area — light on the spot when you arrive with your hands full.
• The chook pen and the greenhouse — locking up after dark without holding a torch in your teeth.
• Over a workbench or in a dark corner of the yard, where running mains would mean a trench.

How It Works

1. The panel charges by day — 5.5 V polysilicon into a 3.7 V 800 mAh lithium cell, around six hours of good sun.
2. A light sensor decides it is night and arms whichever mode you have chosen.
3. The infrared sensor watches 120° in front of it to about 3 to 6 metres.
4. The 160 COB face lights up for the burst, then drops back to its resting state.

How to Set It Up

1. Find the sun before you find the wall — work out where the panel goes first, then see whether the cable reaches the dark spot. Doing it the other way round is why people end up with a light that never charges.
2. Drill and plug both brackets — screws and rubber plugs are in the box.
3. Join the two with the cable, then press the button to switch it on and step through the modes.
4. Aim the light head down, not out — about 30° below horizontal. Pointed straight out it dazzles and lights nothing useful.
5. Charge it a full day before you judge it.
Tip: mount the sensor so people walk across its field rather than straight at it. A PIR reads movement sideways far better than movement head-on, which is why lights over a straight approach always seem to trigger late.

Care and Maintenance

• Wipe the panel every few weeks — dust and bird mess cost more runtime than anything else you can do.
• Check the cable is clipped down so it does not flog against the wall in a nor'wester.
• Keep the sensor lens clean — a cobweb over it causes false triggers all night.
• Re-aim it after a storm if the bracket has been knocked.

Specifications

What's Included

• 1 × Light head with 160 COB
• 1 × Solar panel on a 5 m cable
• Two mounting brackets, screws and wall plugs