As a quality inspector, we’re going to review a solar street light today.
- Sample Price: 17 USD
- Store: Online
- Evaluation Result: Very Bad
- Rating of Recommendation: 1 Star
In this review, I’ll focus on its most conventional and crucial parameters and performances to explain the advantages and disadvantages.
First, let’s talk about the many advantages of this solar street light, which is why many people buy it.
- 1. It’s very lightweight.
- 2. Installation is extremely convenient. No wiring is needed. With simple tools, you can install it anywhere there’s sunlight.
- 3. It has a very practical sensing function. The light is on when people come and goes off when they leave. It’s very convenient and energy-saving.
- 4. It comes with a remote control that has different settings. For instance, you can set it to stay on for a continuous 2 hours, 4 hours, or 6 hours and then turn off. Or you can set it to stay on until the battery is exhausted, or turn on the human body sensing function.
- 5. It also comes with a lamp pole, bolts, and a corresponding small wrench, which is very practical.
- 6. The packaging is also good. With a bubble bag, it won’t get damaged during transportation.
Given these advantages, the seller labels this product as high-tech, core technology, and intelligent. But is it really worth buying?
Next, from the perspective of a professional inspector, let’s talk about its seven major disadvantages.
- 1. Low brightness: The actual brightness of this light is only equivalent to a small light bulb. This is the effect of lighting up this solar light in our lab test sphere. This is the effect of lighting up a 10-watt light bulb in the same test sphere. If we light them up in the open for comparison, it shows that the 10-watt light bulb is brighter.
- 2. Wildly false parameters: The seller marks 800 watts on the product page, which is over 100 times exaggerated. This is more common in major online stores.
Also, in order to cover their lie, the manufacturer has used 160 LED beads on this low-brightness light, aiming to mislead consumers. They create an illusion: the more LED beads, the greater the power.
But in fact, they use very cheap beads, the cost of which is only one-tenth to one-twentieth of high-quality beads. Here, I also want to explain in particular: the power of solar lights is largely determined by the size of the solar panel and the capacity of the battery.
The solar panel determines its ability to receive energy from the sun, and the battery determines its ability to store energy. So, with such a small solar panel, how could it drive an 800-watt light? If the solar panel is so powerful, can we use a few small solar panels for our home refrigerator and air conditioner?
- 3. Not environmentally friendly, does not comply with RoHS regulations: This light contains 160 LED beads, and these beads are all soldered, requiring the use of solder paste. And the cost of solder paste is proportional to the number of beads. In order to save costs, manufacturers mostly use leaded solder paste, which does not comply with environmental protection requirements.
- 4. Poor water resistance, not suitable for outdoor use: After opening the solar panel of this light, we can find that there are no rubber rings or glue. Therefore, after a period of use, rainwater or fog may enter the inside of the lamp body through this gap, causing damage to the internal electronics, or even causing the battery to catch fire.
- 5. High color temperature: The color temperature is a crucial spectral parameter of LED lights. Our recommended range is 2700~5000K, with a maximum of 6500K. Generally speaking, the lower the color temperature, the yellower thelight appears and the more eye-friendly it is. The higher the color temperature, the whiter the light appears, which can cause more harm to the eyes.
Let’s make a comparison. I have two solar streetlights in my hand, one is of good quality, and the other is the one we are reviewing. When we light them up at the same time and project the light on the wall, we can see a huge difference in their light colors. The quality one on the left looks white or yellowish, while the one on the right looks bluish.
There’s an interesting question here: the cost of high color temperature lights and low color temperature lights is actually the same, because a 3000K light and an 8000K light use the same solar panel, battery, and housing structure, only the phosphor of the LED chip is different. So why would merchants produce high-color-temperature lights that hurt the eyes? You can think about it and give your answer in the comment section.
- 6. Small battery: The battery is small. Although I haven’t tested its capacity, I can see its size.
Moreover, by looking at its other configurations, I have reason to believe that it uses cheap, low-capacity batteries with a low capacity retention rate. That is to say, after a period of cyclic use, its power will become less and less, the working time will become shorter and shorter, and the brightness will also decrease.
- 7. Cheap materials: All metal materials are iron. It can be used for a short time, but as time goes on, due to rust and corrosion, it will cause more problems. Moreover, the installation hole of the lamp is too shallow, which is not safe to use in windy areas.
Conclusion
To sum up, although this solar street light is convenient to install and has some very practical sensing functions, it has too many critical quality problems. Therefore, my review result is one star.
Purchase Advice
If you are a personal user, the environment is not much rain, and you do not have high requirements for light color, you can still buy this lamp, it is barely usable for a long time, but do not have too high expectations. If it is in a place where children often appear, you can choose a style with a color temperature of 3000K.
In addition, you also need to understand that this lamp is actually not cheap, because its brightness is not as good as a small LED light bulb (with simple waterproofing), and a big brand light bulb only costs a few dollars, even if I add some wires, How much money does it cost? The bulb can also have a sensing function, and the power consumption of the bulb is very low, almost negligible.
If you are a contractor or a party, you need to match solar lights for some high-demand communities, villas, and road projects. You must not choose this type of solar street light.
As a third-party quality inspection company, we are equipped to safeguard the quality of your LED Lighting products. Our services encompass professional quality inspections, sample testing, and assessments of factory capabilities to provide you with peace of mind regarding product excellence.
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Hank Wang
Supply Chain Management Professor.
Quality Inspector in Lighting Field and Steel Structure Field.
Certified Welding Inspector by American Welding Society.
15 Years' experience of supplier quality management.
Six Sigma Green Belt.
