Linke Solar Security Lights Outdoor Motion Sensor 30W

Bought this after a group of low lived burgled my Dad’s house. It’s used to light up an area where mains wasn’t easy to access. Great so fa

This was the fourth solar light I bought on amazon (after returning the others). Great build quality, the light lasts a good duration during the night and has customisable brightness and temperature levels. Cord from the solar panel to the light is around 5m.

This is a great solar powered security light. Very bright and the white point is selectable. PIR is a bit less sensitive that the other cheaper LED lights I have but it works fine for the purpose. Bit early to say how it’ll last. I would buy it again.

There are a lot of mixed reviews on here so I wanted to write a fairly comprehensive review to help with all the confusion. I sat on the fence for a couple of weeks when deciding to buy these, because wasting 40 on a product that doesnt work well, didnt fill me with joy. I can say that after trialling these lights for a little over a week (update to follow), they work very well for my intended purpose. However, there are some caveats and minor issues its worth knowing beforehand.
From the beginning. 1. Whoever packed this in the box mustve been a tetris ninja. Bare that in mind if you are thinking of returning it. It doesnt go back in the box easily, so take care when unpacking.
2. Siting the solar panal in the correct place should be at the forefront of your plan. I live in Scotland. We dont get much sunlight, especially during the winter, maximum 2-3 hours on a good day, and those are rare. I had to install the solar panal on the roof eves in order to catch the rays. That limited where I could then install the lights, but its worth the compromise to have lights that actually work.
3. The cable between the solar panel and the control box is pretty long (4.5 metres). The two cables on the control box are only 25cms each. The cable from the connector to the first light is also 25cms. That means your first light can only be about 40cms from the control box, taking into account the bend in the cable and joining the connectors. That will also inform your siting of both the control panel and the lights.
4. The lights only come on when its dark, its automatic. If like me, you try to test and adjust the brightness during the day, you’ll be scratching your head like I was.
5. The control panel comes fully charged. You cant really know for sure that its all charging ok until you run it flat, which I havent managed to do yet. I got to 70%, but after a couple of hours of direct sun, it was back to 100%. It does charge, albeit slowly, when there is cloud, but direct sun is best and worth striving for.
6. On low light, my light comes on when its dark. From about 5pm until around 8am in January. I had 2 nights of running it at that, and a day of total cloud cover inbetween, so limited charging, and thats how I got it to 70%.
7. Brightness. They are not industrial security lights. Think, a warm candlelit glow. My lights are wall mounted at around 2.5 metres. On the low setting, they illuminate the dark path that runs along the side of our house. Its enough to see where we are going and you could probably read a book by it, even at ground level. The two higher settings offer white, or brilliant white light. The brightness is better, but not by too much. Given the extra battery power they use, I have opted to stay on the lowest setting for now. The official pictures are a little misleading in this respect.
Two issues I have encountered so far,
1. The control panel is its own little disco. There is at least one green and one red light on all night. Even though they are LEDs, they are still pretty bright. It looks a bit rubbish. The panel itself is also a shiny white. I am contemplating painting the box, including the little LED lights, just so that they are a little less conspicuous.
2. The lights, when wall mounted, are not fully adjustable. You can move the light in and out, but not side to side. I used the residual charge in the battery to go out one night and hold them in position to check everything before I started drilling holes.
I think, if you take the time to plan it out, you’ll be happy with these lights. Solar power is not all that reliable in the UK, especially in winter, so it pays to do it right. I look forward to more cost efficient, garden-sized, wind turbines. They would be far more useful here. Amazon, if your listening, I want the round tubular ones they have in China. I dont want a helicopter buzzing about my garden swatting all the birds. Thanks!
1 MONTH UPDATE: I couldnt be happier with these lights. They have stood up to the job over the gloomiest of winters and the stormy winds. The charge has run flat a few times now, they dont charge very quickly when there is limited sunlight. They do charge quickly when direct sun hits the panel. I am glad to see extension cables have been added by the seller, that will give extra flexibility when siting but I wont be moving mine now. I think the lights have not come on once or twice due to lack of charge. Often they would run for 3-5 hrs, before running out. But that took us to bedtime anyway so not an issue. After a bit of sunlight, they easily last through the night and switch themselves off when the sun comes up. Overall, my recommendation hasnt changed.

Rigged it up with no problem. They seem to work fine for what I need.