Every solar street light gets a score from 0 to 100% built from five factors, which maps onto the 5-point rating shown on the site (a 0% score would be 1.5 stars; a perfect score, 5). Each factor is scored against fixed reference points, not against the other products in the list, so adding a new model never moves another model’s rating. Lights are grouped by how they’re sold, single lights and multi-packs, and use the same scale in both groups. Every figure is per light.
| Factor | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | battery energy per light, from published Wh or volts x mAh | 30% |
| Solar panel | published solar panel wattage per light | 20% |
| Value | price per light | 20% |
| Features | LiFePO4 battery, motion sensor, remote, IP67 rating and aluminum housing | 20% |
| Warranty | stated warranty length | 10% |
Why lumens aren’t scored
Listings in this market claim brightness and “wattage” far beyond what their batteries could power: a light quoting 500,000 lumens may run on a battery of well under 100 watt-hours. Those claims can’t be checked from the outside, so they’re shown on product pages, labeled as claims, and never scored. The battery’s energy and the panel’s wattage are published, physical figures that set how long and how bright a light can run, so the ranking leans on them instead.
Where the numbers come from
Battery, panel, features and warranty come from the maker’s product page or manual, including the maker’s own copy on a retail listing. Where the maker’s own figures conflict (for example a title that gives one LED count and a bullet that gives another) the figure from the maker’s own store is used, or the value is left out rather than guessed. Prices are checked at Amazon and the maker’s own store, and the lowest price at a store the page links to is used.
The factors
Battery is the energy the battery stores per light, in watt-hours, on a log scale, so doubling the battery always counts the same. 20 Wh scores zero and 200 Wh full marks. It counts only when the maker publishes watt-hours, or both the battery voltage and its mAh rating (volts times amp-hours). An mAh figure on its own can’t be turned into energy, because the same mAh means four times the energy at 12.8 V as at 3.2 V.
Solar panel is the panel’s rated wattage per light: 5 W scores zero and 40 W full marks.
Value is the price per light, counting each light in a multi-pack, on a log scale: $400 scores zero and $50 full marks.
Features is 25% for a LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) battery, 25% for a motion sensor, 20% for a remote control, 15% for an IP67 or better weather rating (half that for IP66) and 15% for an all-aluminum housing.
Warranty is the maker’s stated warranty: none scores zero and 5 years full marks. Pledges of “after-sales service” or “product maintenance” aren’t counted as a warranty.
What isn’t scored
Claimed lumens, LED count, claimed wattage, battery mAh without a voltage, panel voltage, pole diameter, mounting height, weight and release date are listed but not scored.
Missing data
Battery energy and panel wattage separate these lights more than anything else, and many listings leave them out. So, like warranty, an unpublished battery energy or panel wattage scores zero rather than a neutral middle score, and the product page marks it as estimated. A light with thin specs can’t outrank one whose maker publishes them. Features score neutral (50) only when none of them is published; a feature the maker doesn’t mention otherwise counts as absent.
Ties and discontinued models
Products are ranked by score within each group. Discontinued models stay listed but rank below every current model and can be hidden with the “Hide discontinued” filter.