Introduction A small solar panel lying flat is a panel working at half its promise. Flat suits a summer noon and little else: mornings, evenings, and the whole of winter send the sun in at a slant that a flat panel mostly reflects away. That is why portable panels ship with flimsy fold-out legs, and … Read more
Introduction Small solar chargers live an awkward life indoors. Their makers picture them on a sunny windowsill, but windowsills are narrow, sloped, crowded with plants, and usually at the wrong angle. The charger slides down the glass, gets propped against a mug, ends up flat behind the curtain where it charges at a trickle — … Read more
Introduction A solar spotlight is only as good as its aim, and aim is exactly what the little spike in the box cannot keep. You set the beam perfectly on the tree or the house number at dusk, and within a fortnight the head has sagged, twisted in soft soil, or been nudged by a … Read more
Introduction Some of the best places for evening light have no ground to stake into. A big planter by the front door, a row of pots along a patio edge, a raised bed full of herbs by the kitchen — all of them would glow beautifully with a small solar light, and none of them … Read more
Introduction A deck railing is the perfect place for a line of solar lights — right at the edge where steps, seating, and the drop to the garden need a gentle glow. It is also a place manufacturers seem to ignore. Most small solar lights come with a ground stake or a flat screw plate, … Read more
Introduction The most useful place for a motion light is often a corner — and a corner is the worst place to mount one. A flat-backed light screwed to one wall aims along that wall, leaving the other side in darkness. Swivel heads help a little, but the sensor still faces the wrong way for … Read more