“The main purpose of motion sensor lights is to protect your home, which is why you should mount security sensors near points of entry,” says Edward Jones, a home lighting expert and founder of HomeCareHow. “You should also equip any high traffic area with motion sensors. This will not only protect your home from intruders, but also prevent slip and fall accidents.” We researched and tested lighting options for ease of use and installation, brightness, and detection range and angle to find the best models for various scenarios. Our favorite, the LEONITE LED Motion Sensor Flood Light, is exceptionally easy to install and set up and lets you adjust the sensors, lights, detection range, and the amount of time the light stays on. Here are the best outdoor motion sensor lights. The LEONLITE LED Motion Sensor Flood Light comes with an affordable price tag, and it’s packed with features you’d expect to find in a much more expensive light. It’s also easy to install and use, which is why it’s our best overall outdoor motion-sensing light. The motion sensor has a wide 180-degree detection angle, with a range of around 69 feet. The sensor itself is also adjustable, which means you can aim it any way you need to get an optimum view of your space and the direction that any intruders are most likely to approach from. This light is tremendously customizable. Our tester raved about the straightforward setup and noted the solid, well-made construction (apart from the flimsy gasket) and intuitive controls. She was able to install it on the side of her house and illuminate the most important zones thanks to the adjustable lights. You’ll find independent controls for the brightness of the light, the light timer, and the sensor range. If the light turns on a lot from events like your neighbors moving around in their yard, that’s easy enough to take care of by adjusting the range. You can also set the light to motion-activation mode, stay on all the time, or remain on every night from dusk until dawn. Price at time of publish: $60 This light has a massive 72-foot sensor range directly in front of the sensor. That falls off to the sides, but you can aim the sensor to create an optimal detection area. If you don’t need that wide a range, the sensitivity is adjustable. The LEPOWER also has three huge LED panels that can remain on for up to 10 minutes after activation. The only catch is that it doesn’t have a dusk-to-dawn or always-on mode, so it works better as a security light than a floodlight. Price at time of publish: $60 These HMCITY lights can sense motion within 26 feet, and they have a wide sensor range of 120 degrees. You can’t aim the sensor or lights after installation, but you can choose from three different lighting modes. You can set the light to come on for 15 seconds when it detects motion, stay on all night, or remain dimly lit all night and grow brighter when the sensor detects activity. Price at time of publish: $22 The problem with most solar security lights is that it’s challenging to keep them charged, but LEPOWER solved that problem. Instead of a built-in solar panel, this security light includes a separate panel with a 15-foot cord. While the cord isn’t very long, it allows you to mount the light where it needs to be, like under the eaves of your roof, and place the solar panel up on the roof where it will get the most sun. In automatic mode, the light stays on only for a maximum of 2 minutes, but you have the option of always-on mode, which can keep the lights on for 90 minutes when fully charged. Price at time of publish: $45 When the sun goes down, the lantern glows with a warm, flickering firelight effect reminiscent of a gas lamp. This dusk-to-dawn light activates when the sun goes down and stays on all night. When the sensor detects motion, it activates the main 1,200-lumen LED light and bathes the area in bright, white light. Price at time of publish: $69 This motion-sensing floodlight has a massive detection distance of up to 72 feet, and it’s able to sense motion in a 180-degree range. It features many adjustment options, including leaving the lights on for between 10 seconds and 10 minutes after each activation. If you need some extra security, the dusk-to-dawn mode keeps the lights on all night. The light also has an IP65 rating, which means it’s certified to stand up to the heaviest of rains. Price at time of publish: $50 The downside is that this is just a sensor, not an all-in-one motion-sensing light. This model isn’t what you’re looking for if you just want to attach a motion-sensing light to your wall and call it a day. However, it’s an excellent option if you’re into smart home gear. It comes with many mounting options, so you can install it flush on a wall, a corner, or even on a freestanding pole, and it allows you to activate any compatible smart lights. With Hue, you can have more than a motion-sensing light for security. You can turn on all outdoor and indoor lights or even activate a smart speaker with a warning message. Price at time of publish: $50 The Mr. Beams MB532 lights are battery-powered, so you can install them just about anywhere. In addition to stairs, they’re also useful on outdoor walkways, porches, sheds, and other areas where you only need a little illumination. They’re weatherproof, meaning you can use them outside in the elements, but there is no official IP rating. The biggest issue with these lights is that you need to remove the batteries to adjust lighting options, but that isn’t something you should need to do often. Price at time of publish: $45
Angle
The angle of a motion sensor refers to the area in front of the sensor that falls within its detection scope. If a sensor has an angle of 180 degrees, that means it can sense movement anywhere in front of it, as long as the movement is within range. Smaller angles result in smaller detection areas, so it’s important to always look for a large detection angle and account for the detection angle when installing a motion-sensing light.
Brightness
The brightness of an outdoor motion sensor light has a strong effect on how large an area it can illuminate and how well it will light up that area. Wattage affects brightness, and many motion-sensing lights also have a lumens rating that tells you how bright it will be. For home use, the brightest you’ll want a motion-sensing floodlight to be is about 10,000 lumens. Anything between 6,000 and 10,000 lumens is more than enough to light up a small yard and driveway, and that’s the brightest you’ll want to go in a residential area. According to Jones, floodlights do just fine between 700 and 1300 lumens, while motion-sensing lights for steps can be between 12 and 100 lumens, and pathways should be lit with between 100 and 200 lumens.
Why Trust The Spruce?
This article was written by Jeremy Laukkonen, a freelance writer and product tester for The Spruce. He’s had experience installing and using motion sensor lights around his own homes and business for over 20 years. In addition to The Spruce, his reviews can be found in other outlets, including Lifewire and DigitalTrends. Additionally, it’s important to make sure you don’t place the sensor near any potential obstructions, like tree branches. You can install other motion-sensing lights just above stair risers, above your garage door, along a walkway, or near your front porch to provide light in specific situations. Since motion sensor lights don’t remain on all the time, LED lights can easily last 20+ years before they burn out, as long as nothing else malfunctions. Incandescent and fluorescent bulbs don’t last as long, with incandescent lasting about 1,000 hours and fluorescent lasting up to 10,000 hours. You can expect to replace incandescent motion sensor bulbs every year or so, and you may get up to 10 years out of fluorescent lights. Relying on firsthand experience, tests performed by The Spruce, and research, Jeremy considered ease of use and installation, brightness, detection range and angle, and several other factors to identify the best outdoor motion sensor lights. To gain a better understanding of what to look for in outdoor motion sensor lights, Jeremy also spoke with Edward Jones, a home lighting expert and founder of HomeCareHow. Using those expert insights into the best brightness for different applications and different use cases for outdoor motion-sensing lights, he was able to identify the best general use lights and great options for specific areas like pathways and stairs.
