90 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
90 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Installing a solar-powered security light"
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slug: /installing-a-security-light/
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date: 2025-11-11
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tags: ["projects", "DIY"]
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---
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I recently installed a security light in the back garden. I wanted it to be
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"dumb" (not IoT-linked) and solar-powered with battery power as a fallback.
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The
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[Auraglow Hybrid](https://web.archive.org/web/20250826070058/https://www.diy.com/departments/auraglow-hybrid-solar-battery-twin-led-security-light-cyrus/5060539629306_BQ.prd)
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met these criteria and was very cheap.
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Normally, I would pay more for a higher quality device but the reviews were
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uniformly good and I wanted to see how plausible a solar-powered light would be
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in English winters, before shelling out any more.
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I placed it above the garage side-door to illuminate the garden and the pathway
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to the garage from the Command Center.
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In order to maximise access to sunlight, I had to use the full-length of the
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solar panel cable (5m) to stretch it round from the back of the garage (which is
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south-facing) to the side door.
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The cable connecting the solar panel to the light is a 3.5mm TRS cable - the
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same as those used for earphones. It's very flimsy, like a pair of liquorice
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laces and once I had tacked it along the roof of the garage I started to worry
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about how well it would endure, longer-term. I think this is the only aspect of
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the light where you get what you pay for. The loose wire also looked a bit
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rubbish and the aesthetics of this grated on me.
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So, to improve its water-proofing and protect it from UV I bought some
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cylindrical black conduit from Screwfix. I don't think this is truly
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outdoors-grade but it's a lot better than than exposing the thin cable to the
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elements. As the diameter of the conduit is several times wider than the cable,
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it can be used for additional cabling down the line, should I need it.
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This left the cable loose at the terminals so I bought some flexible trunking to
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protect the cable at the joins. (This is also intended for indoor use so I'll
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have to see how well it lasts.) I joined the trunking to the conduit with
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self-amalgamating tape for a water-tight seal.
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I'm happy with the appearance and think it looks quite professional.
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As for the device itself, the performance is as good as the reviews suggested.
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The LED luminosity is very bright and the sensor is effective. (Perhaps a bit
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too effective since I've noticed it being triggered by spiders weaving webs
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around the light.) After a couple of days I removed the back-up batteries to see
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how well the solar panel was working. I waited two days before putting them
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back, and the light functioned exactly the same as it did on battery power
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throughout this period. (For the last few weeks, we have mostly had cloudy,
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rainy days with only occasional bursts of sunlight.)
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Other than the spiders, the only other main drawback is that it requires C-type
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batteries. As rechargable batteries of this type are hard to come by it meant I
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couldn't use a high-quality brand like Eneloop. I had to go for the least-worst
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Chinese-branded batteries I could find on Amazon if I wanted to use
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rechargables.
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Ideally I would want some visual indicator of the current capacity of the solar
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battery and the back-up batteries but for a device under £20 this is probably
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asking a bit too much.
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Mostly due to me over-engineering the cabling, the total cost of this project
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was £60.17.
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| Product | Cost |
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| ------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- |
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| Auraglow Hybrid Solar & Battery Twin LED Security Light (B&Q) | 15.99 |
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| Round conduit and connectors (Screwfix) | 17.52 |
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| Flexible trunking (Amazon) | 6.15 |
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| Self-amalgamating tape 10m (Amazon) | 6.52 |
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| EBL 5000mAh C-type recharageable batteries (Amazon) | 13.99 |
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