Out of apathy, I’ve put off replacing them, but after testing the Ring Solar Pathlights, I think I’m finally ready to rip my old path lights out of the ground. They’re not cheap, but as my Ring Solar Pathlights review found, these are some of the best smart lights for your outdoors. Standing nearly 17 inches tall, and with a 4.3-inch diameter head, the Ring Solar Pathlights are definitely noticeable when staked in your lawn. The top of the lights features a small solar panel; further down is a clear plastic section that houses the LED, and tapers to the shaft. Compared to non-smart pathway lighting, the Ring Solar Pathlights aren’t cheap. An individual Ring Solar Pathlight costs $35, but in order to use them, you’ll also need a bridge ($50) that links the lights to your home Wi-Fi network.
You can connect up to 50 lights to a single bridge, so unless you’re planning to make your driveway look like an airport runway, one should suffice. I found that this feature worked very well in my testing; I even had to dial back the Pathlights’ motion sensitivity, as I would get a recording every time a car drove past.
While they are more expensive than the rest of the best solar lights on our list, they’re worth the investment, especially for someone who already has other Ring products. The Mr. Beams Outdoor Battery-powered Pathlights ($30 for a pack of two) have motion sensors that activate when someone comes within 12 feet, but otherwise, they lack any “smarts.” Philips Hue makes a few smart pathlights, but these each cost more than $100 apiece, must be plugged in, and lack motion sensors.
Ring Smart Lighting Solar Pathlight review: Everything we loved about the original model, and less (batteries, that is)
A photovoltaic panel occupying nearly the entirety of the Ring Solar Pathlight’s 3.5-inch top trickle-charges a 3.7-volt lithium ion battery inside. The light arrived with enough power to set up and pair with the Bridge, but Ring recommends giving it a full charge with an AC adapter before permanent installation, and I followed that advice.
This review assumes you don’t already have that component, so the Amazon link above is for the two-light starter kit that includes the Bridge. The original’s plastic housing looks no worse for wear after nearly a year’s exposure to the weather, so I’m sure the new model will be just as durable. Michael Brown / IDG Ring’s battery-powered Pathlight is going strong after nearly a year of exposure to the elements, which bodes well for the solar-powered version. Michael Brown / IDG The power of Ring’s ecosystem comes into play when you start linking its devices together, so that one triggers actions by the others.
Smaller devices, such as the door/window and motion sensors used with the Ring Alarm system, communicate over Z-Wave. If you’re just looking for solar-powered path lighting that automatically turns on at night and charges its batteries while the sun is out, there are much cheaper options than the Ring Solar Pathlight. Products in the Philips Hue line serve that role much better—and since they don’t rely on batteries, they’re much brighter.
New Ring Solar smart outdoor lights review & comparison
Built to Ring standards, these are not the $2 solar pathway lights you find in the checkout bins at the home improvement store The solar version would allow the rechargeable batteries to gain power from the sun, a “set it and forget it” model. You may need to consider where to position the Bridge to ensure proper connection to indoor and outdoor appliances.
Ring says the batteries will last about one year with normal use, which they define as between eight and ten activations a day for a 30 second period at maximum brightness.
You’ll be able to control the brightness, motion detection sensitivity, shut-off time and see how much charge you have in your batteries. Since your devices are all on the same system, you could then create a routine to turn on your Ring Video Doorbell camera when the lights detect motion, giving you more footage of someone approaching the door. It has the same features from an automation standpoint; it needs to be connected via a Ring Bridge and can be programmed in the same way the standard model can. Usually, this won’t be necessary, but in colder climates, or when there hasn’t been a lot of sun over a few days, you may need to top up the battery.
In my testing over the last 3 weeks it hasn’t been necessary, but it’s a nice backup, and the ability to do this indoors without dragging cords or a power bank up and down the walkway is super convenient. While the Solar Pathlight is slightly more expensive than the standard version, not having to buy batteries more than makes up for that added cost. If you live in a northern climate, the other area where you’ll see a difference is with cold weather and shorter days. Since the days will likely be shorter when the weather is coldest, the batteries will have less time to recharge during sunlight hours, not to mention if the solar panels get covered in snow.
My testing is underway in summer so this may end up being a big concern… I’ll have to update this in a future video after the winter. Like the Pathlight, the Steplight requires a Ring Bridge to connect to your Wi-Fi network and allows you to control the length of shut-off from 30 seconds to five minutes. Once installed, you’ll connect via the Ring Bridge to your network and can make use of Amazon Alexa commands. Mounting involves a plate to connect to your wall or railing, then you can remove the entire device to bring inside to charge via USB. With 3 C-cell batteries needed for the battery-operated Steplight, costs can add up when replacement time rolls around. In most cases, you won’t lose any of the functionality of the older model and save money on battery replacement.
I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running.
Ring Smart Lighting Pathlight Review 2021
A cool feature in the app allows you to select multiple devices and add them to a group. For example, if one of the Ring Pathlights detects motion, it’s gonna also turn on the porch light. If you were tired of getting notified because it’s Halloween and you’ve got people walking all around your pathlights, you can snooze those notifications.
Ring Solar Pathlight Review_
The best smart light bulbs in our book for such an occasion are Ring Solar Pathlights. Solar powered smart bulbs Cons A bit expensive
The Ring Solar Pathlights aren’t the brightest light bulbs out there, not as bright as, say, Philips Hue White 4-Pack, but they shouldn’t be. These Ring pathlights produce 80 lumens, which is plenty to light your path without blinding the neighborhood.
The battery life for the Ring Smart Lighting Solar Pathlights is entirely dependent on how much sun it got that day. But since they turn off by themselves, they can conserve energy from another day, provided they aren’t used frequently.
Once installed, you can control it with select Alexa enabled devices (like Echo Dot) or Google Assistant (with a Ring Bridge). Since the Ring Solar Pathlight is solar-powered, you never have to change any batteries or charge them.
Customer Reviews: Ring Solar Powered Smart Lighting Pathlight Black 5AT1S6-BEN0
It is great to be able to control the light output, set timers, link it to other Ring devices. Not the biggest issue and not Ring’s fault, I have to pull the battery out about once a month and charge it in the house.
I can’t move the sidewalk, so … My second issue is that the motion detector is only on one side.
Be First to Comment