Table of Contents
I have this porch that I never used at night because it was pitch black out there. Like you couldn’t see anything. You’d go outside and just be standing there in the dark basically. Pointless. So my porch was just wasted space after sunset. My wife kept saying we should sit on the porch in the evening and I was like with what light? You want me to sit in the dark? She had no answer for that. So the porch just stayed empty at night. Then I got sick of wasting this space and I was like you know what, let me figure this out. I didn’t want to run electric lines to the porch. That seemed like a nightmare and I’d have to call an electrician which costs money and is annoying.
So I went to the store and looked at solar lights and found these little round solar panels that you can stick right to a ceiling or hang from hooks. They looked decent. Bought a pack of like four of them for fifty bucks. Came home and stuck them on my porch ceiling with adhesive strips. Took like twenty minutes. That night turned them on and honestly the porch looked great. Like actually usable. You could see stuff. It was warm light. Looked really nice actually.
Now my wife and I sit out there in the evening all the time. We have drinks. We hang out. Just sitting on the porch at night which we never did before. All because of some cheap solar lights stuck to the ceiling. Pretty good investment honestly.
Your porch is basically useless at night without lights
If you don’t have lights on your porch nobody uses it. Just sits there dark and empty. Waste of space. Doesn’t matter how nice your porch is. Doesn’t matter what furniture you have. If it’s dark nobody wants to be there. With lights though it becomes an actual space. A place you can hang out. Read a book. Have a drink. Talk with someone. Whatever. Makes your whole house better basically because now you can use that space instead of just looking at it through the window wishing it had light.
Solar lights on the ceiling are way better than standing lamps or whatever
Some people put lamps on their porch which is fine I guess but ceiling lights are better. Ceiling lights spread the light around evenly instead of making one bright spot.
They don’t take up space on the floor or table. They’re not in the way. You can move furniture around without worrying about tripping over a lamp. They look cleaner. More finished. Like you actually planned the space instead of just throwing a lamp out there. Stick them on the ceiling or hang them from hooks and boom, problem solved.
You can stick them on with adhesive or hang them from hooks
I used adhesive strips which is super easy but maybe not permanent enough if you move or whatever. You can drill holes and use little hooks and hang them which is more permanent but requires more work. I didn’t want to drill holes in my porch ceiling so adhesive strips worked fine for me. They’ve been up there for like a year and haven’t fallen off or anything. Still stuck tight. If you want them more permanent hang them from hooks. Takes longer but it’s more solid. Either way takes like an hour to get them all up and working.
Warm white is literally the only color that makes sense
Use warm white light on your porch. Not bright white. Not colored lights. Warm white. Warm white light makes your porch look nice and inviting. Makes it feel like a place you want to be. Bright white light looks harsh and cold. Like a parking lot. Not pleasant. Colored lights are dumb for a porch. Who wants to sit on a blue porch? Nobody. Warm white makes everything look better. Makes the space feel comfortable. That’s the point. I have warm white on mine and it’s perfect. Looks good. Feels welcoming.
Space them out so the light covers the whole porch
If you put all your lights in one spot you get a bright area and dark areas. Looks weird. Spread them out across the ceiling so light hits the whole porch evenly.
My porch isn’t huge so four lights is plenty. If you have a bigger porch you might need more. Stand under them at night and see if you can see everywhere you need to see. If there’s a dark corner add another light there. Adjust till you get it right. Take your time figuring this out.
The solar panel part needs to get sun during the day
This is obvious but easy to forget. If your porch has a roof overhang that blocks sun, the lights won’t charge. Solar panels need actual sunlight hitting them during the day or they won’t have enough power for night. My porch doesn’t have a deep overhang so the panels get good sun and charge up great.
If your porch is super shaded you might have a problem. Lights won’t be as bright or won’t work at all. Test it for a few days. See how bright they get at night. If they’re too dim you need more sun on the panels.
They turn on automatically at dusk which is nice
Most solar lights have a light sensor that automatically turns them on when it gets dark and turns them off when the sun comes up. You don’t have to remember to flip a switch. They just do it automatically. Super convenient. Some have a manual switch too in case you want to turn them off during the day or leave them on longer. Mine just come on at dusk and go off at dawn. Works perfect for how I use them.
Installation is way easier than you’d think honestly
I was dreading this thinking I’d have to climb around on a ladder and drill stuff and it would be a whole thing. Nope. Just adhesive strips. Stick them to the ceiling. Peel off the back. Stick the light on. Done. Took like five minutes per light. Twenty minutes total for four lights.
If you hang them from hooks it takes a bit longer but still not bad. Drill hole, put hook in, hang light. Takes like ten minutes per light. `Either way it’s super simple. Nobody needs to help. You just do it yourself.
Brightness is actually pretty good if you have enough lights
One solar light won’t light up a whole porch. It’ll be kind of dim. Two lights is better. More brightness. More even distribution. Four lights on my porch is really good. Plenty bright. You can see everything clearly. Might seem bright in the evening but by late night they dim a bit as the battery gets used up. Still functional though.
If you want really bright light like daytime brightness you need electric lights. But for sitting on a porch and being able to see, solar lights work great.
They’re dim compared to electric but that’s actually fine
Some people expect solar lights to be as bright as electric porch lights and then get disappointed. They’re not gonna be the same brightness. Solar just doesn’t store that much power. But they don’t need to be super bright. You just need enough light to see and move around safely. My porch is plenty bright for what I do. Sitting. Talking. Reading. Whatever. I can see fine. Don’t go in expecting stadium lighting and you’ll be happy.
Weather doesn’t really bother them which is nice
Solar lights are designed to be outside so rain and wind don’t hurt them. I’ve left mine up through rain and snow and they’re fine. The water doesn’t get inside or anything. They’re sealed up. Biggest thing is making sure they get sun to charge but that’s not weather related. Pretty durable little things honestly.
Battery dies eventually so don’t expect forever
Like all solar lights the rechargeable battery inside will eventually stop holding a charge. Usually takes three to five years. When that happens you buy new lights. Fifty bucks for a new set. Not a huge deal. Some people try to replace just the battery but honestly easier to get new lights at that price. Cold weather is hard on batteries so if you live somewhere really cold you might get less life. Mine are still going strong after a year so I’m not worried yet. But I know eventually I’ll need new ones.
Cleaning them keeps them bright
Dust and pollen pile up on the solar panels like with all solar lights. Makes them dimmer. Every month or so I wipe mine down with a soft cloth. Takes like five minutes total. Warm water and tiny bit of dish soap if they’re really gross. Gentle wipe. That’s it. Keeps them bright and working well.
If you ignore them for like six months they get pretty nasty and lose brightness.
You can use different styles if you want
Some are round little domes. Some are square. Some are lantern style. Some are just flat panels. Round domes look clean and modern. Flat panels look minimal. Lantern style looks fancier.
Doesn’t really matter functionally. Just pick what looks best on your porch. I have flat round ones and they look fine. Simple and clean. Get whatever style you like. Price is usually pretty similar anyway.
This actually makes your porch a place people want to hang out
Before I had lights people would be like let’s go sit on the porch and I’d be like why would we sit in the dark. Now people come over and we’re like let’s go on the porch and it’s actually nice. Makes your house feel more finished. Like you have outdoor space that’s actually usable. Guests notice. They’re like oh nice you have lights out here. Simple but people appreciate it. Makes you use your porch more which makes your house feel bigger basically.
Cost is really reasonable honestly
Fifty bucks for a whole set of lights. That’s not bad. Compare that to hiring an electrician to run lights. That’s like five hundred bucks easy. Running electric lines. That’s expensive and annoying. Solar is cheap and easy. Why wouldn’t you do this. Plus if you move or change your mind you just take them down. No permanent damage.
Setup your porch as a place you actually want to use
Get some comfortable chairs or a bench or whatever. Add lights so you can actually see. Maybe get a little table for drinks or books.
Make it a space that’s actually inviting instead of just dark and empty. You’ll use it way more if it’s set up nice. And solar lights are the easiest way to make it happen without a ton of work or money.
Summary
Hang solar lights on your porch ceiling and your porch actually becomes usable at night. Stick them right to the ceiling or hang them from hooks. Takes like an hour. Costs around fifty bucks. Way better than sitting in the dark on your porch like a weirdo. Actually makes the space look nice and you can see what you’re doing.
