How do solar flood lights turn on at night automatically?
There are three main ways that our solar flood lights activate at night, without you turning them on manually:
- Photo Eye: a photo eye is a small component that senses light. During the day, enough light from the sun hits the photo eye to keep your solar flood light off. However, when the sun goes down, the photo eye senses the darkness and turns the flood light on automatically.
- Voltage Sensor: a sensor built into the light circuit reads the voltage being generated by the solar panel. During the day, when the solar panel is generating power, the light remains off (and charging), but at night, when the solar panel is not generating power, the circuitry turns on the flood light automatically.
- Motion Sensor: Combined with one of the above two options, a motion sensor activates your light when motion is detected within range. This is typical of security style flood lights, and provides extended performance in cloudy climates and during the winter when days are shorter and charging time is limited.