15W Off-Grid Solar Lighting System with 4 LED Lights, Solar Panel, Battery and Cables - Complete Solar Lighting Kit

Very easy to install. Worked immediately. The 4 lights give excellent illumination in a 10ft x 10ft hut. Overall good value and I would be happy to recommend it. I have some slight criticisms, but I would not put anyone off buying this product.. 1. Depending on whether the solar panel is fitted on a roof or an outside wall it might need some sort of frame to hold it. None is supplied with the kit, and the supplier does not offer one. It is not difficult to make something suitable out of angle iron and metal strips, and there are 4 holes in the back of the solar panel to allow it to be bolted to a frame. 2 The lampholders have nothing to fix them to the rafters of the hut, so you have to use cable clips to fix the cable to the rafter and let the light dangle from it. This is OK as the lampholders and bulb are lightweight, so there is no strain on the cable, and the system is only running at 12 volts, but a batten type lampholder capable of being screwed to the rafter would be a better installation 3. There is a separate on/off switch for each lamp but it is in a fixed position in the cable and cannot be moved, so depending on where your lamps are positioned it might not be possible to reach the switch. This does not matter very much, as all 4 lamps can be switched on or off at the control unit, and there is enough cable to allow the control unit to be placed in any convenient location

What a great bit of kit. Having completed the construction of a summer house, I wanted to install some lights. My preference was for solar lighting rather than have an electrician put in a power supply. Having been less than impressed with previous solar lights, I spent ages reading reviews and have to admit nothing seemed that impressive. By chance I entered a search for 'off grid power' and this popped up. The service was speedy and the parcel well packaged. All the components are of a high quality and it was simple to set up. Be warned though there are no brackets supplied for the solar panel. I bought 4 90 degree angled brackets, drilled holes in the frame of the panel and screwed the brackets on. The battery charged fully in a day, the lights are bright and the usb port charges my mobile phone or my kindle while I'm in the garden. Well worth the money considering a nasty plastic feeble glowing single light and solar panel can cost you £50.

I'm not going to repeat the comments from some of the more useful reviews as they seem to answer most questions. I'm limiting this review to a the system's highlights and then concentrating on what I've done with it. Good points: * Plug and play out the box - easy * 3w LEDs surprisingly bright * Seems well constructed and packed Less good points: * There's no installation kit for the solar panel (I used a couple of pieces of my old meccano set!) * There are adaptors for the USB output to fit every possible phone you can think of except the most common, a micro USB - this is not a real show-stopper as most people have a USB to micro-USB cable anyway. You could easily buy the components of the is kit more cheaply and make it yourself; I liked the control box with integral battery and voltage circuitry. My application is a small potting shed. The led lamps have ES fittings. I used the wires but cut them off before the switch and put the bulbs in ceramic holders (from ebay between 99p an £10 depending on how long you were prepared to wait for delivery). I wired two lights in one circuit with a 'caravan' switch controlling them. Two bulbs are ample for my shed and I'm keeping the others as spares. I've also bought a 12 volt PIR switch (movement sensor) and an outdoor LED light so there is a welcoming light as I approach. It was quite difficult to find 12v PIRs that were weatherproof (most are mains voltage). There's one on ebay (and Amazon do a good one here but for inside) both for under £10. Making the alterations described above may invalidate the guarantee and could damage the lights or the charger unit if wired incorrectly or short-circuited. Therefore I'd suggest you don't do this unless you know what you're doing. You'll need a test meter for polarity (LEDs need to be wired correctly with respect to + and -). The cable supplied has two cores, red for + and black for - but if you extend as I did (I used clear speaker cable) you lose the benefit of the colours.

Let's start with the good news: this is a doddle to put together, with the merest glance at the operating manual and is effective from the off, so I suposse the battery arrives fully charged. Placing the solar panel in the light - late afternoon, but sunny, in this case, the battery registers that it is receiving a charge and the lights, tested some hours later are surprisingly bright: I have only installed two so far. I am using the solar lighting system to light a shed that is about 5 x 4 metres and this system looks more than adequate. On the basis of what I have seen so far, I can see a lot of possibilities for small scale systems like this and am a decided convert. However, there is a fly in the ointment: the manual, so titled, comprises of a single page of A4, sufficient to place the wires in the right place, but is actually redundant since the box, with a coloured schematic and the battery, clearly labeled, make the manual a waste of paper. What is actually missing is instruction on the sighting the solar panel for best effect, (I know that this seems obvious, but the sun moves and the solar panel doesn't), and any means to fix the solar panel except 4 holes in the back of the frame. I'm pretty good at construction and will knock something up, but I would have liked something included or at least offered as an accessory to do the job for me. A search on Amazon, found nothing particularly useful and I will mark it down for this reason; but, try not to let this put you off as the kit is pretty sound. When, I have sorted this problem out, I will post photos to the review and if anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to ask. From a personal irritation point of view, I'd like to knock a couple of stars off, but that does not reflect well on what is a, basically, well made and good quality piece of kit, so 4 stars, but it should have been 5 with a bit more forethought by the manufacturers. Update: I have now made a bracket to hang the solar panel, facing south, from the end of my shed, which is an ongoing project in itself. Photos to be uploaded asap. The sysytem works very well and the lights supplied are more than adequate for my 5m x 4m shed, so I am very pleased with the way that the system works. Checking out what information I can, a south facing aspect is the one you want and I have angled my solar panel at 60 degrees: on a roof or at 45 degrees, facing south might be better, but the way that the sun traverses my garden, it should work out okay, but time will tell. Currently, the weather has been misty, a bit overcast and with little direct sunshine, but the system is still charging all day. The siting is unobstructed and not overlooked, so no shadows, which is good. This is probably a good time for DIY'ers to look into off grid systems as prices seem to be coming down. There are a lot of 1/2 price offers for on grid systems to be installed, but they still cost thousands. something that costs hundreds may make it value for money and cost saving in the shorter term, but as it is, I now have a shed/workshop that has lighting for free.

Although the unit seemed good at first and easy to install, I soon found out that it doesn't work during winter, which is when I need to use it. The lights work for about 1 minute at this time of year. I contacted the seller several times and received advice which did not solve the problem. I feel that they were stalling me. When I asked to return it, they wanted me to pay for postage, said they might charge me £20 just to look at it and suggested that I may be charged more to fix it if the fault wasn't covered under their guarantee. I don't feel I can trust them to admit that it just isn't as described and don't want to throw good money after bad. In complete contrast, I bought another system from a different supplier and installed it on an adjacent shed. The solar panels are identical size, 2 metres away from each other and facing the same direction. The other system works perfectly. I really wouldn't buy from this seller again and I recommend that you don't.

This is the second system I have bought as the first one performs so well. I use the system to light my stables (with one bulb in each stable) The light is plenty bright enough to be useful and even during mid winter the system has enough charge to work the lights. Second system bought to light another building as I was so impressed with the performance of the first system which has been running for over two years in constant use. The added bonus is you can charge you phone from the system too.

These came with no charge,we had to source another battery,which was expensive

I bought this Solar setup to light my shed in 2017 and never been happier. The solar lights adequately light my 16x8 shed and charge quite happily from the small 15W panel which spends most of the day shaded. This system is basically a battery in a steel box, which is trickle charged from the external 15W panel. It's easy to maintain and all the cables are very long. During my two years I did have an issue where suddenly the lights refused to turn on. I contacted the seller who was helpful but unable to advise or offer a refund. Getting out my multimeter I determined the light switch was at fault - is a common issue. I bought a replacement, but actually fixed it with a squirt of contact cleaner. The system has been running happily now for over 3 years on original parts. Having taken lid off I can see how simple the device is, it would be very easy to replace the battery, replace switches and keep the box running indefinitely. In March 2022, I am still very happy with this solar system. The panel still pulls a decent number of watts