The Solar Centre Evo15 Pir Utility Light

purchased this solar light after being dissapointed with another type that fell very short of being able to provide enough light to a shed doorway & path to enable a combination lock to be easily seen & operated.I havent given it 5 stars because the solar panel universal joint was too sloppy & had to be stiffened up with some hot glue & the light itself had to be mounted on another bracket to give me a more downward shinning light rather than outward facing light as shown in the picture. The solar panel was dubiously not as sealed as much as I would of liked so I added an extra bead of sealant to ensure no water ingress happens between solar panel glass & bezel. (this could be said with most solar panels as I have seen in the past so nothing out of the normal here)However here are the good pointsThe light is bright and easily lights up a shed lock and the path. The light isnt too concentrated but not very broad but powerfull enough to light the area with ease.The light & solar panel are both very adjustable & works on the passive sensor when dark., the on time is not adjustable as with some passive lights but it stays on approx 1 minute, which is fine for my purpose.The lead length between solar panel & light is the best part of 6ft or more so fine for most people (however a standard extender lead could be purchased or made if required)The light is attached to a wall or other vertical screwable surface by means of a small suspect plastic bracket that looks like a one way operation clipping mechanism ( I shaved a bit off this so that it could be unclipped easier if I needed to,) The light then slots down & clips into the bracket.The solar panel can be simply screwed to virtually any angled flat surface with a couple of supplied screws via the large flange.Whats in the box = basic instruction sheet , x2 mounting brackets for the light (only x1 required), rawl plugs & screws, the solar panel with attached lead , light with attached PIR. The rechargeable batteries are installed & nicely sealed via rubber flange behind the backplate of the passive unit.All in all pretty good and it would be nice to know how far it can shine down a garden path but unable to comment. However time will tell how long it will last, really good price & well recommended so far albeit some downfalls..

Other reviews mention ingress of water. Too right. The marked "weatherproof seals" indicated on the packaging are not at all weatherproof. We get really heavy sheeting rain here, and this device had so very many ways for water to get in. There was a rubber backplate but none of the other seams and openings had anything resembling a proper seal.LOTS of silicone grease seem to have done the trick (lots of places to put it) but don't use it on the universal joint on the lamp head or it will become too loose. Instead point it where you will and cover this joint well with a harder sealant (my preferance is polyurethane). The rubber cap at this point is a bit of a joke. It doesn't seal anything!UPDATE - six weeks later- one unit not working- despite half a tube of silicon grease it is full of water. NOT a write off- the electrics are all ok. Taking the pcb out to dry it the external on/off switch broke. Not deadly- the internal on-off switch is ok, just need to seal the external switch hole. Ahh- I see why the PIR has caused problems to users- it is on a LOOSE PCB and can very easily not be in good alignment with the small window. I may need to remove the window and put in one of my own. Note that this unit is in a VERY exposed position- not unlike being under a waterfall with the rain we have had recently. The construction is simply not up to UK weather.Another unit also six week old has the light unit inside a greenhouse, snug and dry, with the solar collector on the outside - continues to function well.The AA batteries are not what you might expect- it is a single sealed pack soldered in, of 1st Generation low capacity NIMH batteries. They could be replaced with care but it will probably be a lot easier when the time comes to replace the unit. It was not possible to precharge them with an AA charger as I had intended!The batteries are held in the lamp unit, which has an on/off switch (see note above) - if you need access to the switch to limit lamp use in badly dull weather, make sure you can reach it.The light is slightly focussed rather than wide angle for floodlighting, with a definite sharp fairly small area and a wider but paler light - ideal for lighting doors or steps.In a dark garden the light is really quite strong- in the more central area.The PIR detector is quite small and also fairly focussed, so make sure the PIR is pointed where you want to detect movement. The lamp head can be angled slightly away from this point if you need the light strongest somewhere else.The fairly light solar collector is held to the wall with four screws. It may also prove too floppy on its universal joint and require a bit of fixing. Choose your location in the autumn/winter when you can see where the sunshine falls. The light itself is held to the wall with a small clip which attaches to a tiny plate with two screws.NOTE- In the UK I very strongly recommend that you place a tiny roof over the lamp unit to keep the heavy rain well off, as it is really not water proof.

The light is very inexpensive compared with mains electric sensor-operated outside lights, and has zero running costs which must be a good thing.The instructions recommend installing the light itself under the eaves or on a solid wall so it is not completely exposed to the weather. (The instructions say the solar panel can be exposed to all weather). As we fixed our light under the eaves of a single-storey extension that was OK for us, but if fixed under the eaves of a two-storey or higher house, the light might hardly be noticeable at ground level.The light output is said to be equivalent to a 50 Watt bulb, which is not very bright for outdoors, but I took that on board when ordering.We have an existing outdoor mains sensor-operated light which lights up our side way, but left it a little dark at one end. The Evo15 Solar Pir Utility Light was installed to give a little more light that end of the side way. It has worked.Some time I might buy another for inside a shed, and guess it should give enough light to see where things are, but not to see things clearly.We had to rack our brains where to put the solar panel, so it would get as much sun as possible. In the end we put it on top of the extension roof, and weighed it down with a piece of paving resting on the base. We did not like the idea of screwing it down onto the felted roof as it would have made the roof less weatherproof. We hope the wind will not blow the solar panel away.

There are two main components in the box: the light and the photocell. They are connected by quite a long cable, which allows strategic positioning of each component. It is worth knowing that the instructions recommend that the light be mounted somewhere sheltered (eg, under eaves), whilst the photocell by definition has to be somewhere exposed and able to face southwards.My real quandary, when ordering the unit, was how sensitive the PIR would be. Good news: it is a little over-sensitive rather than under-sensitive, so sometimes we are not sure what triggered it to light up, but at least it does come on every time that we want it to do so. This is the most important feature, so I am giving the product four stars.The angle of both the light and the photocell is adjustable, but unfortunately the light cannot be pointed downwards more than about 45 degrees - so we fixed the light to the front of the house and wanted it to light the path that runs past the kitchen window to the front door - the light cannot be angled to point so far downwards, so it really lights the flowerbed the other side of the path.We bought the unit in the spring, so over the summer we are not gaining much benefit from the light. The winter months will tell how effective it really is, but we are pleased that as soon as the daylight is fading, appropriate motion triggers the PIR as required. With the light only remaining on for short periods without being triggered again, I would like to think that there will be no problem with the rechargeable battery running out prematurely on winter evenings.

I bought two of these now had them installed for 2 weeks. They are very sensitive to movement within a 6 foot radios, which is good. In Cyprus there is enough sun, probably the opposite in summer. Easy to install. Bad news is two problems. They were for the garden so I needed something waterproof and they don't appear to be so, the instructions say install under the eves of a roof, second problem the ball and socket on which the adjustable light is on, is not 'man enough' to hold up the light, so although I keep adjusting the light to where I need it shining I watch as the light slowly falls back down so its pointing at it's base. I may have to try super-glue to see if I can fix this problem. But overall they work and light up a dark area for free and without wires.I have just bought another two of these. My fears shown above were not proven. Both lights have functioned without problem for over 2 years, so I bought another two for other parts of the garden. The rain has not contaminated the batteries or working, the Cyprus sun has not dimmed their light and the ball and socket was only weak on one of the lights which was overcome by super glue. I would recommend