What it costs
| Size / type | Typical price | Range |
|---|---|---|
| flood <=60W | KSh 3,750 | 619 – 12,500 |
| lanterns | KSh 1,500 | 499 – 7,500 |
| wall/sensor/security lights | KSh 3,050 | 482 – 8,500 |
Wattages are as listed by sellers and are marketing figures. Prices are approximate and vary by brand and seller.
Types of outdoor solar lights
- Garden and path lights. Small stake lights you push into the soil along a path or flower bed. Mostly decorative: they mark the way rather than light it.
- Wall lights. Fixed to an outside wall by a door or along a corridor. Many have a motion sensor.
- String and fairy lights. For verandas, trees and events, with a small panel on a stake.
- Bollard and post lights. Taller lights for driveways and estate paths.
- Flood lights. For lighting a whole yard or parking. See solar flood lights.
- Street lights. On poles, for roads and large compounds. See solar street lights.
Pick by what you want the light to do. To see where you are walking, you need a wall, post or flood light. To make a garden look good at night, stake and string lights are enough.
What outdoor solar lights cost in Kenya
Solar wall and sensor lights typically sell for about KSh 3,000, ranging from under KSh 500 to about KSh 8,500. Small flood-style lights listed as 60W or less were typically about KSh 3,750.
Garden stake lights are often sold in packs, and their prices vary widely with the pack size and finish. We did not find enough of them to give a reliable typical price, so compare a few sellers before you buy.
For a large garden, an estate path or a hotel compound, ask for an installed quote. A planned layout usually costs less over its life than replacing cheap lights every year.
Making outdoor solar lights last in Kenyan weather
Most outdoor solar lights fail for one of four reasons:
- Water. Look for IP65 or better. Cheap lights let rain into the battery during the long rains.
- Sun on the plastic. Strong sun turns cheap plastic brittle and yellow, and the panel's cover goes cloudy. Metal or UV-resistant housings last longer.
- A weak battery. Small lights often use tiny cells that lose capacity within a year. Lights with a replaceable battery can be revived cheaply.
- Shade. A light under a tree or on the shady side of the house never charges fully.
Wipe the panels every few weeks in the dry season, when dust settles on them, and check that grass has not grown over stake lights.
Solar lights exterior: the watts on the box
The wattage printed on cheap outdoor solar lights is a marketing figure, not the real power of the LEDs. A small light with a panel the size of your hand cannot run a true 50W or 100W lamp all night. Judge outdoor lights on lumens, battery capacity, panel size and water rating, and ignore the watt figure. Our flood lights page explains the arithmetic.
Solar garden lights for sale in Kenya: shop or installer?
For a few lights along a path, buying from a shop or online is fine. For anything larger, an installer is worth it:
- Estates and gated communities need lights that all work, all night, every night.
- Hotels, schools and churches want lights that look good and are hard to steal.
- Long driveways may be cheaper with a few pole lights than with many small ones.
An installer can also run outdoor lights from your existing home solar system, so they share one good battery. Wired lights on a shared system are easier to maintain than dozens of small batteries, and you can put them all on one timer or sensor. Compare installers across Kenya or send one request below.
