Don't know if many on this board would know what brands are available in Australia. I personally use low voltage lights as my property is too shaded to use solar lighting.

Thank you texasredhead, sometimes brand names are worldwide and thought that maybe there were some common brands available but I guess the popular retailers would mainly only stock the better brands anyway.

I don't think there are a top five brands of solar lights.
they all appear to be junk and inadequate in my book.

as texasredhead mentioned, low voltage is the way to go,
and most bulbs can be replaced with LEDs.

fred

Hi Fred, thank you for your response. I appreciate your opinion and accept that some solar lights can be rather delicate but I also think that there is a place for them in this day and age. In days gone by solar lights were quite inefficient but the updated models have improved a lot and can be useful in the right place.

Go with commercial grade fixtures. The residential types aren't manufactured to the same quality and degree of industrial or commercial grade.

Thank you for your suggestion azlighting. Where would I be able to buy commercial solar lighting?

Where would I be able to buy commercial solar lighting?
Check out the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Google results-commercial solar lighting

Hi chemocurl, thank you for the link. Why didn't I think of that? I checked some of those out and did find some commercial solar flood lights that would be great around the home and garden, although they are quite a bit more expensive, $300 compared to $80 for the domestic models. They are rated at being as bright as 100w to 150w, which is fantastic and way more than the domestic variety. I guess you get what you pay for!

I guess you get what you pay for!

Exactly. If you price out PV panels, charge controllers, and batteries for a home solar system, you'll see why commercial quality solar fixtures might be pricey. They're far more complex than a simple housing, socket, and bulb.

Cheap home center solar lights are mostly junk, built to cost a few dollars and last a few seasons.

Hi David, thank you for your input. You have a very valid point and I guess the manufacturers market to the masses as that is where the biggest market for them is. At the same time it is good to have the choice of commercial or domestic, do you agree?