Solar Wall Sconces

A wall light has no cable to fall back on.

A wall-mounted solar fixture is the simplest product we make and the one most often installed badly. There is no cable to compensate for a shaded panel: whatever the wall gives the panel in a day is what the fixture has to run on that night.

That is why the specification work happens before the order, not after. Two things decide the outcome: how much panel area the wall can see the sun with, and how much reserve the fixture carries for the days when it cannot.

Mounting is the part that decides whether it works.

A solar wall light cannot be re-aimed after installation the way a ground-mounted fixture can. The panel faces wherever the wall faces, permanently. Before choosing a model, walk the wall at the hour the fixture will charge.

• Mount between roughly 1.8 m and 2.2 m above the walking surface: high enough to clear heads and vehicles, low enough that the panel is not under an eave.
• Keep the panel clear of overhangs, window reveals and signage. A 300 mm bracket that moves the fixture out from under an eave often does more than a larger panel.
• Check the fixing substrate, not just the wall finish. Render over block, tile over brick, and timber cladding all take different anchors.
• Leave access for cleaning. A panel that cannot be reached will stop being cleaned within a season.

What to send us for a quote.

Five lines are enough for us to recommend a model rather than a price list.

1. Wall orientation and the nearest obstruction, with a photo taken from the wall.
2. Mounting height and the substrate: masonry, render, tile or cladding.
3. Desired nightly run time, and whether the fixture should dim or switch off after a set hour.
4. Quantity, and whether the order repeats seasonally.
5. Finish and colour requirements, plus any colour-rendering requirement from the lighting designer.

Compare the range at a glance.

Every value below is taken from the individual product page; nothing is estimated. Open a model for its full datasheet.

Installation: what a wall fixture needs that a pole does not

A wall sconce inherits the wall's problems: shade, heat and the wrong side of the building.

The first question is orientation, and it is often fatal to the project. A sconce on a north-facing wall in the northern hemisphere will not charge, no matter how large the panel. Where the desired lighting position and the sun are on opposite sides of the building, a remote panel or a different fixture is the honest answer.

The second is cable routing inside the wall. Retrofitting a sconce means running a cable through existing masonry; if the wall cannot take the route, the installation cost doubles.

The third is heat. A dark wall in direct sun can exceed the ambient temperature by 15 °C or more, and a sealed fixture on that wall runs hotter than the same fixture on a pole. Ventilation clearance at the top of the housing is part of the specification, not an installation preference.

Lumen output: what the number hides

A wall fixture's output is usually quoted at the LED, not at the wall.

Lumen figures for sconces are often measured at the source, before the diffuser and the housing lose part of it. What reaches the wall is lower, and how much lower depends on the optic and the shield — which is why two fixtures with the same lumen rating can look completely different on the same wall.

For decorative lighting this matters less than the pattern: an up-and-down wash, a single downward throw and a wide symmetrical spread all serve different purposes. Ask for the light distribution drawing rather than comparing lumen numbers between products.

Related guides

• Wall Lights Height & Fixing