How I Transformed Two Outdoor Sconces with a DIY Solar Light Kit

Over twelve years ago, I upgraded three outdoor light fixtures as one of my first DIY projects on the blog.  They were castoffs from the resort I worked at before I started blogging.  Instead of letting the maintenance crew throw the aged wall sconces in the dumpster, I saved a few of them for one of those “I will use these one day” type of projects.

Now, all these years later, we have removed them from the back entrance and garage entrance to our house during our exterior siding installation.  Unfortunately, their look will no longer match the new style we are bringing to the exterior of our home.  But once again, I refused to allow the building crew to throw them into the dumpster. 

Instead, I had an idea to transform them into solar lights for the backyard that could also be used as portable emergency lights when needed. 

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One sconce can’t be found.

Sadly, one of the three sconces can’t be found, so we believe it traveled away in the dumpster after all.  But that is okay.  For this project, I purchased a two-light solar kit from Amazon. Two lights are all I need for the small corner of this outdoor space anyway.

This will not be one of those spray-painted, bright-colored makeovers. Time and the weather have once again given the outdoor sconces a wonderful, aged patina.  So, I am keeping them black and just the way they are.

The primary focus of this project is to easily convert them to solar lights for the small corner deck area and to brighten up the gated entrance to the fenced-in yard. They will look stylish while achieving this goal.

Solar light kit purchased from Amazon

In my search for solar light kits online, I discovered a rather unique solar light solution for these outdoor lights – portable solar lights, primarily designed for camping or emergencies, that are easy to use anywhere once charged and are remotely controlled.  Since we own an RV, I figured if the kit doesn’t work for the sconces, we can always put them in the RV.

Each light comes with a charging panel, connected to a Mini USB plug, to charge the battery that powers the light bulb.  The light bulb features an attached hook that allows it to be hung anywhere as a temporary light source when needed.  Such as a tree, or inside a closet, or unhooked and used for moving around in the dark in case of an emergency.  And if the USB plug matches your phone, it can also temporarily charge your phone.

These may seem like overkill for a decorative outdoor sconce, but I chose it for several reasons.

I wanted to illuminate the corner of the fenced-in area with decorative lighting for a small seating area.  Additionally, the lights can be remotely turned off to conserve the solar-charged battery connected to the light bulb, allowing it to be used in case of an emergency.  The hook attached to the light bulb will enable us to easily remove it from inside the sconce and bring the bulbs inside during a storm in case we lose power. They will work for 5-6 hours on a fully charged battery.

We recently lost power at home for over seven hours after a storm, so these lights were a handy backup.

Another goal I had for converting these outdoor lights to solar lighting was to avoid altering the decorative elements of the light, so that it could be converted back to electricity use in the future. If we ever decide to do that.

Clean and remove old wiring

The first task for converting the sconces was to clean them with my handy Crocodile Garage Clothes. I have found so many uses for these wipes.

Once cleaned up, the next task was to remove the aged electrical wiring and light bulb housing.  If I ever plan to use them as electric lights in the future, these old wires would have been removed either way, so I am not eliminating that option.

The opening at the top of the sconce was too small to fit the USB cord through, so I was going to let the cord hang down the back of the light fixture and wrap around to the inside to connect to the bulb.  It wouldn’t be too offensively visible in my opinion.  But my husband didn’t like that idea, so he drilled a hole in the top of each one.  The hole can be patched if needed.

Creating a way to hang the hooked light bulb inside the sconce was the only real challenge to overcome for this solar light transformation.  There wasn’t anything inside to hang the light bulb on and the hook on the bulb wouldn’t fit through the top hole of the fixture.

Zip ties were the first thing that came to mind that could work. However, I searched through my craft room for the black zip ties I thought I had in my stash, but couldn’t find them. They must have been used for another project. I ended up using a cut length of 16-gauge wire instead.  

Creating a new way to hang the solar bulb.

I created a small loop in the wire, inserted the ends through the original hole at the top of the sconce, where the old electrical wiring was located, and wrapped the ends of the 16-gauge wire around the decorative hanger at the top of the sconce.  It worked exactly how I needed it to.  Just a little bit of spray paint was all that was required to camouflage the different colors of the wires.

The solar panel for the kit is a peel-and-stick panel, mounted on top of the sconce or the fence post in direct sunlight to harness the sun’s power. It is barely noticeable once the sconces are mounted on the fence.

With this project, I have found a solution for controllable outdoor solar lighting and provided emergency lighting when needed. I will likely purchase another kit for the RV after all.

The remotes give me control over the intensity and color of the light, as well as the ability to turn the bulbs off to preserve the solar power of the internal battery.

Purchasing this type of solar light kit was a great way to repurpose a light fixture into a solar garden light.  One that not only provides beautiful ambient outdoor lighting, but also provides portable emergency lighting when needed.

I hope this gives you a good idea for your next outdoor lighting project.

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 Hugs,

If you enjoyed this post, I invite you to read my other posts for outdoor lighting like this one for Upcycled Solar Wall Sconces or this one for Clay Pot Solar Light Holders.

Galatians 6:9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessings if we don’t give up.