Outdoor general area lighting and accent lighting is often desired in remote locations where it is inconvenient or expensive to run electrical lines to power multiple lighting fixtures. Moreover, there are costs associated with powering remote lighting, and those costs are higher when the lighting is used throughout the dark, nighttime hours. Further, the use of conventional battery technology to power remote lighting fixtures, instead of electrical power lines, may be limited by the amp-hours of charge capable of being stored in a given battery.
Solar-powered lighting, having a solar panel connected to a rechargeable battery connected to a light source, offers a potential solution. However, solar-powered outdoor lighting faces a number of reliability challenges, including weatherability and limited power storage capacity. Weatherability refers to the ability of an outdoor fixture to maintain a sealed environment to protect its electrical components from exposure to ambient moisture while also enabling the replacement of key components, such as a battery or a light source. The inherently limited power storage capacity of the battery may be extended via various power-saving modes of operation; however, changing between modes traditionally requires opening the lighting fixture, which could negatively affect the weatherability of the fixture. Accordingly, there remains a need for further contributions in this area of technology.