Defiant Solar Exterior Lights Use Batteries that Could Pose a Fire Hazard

If you have your home exterior lit with Defiant solar exterior lights, you might be living with a fire hazard.

Eaton’s Lighting Division says the company has received reports that the batteries can overheat and melt the housing. The affected lights are motion-activated solar lights that were made in China and sold from January 2015 through July 2018.

This investigation includes the following LED (light emitting diode) lights and model numbers:

• Defiant LED: Solar Powered Motion Security Light (MST1000LWDF/MST1000LWDFC)
• All-Pro LED: Solar Powered LED Floodlight/Solar Powered Motion Activated Security Lighting Black & White (MST800L/MST800LW)
• All-Pro LED: Motion Activated — Diverge Off-Grid Lighting System (WPS2040M)

Eaton says the company has received no reports of injuries linked to the defective lighting fixtures, which are connected to a solar panel by a wire that averages 16 feet long.

Defiant Solar Exterior Lights

Online descriptions of the Defiant solar exterior lights indicate the batteries are extra large lithium-ion batteries that can provide light for more than three hours on a full charge. The LED lights are twin head flood lights, often used on a home’s exterior or on a fence. The motion detector has the ability to detect 180 degrees, says the advertisement.

Lithium-ion batteries are relatively low maintenance, but they can deteriorate and fail after a few years. In addition, lithium-ion batteries are supposed to have a protection circuit built inside of them that limits the voltage during a charge and tracks the temperature to make sure the battery isn’t experiencing extremes.

Batteries that don’t have adequate controls can get hot, sometimes hot enough to ignite or explode. This issue has led to a lot of litigation over other consumer products like smartphones and shoes with lights.

“Lithium-ion is a low maintenance battery, an advantage that most other chemistries cannot claim,” says an article by Battery University. “There is no memory and no scheduled cycling is required to prolong the battery’s life.”

Solar lighting is a huge industry. As consumers have become more cognizant of the carbon footprint they leave behind, solar lighting has become a popular choice even in situations that would accommodate a regular, hard-wired fixture.

LED lights contain semiconductors that turn electricity into light. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, LED lights use about 30 percent of the energy of halogen incandescent bulbs and last anywhere between eight and 25 times longer.

“LEDs work well indoors and outdoors because of their durability and performance in cold environments,” the department says.

Solar-powered LED motion-sensor lights made by Eaton cost somewhere between $70 to $100. The Defiant solar exterior lights and the All-Pro solar exterior lights were sold at Lowe’s, The Home Depot and other hardware stores.

Eaton has said the lights will not explode, but the batteries can overheat and melt the housing, which is a potential fire hazard.

According to Eaton’s financial reports, the company had sales of $20.4 billion in 2017. In 2012, Eaton Corporation acquired Cooper Industries. The company says it does global business, but Eaton’s Lighting Division is headquartered in Peachtree City, Ga.

Join a Free Outdoor Solar Lights Lawsuit Investigation

You may qualify to file an outdoor solar powered LED light lawsuit or class action lawsuit if you own one of these solar-powered LED lights:

• All-Pro: MST800L
• All-Pro: MST800LW
• All-Pro: WPS2040M
• Defiant: MST1000LWDF
• Defiant: MST1000LWDFC

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