Bell+Howell Bionic Spotlight Duo: Double the Illumination – Our Review

I recently became a first-time homeowner, a milestone that I never thought would be within my reach. The idea of owning a home always felt like a distant dream, especially considering my generation’s financial challenges and the rising costs of everything.

However, through a combination of patience, diligent saving, and a stroke of luck, I managed to find a house in a fantastic location at a reasonable price — and to top it off, I genuinely like it! I’ve been living in it for six months now, and it’s become one of my life’s greatest joys and blessings.

Naturally, one of the first things I thought about after settling into my new home was security. Given the significant investment in the down payment and mortgage, I found myself without the budget for a high-tech security system.

But I knew I wanted SOMETHING to protect the space that I had just given so much to acquire — even fake cameras or a “Beware of Dog” sign would be better than nothing. But considering that I’ve never owned a home before, I wasn’t sure where to start with my search for an inexpensive security system.

Enter the Bionic Spotlight Duo, a recommendation from a friend that turned out to be one of the easiest and most straightforward decisions I made throughout the entire house-hunting process. Despite being unfamiliar with it initially, purchasing the Bionic Spot Light Duo has proven to be possibly one of the best investments I’ve made into my home. Let me explain why that is.

What Is the Bell+Howell Bionic Spotlight Duo?

The Bionic Spotlight Duo is a pair of LED spotlights that can either be staked into the ground or mounted onto basically any flat surface, such as next to your garage, on a porch, or on a back patio.

The lights are motion-activated and powered by a solar panel. Each of these things on their own makes it a great product, but together, it’s the most thoughtfully designed high-quality spotlight system I’ve ever seen.

How It Works

Any movement within the spotlight’s range — even relatively small movement, such as that of a coyote or dog — triggers the 14 LED lights to turn on and flood 1000 square feet with bright light. That’s right: 1000 square feet.

That’s a huge zone to be lit up by this relatively small spotlight duo. The motion sensor is a small, discreet red light you would otherwise never notice. So in the blink of an eye, this product goes from “you can barely notice it’s there” to “wow, the entire yard is lit up.”

In fact, that’s all you really need to get the job done — one spotlight duo per yard. (I have one on my front porch to light up the front of my house and one in the backyard, and it’s exactly what I need to feel safe and secure.)

Security

The reason why I feel like this is such a high-value security product is because, for everyone except an experienced and exceptionally determined burglar (who, let’s be honest, whatever run-of-the-mill security system I can afford would probably not keep out anyway), the bright motion-activated lights are plenty to deter would-be criminals.

In one instant my entire house is lit up, and for all they know, I do have security cameras that are now catching their every move in 4k. It feels like the equivalent of the “Beware of Dog” sign — you might not see the dog itself, but you’re not going to do anything risky or stupid and chance being mauled by the dog that may or may not be there.

Potential intruders might not see a more extensive security system in this case, but why risk it?

Simplicity 

Beyond feeling comfortable and safe in my own home, it was so simple and easy to use and set up — all I had to do was either drive the stake into the ground or mount it using simple mounting equipment that I already had (i.e. a drill).

It took me less than five minutes to set up both spotlight duos. And now it’s 100 percent maintenance-free, thanks to the solar panel powering the LED lights. I don’t have to worry about a higher electric bill, wires running across my lawn, replacing batteries, or anything else.

Versatility

Something else I love about the Spotlight Duo is that you can adjust the two spotlights to point in different directions. They don’t have to both face forward or backward — you can have them pointing to the side, different angles, whatever you need based on the location they’re going.

You’d think that little adjustability would be obvious in the product design, but believe me, it’s not. So many comparable products I looked at were set so that you couldn’t change the direction they faced, which was frustrating because when I was shopping around, I wasn’t sure exactly where I would locate my Spotlight Duo. Having the flexibility of it not being set in stone where I would place these was super nice.

What Does the Pricing Look Like?

Now let’s talk about one more thing: The price point.

When I bought my Spotlight Duos, they were running a promotion where you could buy one and get another for 50 percent off, plus free shipping. I don’t know if they’re still doing this promotion, but I thought it was worth the money I paid, especially considering the five-year warranty.

Any time a product has a multiyear warranty like that, it seriously boosts my confidence in the product. Obviously, the manufacturer knows that they made a good product because otherwise, would they take the effort to put a warranty on it?

That really boosted my confidence in buying the Spotlight Duo to start with, but now that I have a few and know how awesome they are, it feels good to not have to worry about replacing them for at least another five years.

Is There Any Reason To Not Invest in This Product?

One thing I’d keep an eye out for is that this might not be a great product for you if you live in an area that gets less than at least a few days of sun each week. I get an average of four to five sunny days per week, and it’s perfect for keeping the spotlights all charged up.

They charge during the day and are ready to go all night long. But if I lived somewhere that was more overcast, I’m not sure how well they’d do. So that’s definitely something to consider before investing in these.

If you have questions about how long they need to charge or if the amount of sun you get is enough, I found their customer service to be super helpful and efficient. I’d definitely recommend calling or asking them if you’re on the fence about that aspect of the product.

The Verdict

I’d highly recommend the Bell + Howell Bionic Spotlight Duo if you’re looking for a good security setup or if you just need a way to light up your lawn or home at night. You really can’t go wrong with this product.