This item is well made and I was surprised to see that they kept working through a 2 week stretch of dreary wet weather. Where I placed them they do not get much in the way of direct sunlight, but have been working for 2 weeks now without a hitch. This is even though we are now in December where the days are not very long! Too bad that the raccoons, where I live, are not deterred by the flashing red lights that these units create. Maybe if the lights were a little more erratic in their flashing pattern they would deter the animals a bit better... just a theory! BTW I have them at animal height as recommended and tried a few different locations with no better results.