Outdoor Solar Lights

one kerosene lantern emits 100 kilos of carbon gas annually, kerosene takes up to 30% of the income of the poorest people in the world, kerosene causes fires and is unhealthy. conventional flashlight batteries contanimate land/water. fires cause deforestation, top soil erosion, children cannot read at night, safety and security are issues.

Hi Mark,

You worked in Africa, I suppose. You know how tricky it gets penetrating the market. Main constraint being the lack of awareness as also the advent of cheap "me-too" products from China. Promoting your product through NGO’s is one idea that would make sense, but this too has its own negative effects, such as bureaucratic delays, etc.

I’m based in Mozambique and Tanzania. Do keep me posted about the availability of your Solar Flash Lights in these countries. I would like to see how they work.

All the best in your endeavor.

Satish

Which is the best Security Light?

http://productreviewratings.com/2009/02/solar-security-light/

I bought this: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98085 a few months ago and WOW, this thing is bright, stays charged, activates on motion perfectly and was cheap!

However, it did take forever to come in, it was back ordered for about 4 weeks.

I intend to purchase some security lighting very soon although i am not sure which ones to go for. Being eco friendly i would prefer the solar powered lights however i have heard some poor reports on them, can anyone advise please?

cant think of going eco friendly when it comes to security, your going to end up with some un-efficient, un-reliable security which will fail you often. best is to go with high beem lights with sensors and CCTV…. will be about 300 ish for a home…

I want to avoid having to add another circuit to my service panel, but want to put a security light at the end of my property. I would want something that was expandable so I could put lights in my sheds and possibly run a gate opener at a later date.

What type of equipment do I need and what would the basic cost be?

I use solar and wind power to augment my power… You’ll need an adequate number of solar panels, batteries, a charger/controller, wiring and a switching system of some sort. It will be costly – even if you only want to run 500 watts of lighting on demand.

I put a link to an article I got a lot out of. You might get something from it also. Good luck!

The drawback of solar in this application is that you might not have enough of a charge to operate all through the nite. But on the plus side, the energy is free and if the electricity is off the solar light would still work, so that is one con and two pro – so go for it.

I am not trying to scource decorative solar lights, guys. Solar security lights with PIR, please, in the UK. Thanx again

Solar powered lights will be totally useless as security lighting, as you would only get a dull glow for a few hours. Get an electrician to install a photocell or PIR light depending on your requirements. A PIR would normally be a halogen floodlight, a photocell can be tungsten, but a fluorescent or SON/metal halide lamp would also be good depending on the area to be lit.