ama230
Enlightened
Hello all, again.
First off, I wanted to say that I do not work for this company or affiliated in any way. Just doing an honest review on the products that are actually Mpowering lives for the greater good..
I am going to do a review of another review of a product that requires no battery changes and does its job very well. The product is made by Mpowerd and its name is the " Luci " light. The whole mission is to allow anybody that has a low income, such as myself, to have the ability to extend their production into the night without using traditional methods. This might seem like a simple task but when you have first world amenities, it's out of sight and out of mind.
There are problems with batteries as they are thrown away and toxic chemicals are in the stream they drink from. Then there is the kerosene lamp which is very bad in tight spaces for toxic fumes. This product is what allows all those past troubles to be eradicated with solid state technology of today.
For a while now these types of lights were expensive due to the technology being relatively new but that's not the case that Mpowerd is trying to make.
Let's start with the good stuff and get the companies specs and compare them to the real world as much of us do on here. Remember that this review is not biased and am going to the best of my knowledge to fact check.
Manufactures Specs:
Weight - 4.0 Ounces
Size - Open Panel Dimension - 3.35"x3.35"
Power
General Specs:
Here is a link to the product information sheet from the website too:https://www.mpowerd.com/sites/all/themes/mpower/images/Luci-info-sheet.pdf
Real world Testing Specs: I live in Arizona so the light conditions are about the same in Africa 800W/m^2 – 1000W/m^2 of irradiance(intensity per a given area). Also, the unit is sealed so doing measurements without damaging the product is pretty hard. Then these are believed to be prototypes and the final product is on their website.
· Charging time – 6-8 Hours
· PV Type – Monocrystalline (This is what makes or breaks a solar product and they chose wisely!)
· Running time – 16 Hours
· Modes: Low – High – Flashing - Off
· Brightness – Low ( 30 Lumens ) High (40 Lumens) Flashing ( 40 Lumens )
· Lighting area – 15 sq. ft of reading light ( Able to read a book under )
· LED Spectrum – 7000k + (very blue and not diffused )
· Circuitry - PWM on low and Direct Drive on High
· CRI – 50 ( Maybe and this is overestimating )
· LED Type – Seoul SMD's. ( Blue light , I thought this was a white light?)
· Waterproof – YES
· Floats – YES
· Inflatable – YES
· Collapsible – YES
· Push Button – Tactical on/off, so it has an IC
Then here is some more gadget pron, the PICS!!!
The first pic is them both side by side withe the newest version on the left with more LED's and a top mounted switch for convenience.
The second pic is of the two inflated and the newest version is still on the right.
Third Pic is of the two in the correct orientation to hang and use at night. Newest revision is on the left and old on the right.
Fourth Shot is of the two in close up with the valves that they changed and updated the new one with a more standard blow up valve.
Fifth picture is a close up of the first prototype sample sent to me that has fewer LEDs but they are the same ones used on the 2nd sample (newer) sent to me.
Sixth Shot is of the original prototype sent to me in size reference to a leatherman wave.
Seventh Shot is of the two side by side in charging mode. Make sure the device is not inflated all the way when exposed to 90F heat as it will pop and get a hole.
Left is the original and right is the newest version sent to me.
Then for the shots of this in action against a light that has the same mission, specs and price for $15.00 USD. It is the D. Light Design S10 and its brightness levels are low(30 Lumens) high( 50 Lumens) of nice diffused less bluish light
The first picture of the night shots are in my bathroom. The brightness of the two is hard to notice with the camera so ill keep it simple with the original sample on the left on low and the second sample on the right on high. It looks bright but I had my camera flash on and it pretty much lit up my whole bathroom. 30 Lumens is hard for my phone camera to pick up.
The second picture of the night shots with the same as above but with the d.light s10 in the middle on high.
Third of the night shots is of the newest revision sent to me. This is to show you that it has more LED's than the first sample and the anti reflective coating inside works great for reflection and not great for diffusion.
There are two prototypes of the light and are not in production. They have ironed out some problems and will be interesting to see to what's different. Again these are not the FINAL Production Models as these were prototypes for review and field testing. So keep posted!!!
1) All LEDS would not show as the PV/LED Board move around and two LEDs are hidden behind the reflective coating inside the unit.
2) Then where the plastic is pressed and melted together, the integrity is there and would lose a seal. Had to re-melt the plastic and press back together to maintain a air tight seal.
3) LED Temperature is harsh on the eyes as blue is not what the color of the sun is. Get an LED in the 4500k- 5500K and with a CRI of 70+ and this would be a killer light with little added cost.
4) The way the light is not diffused is with a bunch of artifacts but they are soft. The light is shined upward and then reflected downwards. They used crystal clear plastic and should have used a semi-transparent type. This would probably kill two birds with one stone and make the color temp of the LED's less harsh.
The LED color temperature needs to be alot warmer( under 5500K and a CRI of at least 70) and diffused are the two main problems I can see withe the non-production samples.
This again is a non- biased review with a few suggestions to help the product ensure it has a descent shot at making it against the competition. Hope you enjoyed the review and hopefully in the near future I can get a review of the actual production model.
Thank you for reading my review!
Eric Ramirez
ama230
First off, I wanted to say that I do not work for this company or affiliated in any way. Just doing an honest review on the products that are actually Mpowering lives for the greater good..
I am going to do a review of another review of a product that requires no battery changes and does its job very well. The product is made by Mpowerd and its name is the " Luci " light. The whole mission is to allow anybody that has a low income, such as myself, to have the ability to extend their production into the night without using traditional methods. This might seem like a simple task but when you have first world amenities, it's out of sight and out of mind.
There are problems with batteries as they are thrown away and toxic chemicals are in the stream they drink from. Then there is the kerosene lamp which is very bad in tight spaces for toxic fumes. This product is what allows all those past troubles to be eradicated with solid state technology of today.
For a while now these types of lights were expensive due to the technology being relatively new but that's not the case that Mpowerd is trying to make.
Let's start with the good stuff and get the companies specs and compare them to the real world as much of us do on here. Remember that this review is not biased and am going to the best of my knowledge to fact check.
Manufactures Specs:
Weight - 4.0 Ounces
Size - Open Panel Dimension - 3.35"x3.35"
- 5" Diameter
- 1" Height Collapsed
- 5" Height Open
Power
- Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) - 4.3V
- Optimum Operating Voltage (Vmp) - 3.1V
- Short Circuit Current (Isc) 3.5A
- Optimum Operating Current (Imp) 200mA - 1200 lumens
- Rated Watts - 0.6W
- Voltage - DC
- Amps - 200mA
- Output Voltage of the Battery - 3.7V
- Working Voltage of LED Need ≥2.6V
- 1200 lm (lumens)
General Specs:
- Charge time of 6 hours yields a minimum of 6-12 hours of light
- Luci charges under direct sunlight and even under incandescent light
- Maintains a single charge for three months
- Ten white Light Emitting Diodes (LED's) with 4000 mcd light source
- Two brightness levels to conserve battery life
- Flashing light setting for emergency situations
- Provides fifteen square feet of light
- The rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack can be charged while collapsed or expanded
- Minimum lifespan of one year
Here is a link to the product information sheet from the website too:https://www.mpowerd.com/sites/all/themes/mpower/images/Luci-info-sheet.pdf
Real world Testing Specs: I live in Arizona so the light conditions are about the same in Africa 800W/m^2 – 1000W/m^2 of irradiance(intensity per a given area). Also, the unit is sealed so doing measurements without damaging the product is pretty hard. Then these are believed to be prototypes and the final product is on their website.
· Charging time – 6-8 Hours
· PV Type – Monocrystalline (This is what makes or breaks a solar product and they chose wisely!)
· Running time – 16 Hours
· Modes: Low – High – Flashing - Off
· Brightness – Low ( 30 Lumens ) High (40 Lumens) Flashing ( 40 Lumens )
· Lighting area – 15 sq. ft of reading light ( Able to read a book under )
· LED Spectrum – 7000k + (very blue and not diffused )
· Circuitry - PWM on low and Direct Drive on High
· CRI – 50 ( Maybe and this is overestimating )
· LED Type – Seoul SMD's. ( Blue light , I thought this was a white light?)
· Waterproof – YES
· Floats – YES
· Inflatable – YES
· Collapsible – YES
· Push Button – Tactical on/off, so it has an IC
Then here is some more gadget pron, the PICS!!!
The first pic is them both side by side withe the newest version on the left with more LED's and a top mounted switch for convenience.
The second pic is of the two inflated and the newest version is still on the right.
Third Pic is of the two in the correct orientation to hang and use at night. Newest revision is on the left and old on the right.
Fourth Shot is of the two in close up with the valves that they changed and updated the new one with a more standard blow up valve.
Fifth picture is a close up of the first prototype sample sent to me that has fewer LEDs but they are the same ones used on the 2nd sample (newer) sent to me.
Sixth Shot is of the original prototype sent to me in size reference to a leatherman wave.
Seventh Shot is of the two side by side in charging mode. Make sure the device is not inflated all the way when exposed to 90F heat as it will pop and get a hole.
Left is the original and right is the newest version sent to me.
Then for the shots of this in action against a light that has the same mission, specs and price for $15.00 USD. It is the D. Light Design S10 and its brightness levels are low(30 Lumens) high( 50 Lumens) of nice diffused less bluish light
The first picture of the night shots are in my bathroom. The brightness of the two is hard to notice with the camera so ill keep it simple with the original sample on the left on low and the second sample on the right on high. It looks bright but I had my camera flash on and it pretty much lit up my whole bathroom. 30 Lumens is hard for my phone camera to pick up.
The second picture of the night shots with the same as above but with the d.light s10 in the middle on high.
Third of the night shots is of the newest revision sent to me. This is to show you that it has more LED's than the first sample and the anti reflective coating inside works great for reflection and not great for diffusion.
There are two prototypes of the light and are not in production. They have ironed out some problems and will be interesting to see to what's different. Again these are not the FINAL Production Models as these were prototypes for review and field testing. So keep posted!!!
1) All LEDS would not show as the PV/LED Board move around and two LEDs are hidden behind the reflective coating inside the unit.
2) Then where the plastic is pressed and melted together, the integrity is there and would lose a seal. Had to re-melt the plastic and press back together to maintain a air tight seal.
3) LED Temperature is harsh on the eyes as blue is not what the color of the sun is. Get an LED in the 4500k- 5500K and with a CRI of 70+ and this would be a killer light with little added cost.
4) The way the light is not diffused is with a bunch of artifacts but they are soft. The light is shined upward and then reflected downwards. They used crystal clear plastic and should have used a semi-transparent type. This would probably kill two birds with one stone and make the color temp of the LED's less harsh.
The LED color temperature needs to be alot warmer( under 5500K and a CRI of at least 70) and diffused are the two main problems I can see withe the non-production samples.
This again is a non- biased review with a few suggestions to help the product ensure it has a descent shot at making it against the competition. Hope you enjoyed the review and hopefully in the near future I can get a review of the actual production model.
Thank you for reading my review!
Eric Ramirez
ama230
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