Help me solve my problem

[hahnyc87]

Here is the deal. When we are not home, we leave our dog in a hallway that is about 4' x 8'. Leaving the light on is impractical because of energy usage. I have tried the little compact 3 led tap lights (which are ok but the light output fades quickly and must be turned off and back on, impractical) and the westinghouse stickup bulb (which can't be used for more than 30 minutes). Does anyone know of anything that I can use to light this hallway that is either:

A) Rechargeable <or>
B) Has a long long battery life?

I need it to be practical to place in the room (not a flashlight cause that can't be hung, stuck, etc). I was thinking something more lantern style. Any ideas?

 

[carrot]

I'm pretty sure what you are looking for is a nightlight that plugs in. I really like the Indiglo based models that work like the backlight on the Timex watches. They are very cheap (should be under $10 for a pair) and I've seen them at Big Lots and Target. Some have auto shutoff sensors for during the day and others do not. They draw very little power which is a huge bonus.

 

[Marduke]

Yes, a little LED plugin nightlight is what you want.

 

[Oddjob]

I use an LED plug-in night light to light the corner of my laundry room so my cat can get to his litterbox. I saw a night light that has a sensor so it turns off in the daytime and also converts into a flashlight.

 

[GPB]

if you have an overhead light fixture you can use the compact flourescent bulbs that are only 7 watts. They would cost less less than a penny per day to run.

 

[hahnyc87]

Sorry guys - looks like ive left out some crucial information to this puzzle as I am not as dumb as I seem.

#1 - I have NO electrical outlets in the hallway
#2 - I have one overhead fixture but it would not be feasible to replace that bulb with a smaller compact fluorescent as I really need the output to be strong there.

Also, where did you get your information as to it only costs .01/day?

Thanks guys!

 

[Abyssos]

Extension cord with night light?

 

[Marduke]

Well, you don't state where you live, so I'll take a stab that you're paying ~8 cents per kWh

One CLF ~11 watts ~ 60W incan equivalent

Left on 24/7 = 8766 hours per year >>

96427 Wh = 96.427 kWh

@ 8 cents per kWh, that's $7.71 to run per year, or 2.1 cents per day.

If you go with a 7W CFL (~40W incan), you get even cheaper.

You can use this for an estimate if you live in the US, or just look at your electricity bill.

 

[Mr Floppy]

not a flashlight cause that can't be hung, stuck, etc).

Why cant you stick a flashlight to a wall? I have a gps suction mount that I mount a fenix e01 on to. Got the mount from a $2 shop. Doesnt work with all surfaces but most of the time it works. Even had to mount it to the glass of a picture frame once

 

[LEDninja]

Use a lamp with a 2W Cree LED light bulb. The warm white is much easier on the eyes.
90 lumens is plenty for background lighting yet probably will use less electricity than the charger for your batteries.

2W Cree LED in hallway vs LED nitelite in bathroom

2W LED in hallway vs 2*13W CFL in bathroom

While not as bright as 2*13W CFL (2*60W incan equivalent), the 2W Cree LED provide reasonable illumination over a hallway, much better than an LED nitelite.
That bulb is now permanently installed in my hallway running 24/7 as a night light for my whole apartment.
Using GBP's calculation in post 18 I figure <$0.23/month for 24/7 use. For 8 hours/day use <$0.08/month.
While the bulb is relatively costly as an initial investment ($20+shipping), I do expect it to last >5 years. For 8 hours a day use that's 15 years. The bulb in the picture below is still going strong after 3 years of 24/7 use. For comparison a good basic flashlight such as the Fenix L1T v2.0 will set you back ~$50.

-

If you don't like mail-order Home depot has a Standard Warm White LED Light Bulb. I expect this to be only 20 lumens though. (the Canadian website list it as a 1 watt (non-Cree))

This is not the Home Depot bulb but another 1W I have. It is still better than an LED nitelite, will cover am 8'x10' area but very dimly.

 

[drmaxx]

Here's an alternative:
A motion activated LED light.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3156

You can set it so that it only turns on at night when there is movement. I use it with NiMH batteries and recharge them every two weeks. NiCd would probably be a safer way to go, because the light just sucks these puppies dry. The light is somewhat flimsy - but it does what it promises well and it is quite bright. It's all I use in the bathroom at night.

There is an other model on dealextreme with AA batteries.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15321
Have no experience with this one.

 

[bluepilgrim]

If you have enough light in the hall during at other times to operate it (does the hall have a window?) or could store it by a window in another room?) you could use a solar-recharge walk light. It might not put out much if doesnt recharge in bright light, but a dog doesn't need much light to see.

 

[2manybikes]

How much power does the bright light that is overhead use? Is it incandescent? How long does the dog get left alone?

It might look lousy but you can take power from the existing light fixture to power a night light and shut off the high power light.

I think a safely done night light with an adapter from the overhead light (so you can operate either one alone) might be safer than using a battery light.

 

[carrot]

Install a dimmer switch into the hallway light?

 

[hyperloop]

Install a dimmer switch into the hallway light?

+1 that was what i was thinking too, and maybe even a motion detector

 

[Moonshadow]

If it's just for a short while then leave the light on. If you are leaving a dog alone "in a hallway that is about 4' x 8' " for more than an hour or so then you're going to have a lot more problems than a light bulb. The state of the carpet for one !

Exactly how long are you shutting him in that tiny space for ?

 

[wild68fury]

This is what I use:
http://www.lutron.com/CMS400/default.aspx?app=Maestro
One tap turns it on to the low setting that you choose. Two taps and it goes to full brightness. It also ramps the light on and off.
I might replace them with this one though:
http://www.lutron.com/ltr4/home.asp

 

[GPB]

The math I did for the "penny/day" was the same as above, but I figured you'd only have it on for half a day and I assumed a 7W bulb.

I don't know how often you need this light, but chances are most of these ideas are going to cost you more than the electricity to just leave the overhead light on, if you use a compact flourescent in the fixture. I know you said that you can't use one of them because you need it to be quite bright, but they have CFL's that are the equivalent of 150 watt bulbs, ( which is a lot of light for a 4x8 space ) that only use 26 watts.

You can figure the cost of running the bulb as follows

# nights per week x hours per night x 52 = Hours per year

Hours per year / 1000 = Kilowatt hours per year (KWH/Y)

KWH/Y x .08 = Dollars per year

using 4 nights per week, 8 hours each time and a 26 watt bulb I came up with a little under $4.00/year. Even if you used a 150W incan bulb its still only $20/year.

Trying to buy and maintain any kind of flashlight and batteries for heavy use like that is going to cost more than that.