Lead-acid emergency lights—good idea?

[LetThereBeLight!]

I am thinking along the same lines as yellow. The shelf life of lithium primaries negates a lot of the value of plug in emergency lights,lead acid or otherwise. There is a plethora of lights available that will run on AA lithiums or CR123s and serve you just as well or better without taking up a an outlet and they will last many years by just replacing the batteries. If you need auto-on there are low cost motion sensor lights that provide enough lighting for navigating the home to get your more powerful lights. I use Dorcy model #41-1076 motion sensor night lights with either AA lithiums or eneloops.

I really like this poster's Dorcy model motion sensor light suggestion!

In terms of emergency lights, I EDC a Nitecore Tip and a Nitecore Mini on a lanyard and a Nitecore Tube on a keychain.

But my laptop bag has two much more powerful lights in it and my car several more.

Outside of this Dorcy model suggestion, I think perhaps the best lights to use in an emergency situation would be the Flip lights that now even Harbor Freight carries inexpensively. It looks exactly like a light switch, powered by 3 AAA batteries, with two COB (chips on board) LED strips that emit 200-lumens of quite bright light.

You can attach it to the wall with a hook or nail, or peel the two velcro strips on the back, or use the two magnets also on the back to attach to a metallic surface.

If a senior citizen found the power was out when they flip their light switch, they could flip this light on right away if was positioned right next to it.

Thanks for reading all this: my point is that when it comes to darkness that could come at any time for reasons to numerous to list here, I find it's good to have portable simultaneous solutions co-existing at home, work, when out driving, or when traveling.

Let us know what you decide on.

- LetThereBeLight!

 

[ZMZ67]

I really like this poster's Dorcy model motion sensor light suggestion!

In terms of emergency lights, I EDC a Nitecore Tip and a Nitecore Mini on a lanyard and a Nitecore Tube on a keychain.

But my laptop bag has two much more powerful lights in it and my car several more.

Outside of this Dorcy model suggestion, I think perhaps the best lights to use in an emergency situation would be the Flip lights that now even Harbor Freight carries inexpensively. It looks exactly like a light switch, powered by 3 AAA batteries, with two COB (chips on board) LED strips that emit 200-lumens of quite bright light.

You can attach it to the wall with a hook or nail, or peel the two velcro strips on the back, or use the two magnets also on the back to attach to a metallic surface.

If a senior citizen found the power was out when they flip their light switch, they could flip this light on right away if was positioned right next to it.

Thanks for reading all this: my point is that when it comes to darkness that could come at any time for reasons to numerous to list here, I find it's good to have portable simultaneous solutions co-existing at home, work, when out driving, or when traveling.

Let us know what you decide on.

- LetThereBeLight!

I bought a couple of those "light switch" COB lights from NEBO a while back and use one in a closet. They seem to be available everywhere now at cheaper prices and are really convenient. I am a little suspect of how long they will actually run on three AAAs but for short runs they work very well. I had never considered them for an elderly person but I think your idea is spot on! Using that with the Dorcys and a simple 10MM LED flashlight or two would provide low cost emergency lighting.

 

[JoeRodge]

So much misinformation on lead acid technology in this thread...

An AGM is a "dry" cell.
A proper maintainer won't "cook" a sealed lead acid battery. I've had some last me twelve years. It's the same technology behind any good AGM(Odyssey, Northstar) battery.
They like to stay fully charged. Sulfation sets in at about 12.4V.
They can hold a charge for well over a year when on the shelf.

NEBO has a 400 lumen version of that switch light out now. It's got two modes. I think one is 100-150 lumen and the high is 400.

 

[LetThereBeLight!]

NEBO has a 400 lumen version of that switch light out now. It's got two modes. I think one is 100-150 lumen and the high is 400.

Yes, that's correct, but I can't find it near me. The new version is powered by double AA's so I imagine at the lower mode the light will last longer.

I do not know who originally thought of making a light out of a light switch, but I give her or him the gold medal for creativity with a twist!