Power Failure Light

[Poppy]

The power just went out, I'm in sudden cave like darkness, in my PJs, and not carrying my EDC. How do I get to the kitchen to grab a flashlight without stumbling on one of the kids toys, that are scattered on the floor? I have to hurry, because the three year old is screaming afraid of the dark!

Oh YES!!! The pair of Power Failure Lights, I bought last week came on automatically :thumbsup: Life is good!!!

They are only about $10 each, so they certainly fit into a budget category. Just plug them into an outlet and they stay on charge. Some have a light sensor, so they only come on at night, they can also be a day/night night lite. Typically, they'll run for 1-3 hours on a charge.

One in the garage, one in the basement, and one centrally located in the main portion of the house is typically all you need. I have one attached to a light weight extension cord, and placed above the refrigerator, and one above the entertainment unit.

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

I've seen a few of those. The model I know stays off as long as it's being powered by the outlet, and turns on when the juice is cut.

Problem is, they come with 18650s. The cheapo ones. :shakehead

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

I have one old sunbeam one from Costco that still works. My older one with induction charging stopped working recently and I had to replace it with a $10 GE one from Walmart. I wish Costco would bring back the three pack of these lights for around $20. Never got to get the newer and brighter ones with the usb charge port or the one that replaced those. Mine were three and four generations back. The GE one is okay and I like that it's warm white, but I am hesitant about any emergency light that doesn't list the runtime as is the case with most of these lights. Beware that some of the newer lights are just nightlights that run on alkalines when the power goes out. Those do not charge an internal battery. I like ones with the flashlight and nightlight/area light combo with internally charged batteries. Most stores only carry one or two types of these lights and the rest are not really power failure lights despite being advertised as them.

 

[Poppy]

This one says it is rechargeable. Years ago, I took this one and a couple of other styles apart, and they had either NiMH, or NiCad batteries in them. Today, I decided to take this one apart and take pictures, but it is held together with Y shaped really small security screws. I don't have a set small enough.

Hooked on Fenix, is right though, not all are rechargeable. So you have to read the fine print, or be aware that some print may not be included.

 

[Mr. Shawn]

What, Poppy? No ENC (Every Night Carry) light? No pockets on those PJs? Ha ha.

I'm glad the backup lights came to the rescue. Thank you for the testimonial.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I have sort of an alternative to power failure lights.... motion sensor battery lights that are placed in strategic spots so when the power does go out you just have to move and they turn on so you can navigate to wherever your light stash is.

 

[Poppy]

I was wrong... my security screwdriver set, is small enough.
I got that GE light apart, it has a 3-button cell NiMH battery pack 110 mAh

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Now you can mod it with an external eneloop pack for extended runtime lol.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

I took apart my old sunbeam induction light before throwing it out to see if I could replace the battery. I couldn't. It had a lithium polymer battery I think around 600 mAh. Something in the 100 mAh range is kind of pathetic. No wonder they don't want to advertise runtimes. I think these lights ought to last a few hours at least on high. Some of the newer ones default to a low setting like 5 lumens when the power goes out to extend runtimes on their puny batteries. Makes it a light locator when instead you need a find your way through the house light. If I only wanted a light locator I'd get a light that glows in the dark or has tritium vials. I like ones that come on as an area light bright enough to see across the room with a regular flashlight I can turn on if I take it off the wall. Having to have a flashlight to get to the power failure light to avoid stumbling around in the dark defeats the purpose of the light. Apparently they don't make them like they used to.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I recently purchased a 4 pack of push lights from walmart. They run off of 3AA batteries and have about 10 lumens of output in a warm white color. They aren't very bright but I'm guessing runtime will be in the 100 hour range perfect for a power outage. I placed them in strategic places so if power does go out I can find them in pitch dark. They will even run off 2AAs but are half as bright as I tried one using 2 duraloops. As cheap as they are you can toss depleted alkaleaks in them to fun off of as you get a 4 pack for about $4 and change I think that was the price.

 

[Poppy]

Two weeks ago, we had company for dinner, and a sky darkening storm blew through and killed the power for 1 1/2 hours. There was still *some* ambient light coming in through the sliding doors, and windows, so there wasn't instant total cave like darkness, but we did have the lights, on. The power went out, and so did the lights. Instantly the little power failure lights came on. They stayed on for the full 1 1/2 hours.

IMO, they are safety lights. At 20 lumens, they throw enough light that one may navigate in safety. I think it is generally agreed, that 100 lumens ceiling bounced is a comfortable amount of light for an outage. Therefore they'll offer enough light that you may get to whatever lights that you'll use for your emergency back-up lights, in safety.

The following week our guests returned, and asked... where can they get a power failure light? LOL... the one pictured arrived the previous day. It was a gift for them. I was delighted. Sometimes, you may gift a light to someone and get a "uh... thanks" response. This particular time, they really saw the value in the light, and really wanted one. It made me feel good to show them that we think enough of their friendship, that we went out and got one for them before they asked.

If the power failure occurred 2 hours later, the effect of the auto on lights would have been much more dramatic.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Awhile back I built an LED lighting system around my computer monitor and keyboard. It consists of a modified 4 port USB hub with separate switches, an adapter cable and dimmer for a strip light system and 2 DIY 2x18650 power bank kits with 4 salvaged 18650 cells for power. I bought USB female ends and USB male/female extension cables and a handful of 3xSMD LED USB modules for light. I have this setup cranked down to just what I need to light up the 4 modules and it runs for weeks off a single power bank and when that power bank conks out I have the second one sitting right near I swap them out and put the discharged one on a charger for half a day. I've had short power outages where my UPS kicks in and rarely are they long enough I have to shut down my computer but when I do the lighting system is plenty. I can see the room lit up from almost every room I frequent in the house. At night I turn off the lighting system to sleep and I have lights by my bed. I also have these small 1x18650 round lipstick style power banks that support very low power output that I put these 6xSMD USB dimmable sticks in it and can use them as area lights they run for weeks on their own or you can turn them up and light up a room pretty good maybe 60-100 lumens. I have lights with USB cables on them that I can connect to power banks and set up anywhere I want to, and have USB adapters and extension cables and switches on extension cables. I have lights in almost every room here so I don't need a power outage light.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

I live in a high fire danger area of San Diego county. Whenever it gets windy, SDG&E shuts our power off for as long as 3 days at a time. Runtime on power failure lights is important to me as is brightness. I don't expect them to run for days, but is it too much to ask for one that comes on as an area light at 20 to 40 lumens for at least 3 hours? Coming on at a 5 lumen default during a power failure like my new GE one is a joke.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I live in a high fire danger area of San Diego county. Whenever it gets windy, SDG&E shuts our power off for as long as 3 days at a time. Runtime on power failure lights is important to me as is brightness. I don't expect them to run for days, but is it too much to ask for one that comes on as an area light at 20 to 40 lumens for at least 3 hours? Coming on at a 5 lumen default during a power failure like my new GE one is a joke.

That is why I suggested motion detector lights. If you can find one that has low parasitic drain or adapt one to larger batteries then as long as you have lights on at night or it is daytime it won't come on but when power goes out all you have to do is move for it to come on and get you to where your area lights are. 5 lumens is barely enough when your eyes are adjusted for night vision the shock of being in a lighted area where you have 1000 lumens light source then nothing but 5 lumens might as well be in the dark for the next 5 minutes.

 

[Poppy]

The one I posted above is 20 lumens when the lights go out. It was still running strong at 1 1/2 hours. Imo it is not intended to be my main light source, for that I'll place a couple 18650 lights. I just got a 2 cell 18650 cob light that does a nice job when ceiling bounced.

 

[bykfixer]

I just outfitted my new shed with "puck" lights from Home Depot. They are about the size of a hockey puck and have a well dispersed 30 lumens with light sensing and motion sensing ability. If no motion is detected they turn off after 20 seconds. Oh, they had USB chargeable types and rechargeable cell types but they cost as much for one as the twin pack of the puck lights. They were 20 lumen COB type. I hung one over the door to guide my way out and one in the ceiling to turn on when I enter the building. Being at right angles from each other hopefully means one won't cancel the other out.
I may relocate the one over the door onto the door so that it will light the area outside the shed when I open the door to leave. While there I bought a dozen pack of lithiums to power the lights year round.

Now, I had already hung a flashlight on the door knob and one beside the door but figure the puck lights would be good for hands free illumination. If it works out I may place a few throughout my home for lights out but will probably opt for lights with an on/off switch since the hounds tend to move around the house at night.

When the door is opened.
Plenty of light to read by. Open door and the ceiling light turns on. Enter and the one over the door turns on. If you don't move around a lot the one in the ceiling turns off but the building is still lit. Wave your arm or something and the ceiling light turns back on.

Wait outside 20 seconds motionless and ……

 

[ampdude]

Maybe not an option for some folks, but I just have lights all over the place. If the power went out right now, I don't even have a flashlight on me. But I have a three shelf plastic container on a living room table with about 25 or so flashlights behind me. A lot of them are cheaper quality, some medium grade and a few more expensive ones.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Maybe not an option for some folks, but I just have lights all over the place. If the power went out right now, I don't even have a flashlight on me. But I have a three shelf plastic container on a living room table with about 25 or so flashlights behind me. A lot of them are cheaper quality, some medium grade and a few more expensive ones.

I'm the same way. I have lights in most places here and put my cheapest ones in places I almost never need one just to make them of some use. I've found that you need more than one light in some areas as there is a chance of failure especially if you have alkaleaks in some of them. I also have area lights in strategic places (dim ones) good enough to light up the house to navigate in it when there is no power.

 

[Poppy]

Nice shed Mr. Fixer :thumbsup: that looks like it was a bit of a weekend project.
It looks like it has a nice floor in it. The toughest part of a job like that is getting it level.

Illuminating it with COB motion detection lights is a good idea. As you know they throw a nice broad beam.

------------------------------
I'm afraid that I have been misunderstood.

I have been a proponent of auto on emergency lighting for a long time. Before these little plug into the wall LED lights were available, I used to have a set of SLA powered EXIT lights at the top of my stairs. They had two incandescent bulbs, and only lasted for about 20 minutes. Twenty minutes isn't much time, but it is enough for you to exit the building, or to gather and put in place some longer lasting lights.

These little LED power failure lights draw about 1/5th of the wattage that a 7 watt incandescent night light draws, and throw about the same a mount of light... maybe more. They last 1-3 hours.

The last time I checked (about 8 years ago) the Emergency auto on EXIT lights are now using LED instead of incandescent bulbs. I expected that they would last much longer. I was wrong! They are no longer powered by SLAs, but instead they are powered by LITTLE NiMH batteries. They still only had about a 20 minute run-time.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I'm glad they are no longer using SLAs in them as nimh are a lot cheaper to replace and with proper care they could last a lot longer. It is likely they are more concerned with a certain length of runtime than improving upon them. I've seen these bulbs that screw in light sockets that have an 18650 in them I think and charge it via the socket and when power goes out they automatically come on. I'm not sure if they are remote controlled but likely so because in order to operate fully the power to the socket needs to stay on so your light switch on the wall or the switch on the lamp itself no longer is used to turn them off.