Solar Indoor Lighting

RaiderHammer

Looking at getting some solar indoor lighting for when I am away on holiday.

Anyone use them and can advise?

How bright are they compared to household bulbs?

Can you set them to come on for a few hours each night only rather than all the time once it's dark?

Any recommendations please?

Thanks.

penrhyn

Depends on how much money you want to spend.
Surely a simple timer running a low energy lamp would be a more economical solution.

Steve_xx

RaiderHammer wrote: »

Looking at getting some solar indoor lighting for when I am away on holiday.

Anyone use them and can advise?

How bright are they compared to household bulbs?

Can you set them to come on for a few hours each night only rather than all the time once it's dark?

Any recommendations please?

Thanks.

You posted this twice?

RaiderHammer

Steve_xx wrote: »

You posted this twice?

Yes was not sure what forum would be the best, so tried this one also.

Steve_xx

Oh, well I replied to your other posting.

kwikbreaks

penrhyn wrote: »

Surely a simple timer running a low energy lamp would be a more economical solution.

Unless you are unlucky. Something went wrong with that type of setup for a bloke I work with. He came home to find that there had been a fire and has been living with his family in a hotel room for the last two months. Probably another 2 months to go until the builders and cleaners are finished.

Steve_xx

kwikbreaks wrote: »

Unless you are unlucky. Something went wrong with that type of setup for a bloke I work with. He came home to find that there had been a fire and has been living with his family in a hotel room for the last two months. Probably another 2 months to go until the builders and cleaners are finished.

I believe it's the electronic timers that are not suitable for use with low-energy bulbs. Instead, you need to use a mechanical timer. But I can't remember what the reasons are.

kwikbreaks

I'm not sure what combination he used (electronic/mechanical low energy/filament) but after the world of !!!! he is in now I wouldn't be tempted to risk any lamp on a timer. It isn't at all obvious to me what could go wrong but it isn't uncommon - I saw a mention of the same thing on a news site somewhere just after he got back.

TBH I doubt if this tactic would deter any thief other than a complete moron anyway - it would still be pretty obvious the house was empty.

bonzer

Steve_xx wrote: »

I believe it's the electronic timers that are not suitable for use with low-energy bulbs. Instead, you need to use a mechanical timer. But I can't remember what the reasons are.

It's some electronic timers and some bulbs. Some timers don't completely isolate the power when they're supposed to be off and slowly charge an internal capacitor in the bulb's electronics with a tiny trickle of power. This can cause the bulb to flash when the timer is in the off state. It depends how the bulb works and how the timer works.

Many electronic timers use a mechanical relay to isolate the power. My one works fine with low energy bulbs. You can tell if you've got this type because it'll often make a click sound when it switches on.

RaiderHammer

Anyone got an indoor solar light that works well? Thanks

kwikbreaks

It's gonna be tricky. Even the outdoor ones which have the benefit of direct sunlight are as dim as naffie candles. Any potential burglar would need to be too if they believed a few leds meant somebody was home.