Post by papaof2 on Sept 16, 2020 20:37:56 GMT -6
I've been testing some inexpensive (under $20, delivered) solar charged motion lights to be put in otherwise powerless areas (don't want to drill brick over cement-filled concrete block walls). The solar panel has a 5 meter (16 foot) cord to allow placing the light and the solar panel in the best position for each, such as light on the North side of the house and solar panel around the corner on the East or West side of the house or other building - and preferably the solar panel on the roof.
Testing has been worst case conditions, with the solar panel INSIDE the house behind a double-pane Low-E window. On a sunny day, the light (advertised as 30 watts) is good for 6 to 8 activations after dark before it gets too dim to be useful. Part of that is the reduced sun received through the window but part is certainly from the relatively small rechargeable lithium battery in the unit - it's listed as 1200mah. There are higher capacity batteries with the same form factor so you might be able to upgrade the battery in the unit. I'm not looking for extended periods of lighting, just a minute or so when I walk through the area or some unknown comes into the area and is surprised by sudden light so I haven't (yet) looked into upgrading the battery pack.
The lights I've been testing are these:
usa.banggood.com/IPRee-COB-100LED-30W-600Lumen-IP65-Solar-Lamp-Outdoor-Park-Yard-Garden-Light-Camping-Light-Work-Light-p-1605367.html?cur_warehouse=USA
They're about $18 each from Banggood's US warehouse and shipping time is a week or so.
When I get the lights installed, I'll be able to give real world reports of how well they resist the weather. I think it's Gorilla Tape that has a clear weatherproof tape and I'll probaly use that on one of the solar panels to see how well it works to keep water out as I know from experience that not all the solar panels used in the "outdoor" lights are completely waterproof. I might try some clear Contact sheeting on another one (I have three of the lights) and compare the life of the Gorilla and Contact products.
Testing has been worst case conditions, with the solar panel INSIDE the house behind a double-pane Low-E window. On a sunny day, the light (advertised as 30 watts) is good for 6 to 8 activations after dark before it gets too dim to be useful. Part of that is the reduced sun received through the window but part is certainly from the relatively small rechargeable lithium battery in the unit - it's listed as 1200mah. There are higher capacity batteries with the same form factor so you might be able to upgrade the battery in the unit. I'm not looking for extended periods of lighting, just a minute or so when I walk through the area or some unknown comes into the area and is surprised by sudden light so I haven't (yet) looked into upgrading the battery pack.
The lights I've been testing are these:
usa.banggood.com/IPRee-COB-100LED-30W-600Lumen-IP65-Solar-Lamp-Outdoor-Park-Yard-Garden-Light-Camping-Light-Work-Light-p-1605367.html?cur_warehouse=USA
They're about $18 each from Banggood's US warehouse and shipping time is a week or so.
When I get the lights installed, I'll be able to give real world reports of how well they resist the weather. I think it's Gorilla Tape that has a clear weatherproof tape and I'll probaly use that on one of the solar panels to see how well it works to keep water out as I know from experience that not all the solar panels used in the "outdoor" lights are completely waterproof. I might try some clear Contact sheeting on another one (I have three of the lights) and compare the life of the Gorilla and Contact products.