THD Fish and Pet Supplies

Best fish equipment and accessories

Power Compact Light

A Good Reason To Get LED Solar Powered Lighting

Home LED solar powered lights are the latest in solar power products to hit the market. By being free of relying on traditional electricity sources, these modern lights are a dream for designers when it comes to outdoor lighting.

How solar power LED lights came about:

Ever since solar power became portable, people have thought of as many solar power uses as possible. What made solar power so attractive for outdoor lighting was its portability - replacing the need for long, unsightly extension leads in the garden. Initially individuals tried using compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, but the small solar panels could not produce enough wattage for the lights to burn bright enough.

As a result the solar light market was limited to places near the equator with large amounts of sunlight. And even then the solar panels and batteries had to be large enough to cater for the period of longest nights, shortest days and cloudiest conditions.

Then as LED lights started hitting the market, manufacturers realized they would be ideal for solar lighting since they burned brightly, but used minimal power. And thanks to technological improvements in home solar power LED lights, the solar lighting market is no longer confined to equatorial areas with the most amount of direct sunlight and highest temperatures.

So what were the technological improvements, and how did they benefit the solar market?

They were:

1. Optimized system efficiency

LED lights are now capable of optimizing current flows, where no power is wasted, so the overall system efficiency is almost 100 percent.

2. LED's can be fine tuned

Since solar LED lights can be programmed, users are now able to select not only where the light is delivered but also how brightly and when it is delivered. This has led to a reduction in solar panel and battery size by as much as 50 percent of the original outdoor lighting system.

3. Effective illumination

LED lights are able to provide directional beams of light, where about 90 percent can be used for ambient lighting and a further 70 percent for task lighting.  Furthermore, a 45 lumen LED light can create the same amount of light as a 75 lumen CFL bulb, resulting in lower electricity usage and costs for running a home power solar lighting system.

4. Improved performance, efficiency and lifespan in cold temperatures

Most outdoor lamps tend to lose performance and lifetime in colder temperatures - where they seem rather dim or burn out very quickly in sub-zero climates. But LED's are different - they don't produce light from a filament, but rather a micro-chip. And since micro-chips run better at lower temperatures, solar LED lights can last 5 to 10 times longer than CFL bulbs.

With all these technological breakthroughs anyone is now able to enjoy home LED solar powered lights at home, no matter where they live. And if you know how to make your own solar panel system, all you have to do is add some inexpensive LED lights to enjoy free outdoor lighting. It couldn't be simpler!

About the Author

Tim McDonald and his wife have been living off the grid since June 2008. He recommends you Try Earth4Energy For FREE before you go out and start any home solar power project.

Im starting a reef aquarium and I dont know how long I should have the lights on?

It is a power compact light and I also need to know after turning the lights off when should I turn the moon lights on?

Timers are a reefer's best friends! Get some!
a few more specs on your tank would make it easier to answer your question IE what size tank, what kind of corals etc. but 12-14hrs of light is a good guide.
We have a 125g reef with both VHO (2 each blue and white) and MH (175w x2) (we have SPS,LPS and softies) The timers are set so the blue lights come on 1st one at a time starting about 7:30am. the whites come on one at a time and all the vho's are on by 9am (kinda like dawn breaking over the reef) The MH come on about 12noon and stay on for about 8hrs. The the whole process runs in reverse (sun set) with the last blue going off about 10:30pm for a total of about 14 hours of lighting.
I don't have moon lights so there I can't say but seems to me that you would want to simulate the moon phases if possible also with timers. Check a calender and light accordingly. You should check out some of the saltwater sites they should have more info in moon lights and how to set them up.
You should head to the book store or library and grab everything you can on reef tanks! Books and timers are some of the best equipment out there!
Hope that helps! Shoot me an e-mail if you have any other questions!

Refugium Power Compact Light Test

Senate panel approves legislation that could hasten train, rapid rail service between cities or parishes
File photoRep. Michael JacksonBATON ROUGE -- A bill that could establish and possibly finance train or light rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans or other locations in the state won approval from a Senate committee today but picked up some baggage in the process. The Committee on...