LED Lights and Preppers

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by Hogleg, Oct 19, 2011.


  1. Hogleg

    Hogleg Monkey+

    LED Light Bulbs are here and they will make a difference for all of us.

    I was in Home Depot today and the shelves are full. They are still expensive, but already HD had sales and markdowns. GE has been running TV advertising about LED bulbs as well.

    Everyone who has purchased a flashlight in the last few years has seen LED lights. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode, which is a fancy term for a different type of energy to light transfer device.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<img src=" />

    A traditional light bulb wastes up to75% of its energy creating heat and not light. That is why when you touch one its hot. So that 100 watt bulb is really more like a 75 watt furnace. LED light bulbs don’t get hot. They use almost all of their energy creating light rather than wasted heat. This is why LED flashlights last so much longer, with the same batteries, than traditional bulbs.

    So what does the arrival of LED light bulbs mean to us Preppers?

    Well, to begin with, they last up to 20 years, so in a post-TEOTWAWKI life, we don’t have to worry so much about burning out bulbs. Secondly, they take a lot less electric energy to deliver the same light, so they will not tap solar or wind powered systems as much.

    Finally, if every bulb in the USA was an LED, we would need to import significantly less oil, and so the chances of TEOTWAWKI are not as likely.

    Their price still prevents me from switching out all the bulds in the house, but with the sales I saw, its getting close. We all should keep an eye on this technology.
     
  2. dragonfly

    dragonfly Monkey+++

    I'm already using a lot of those "yard lamps" that have the mini solar panels and battery rechargers! I put one in my travel tariler and it works fantastic as a night light. I have used fingernail polish to make 6 red ( for night vision) and 6 lime green ( newest mil type) mini lamps!
    Those tiny $3.00 yard lamps work like crazy and I have only replaced 2 of their rechargeable batteries in 2 years now!
    Led technology is going to be a mainstay, especially for those of us with solar power!
     
  3. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    They are already getting popular in Travel Trailers & RVs, and boats. I am planning t begin phasing them in as I replace the CFLs I am running now. It'll be nice to NOT have to replace bulbs again once they are in. Even CFL bulbs don't last as long as the ad hype says. CFL also has the 'hazmat' issue, which LED doesn't.
     
  4. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    There are even conversion kits for your standard filament bulb flashlights. I've seen the standard AAA flashlight conversion kits at Lowes for a few FRNs.

    One company that sells a drop in conversion is located here for C and D cell Maglite flashlights. They sell these with a HUGE RED warning at the bottom:
    WARNING: This light is capable of causing eye damage at close range. Please use the light responsibly!!!


     
  5. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Also, a quick search on the internet will turn up conversion instructions for any flashlight, if they do not sell the kit or drop in for your flashlight.
     
  6. Alpha Dog

    Alpha Dog survival of the breed

    We are working on a kind of safe room at the house for storms, power out's, zoombie attacks and soforth. That way I can keep the familiy unit together incase SHTF and we have to bug out all is right there. Anyway I've been looking at the small LED's about as round as a coffee cup and they run off of AC plus been playing around with a motor cycle battery that I keep on charge to power them and with six light's which give good lighting Im on about 48hrs and thats almost constant burn. I think by controling the amount of light's and only using at night I could probaly get a week out of the battery or I hope still in testing and theory phase.
     
    BTPost and Quigley_Sharps like this.
  7. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Not a bad idea, that safe room. Suggest storm shutters inboard (if there are windows) and a way to completely block all light from showing outside at night.
     
    ColtCarbine likes this.
  8. goinpostal

    goinpostal Monkey+++

    NiteIze is the company that makes/sells the LED conversion kits for the Mini-mag AA lights.They also have a tail cap button for the AA mini-mag.The same outfit sells drop in LED's for the big Mag lights that come in medium,or burn your eyes out high power.NiteIze also makes the best line of clip-on cell phone,and EDC pouches made.Check out their"Back Bone"series of EDC pouches.They are pretty sturdy,have very water proof/resistant zippers,and outer shell.The patented"C"clip design has the best retention of any belt clip on case I've tried.Most of their cases are compatable with Molle gear.Their cases come in multiple colors,including Mossy Oak.Their gear/gadgets can be found on Amazon,Ebay,and some retailers on the cheap,here's a link to their site:
    Nite Ize: Innovative Products
    Matt
     
  9. Pax Mentis

    Pax Mentis Philosopher King |RIP 11-4-2017

    Do you know anywhere that rates their products as far as output in lumens?
     
  10. goinpostal

    goinpostal Monkey+++

    Not sure on that one.I know that the LED conversions for the Mag,and Mini-Mag are alot brighter than the best standard replacment bulbs.The only downside is with the AA Mini-Mag.If screw the head in To far to focus,it will bust the LED bulbs. that is why they sell the tail cap button.No issues with the big Mag light conversion though.
    Matt
     
  11. goinpostal

    goinpostal Monkey+++

    I've found a cool little 9led light for$4.99,that is being sold at the TA/Petro truck stops.
    It snaps on the top of a 9volt battery.It also has a high(9led),off,and low(3led) three position switch.
    It's the light thats in my EDC pouch along with my leatherman tool.
    The light itself is about a third the size of the 9v battery that it snaps onto,and is pretty bright.
    Matt
     
  12. LED bulbs

    I have changed all mine out to LED's and I'm glad I did. Power bill dropped by at least 30%. Still have a few CFL's but those will go soon too.
     
  13. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    I converted to 100% CFLs about 5 years back, and added heavy thermal drapes, added heavy closed cell foam insulation stripping to my doors, and installed exterior window shades called "Koolaroo shades". These changes dropped my average summer electric bill by nearly 50%. From 500 a month average to 275-300 a month. I wonder if I further upgrade to LEDs what the impact would be. I only have one non CFL light, and that is a light sensor activated mercury vapor lamp on the front of my property, which only turns on when the sun is down and shuts off automatically when the sun comes up.

    It is just the initial cost of the LED "light bulbs" that gives me pause.
     
  14. Robryan

    Robryan Monkey+

    Walmart had them for 2 dollars each and 2 will light up a room, I took the batteries out of them (300ma) and replaced them with (2300ma) so when needed they will have the power to last through the worst days. These are the perfect shtf item and it is the most hassle free lighting you can get. I also found that they work best if you take the battery and light unit out of the housing. So for 2 or 3 dollars you get a light unit that will also recharge AA batteries and last a long time and can be used until needed as decoration, you can't beat that.
     
  15. thebastidge

    thebastidge Monkey+

    LED lights are definitely up and coming. The OP has it wrong about them reducing our need for oil, though. The vast majority of electricity in our country is produced from coal, not petroleum.

    I like LED flashlights, but I think there are still some serious drawbacks to using them for area lighting. They are very directional, and don't light up a room very well at this point. That's probably a technical issue that will improve over time.
     
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