LED Bulbs That Don't Need Electricity To Work? Oh Yeah!

[Haertig]

I haven't visited this thread for a couple of years, and maybe you have answered this question already and I just forgot (maybe I even forgot if I was the one who might have asked it!)

When you go to turn on your lights with the wall switch, but they don't come on because the power is out, then how do you turn these bulbs on? Do they have a little "emergency backup" on/off switch on them? For many bulbs in my house I'd need a ladder to physically get up to the bulb. That would not work too well in the pitch blackness of a power failure. Knowing my luck, I'd be on top of the ladder blindly feeling around the bulb trying to find the emergency on/off switch ... and the power would come back on. The bulb would instantly light up, blinding me, and I'd fall off the ladder in an ocular panic.

 

[Supervisor42]

I haven't visited this thread for a couple of years, and maybe you have answered this question already and I just forgot (maybe I even forgot if I was the one who might have asked it!)

When you go to turn on your lights with the wall switch, but they don't come on because the power is out, then how do you turn these bulbs on? Do they have a little "emergency backup" on/off switch on them? For many bulbs in my house I'd need a ladder to physically get up to the bulb. That would not work too well in the pitch blackness of a power failure. Knowing my luck, I'd be on top of the ladder blindly feeling around the bulb trying to find the emergency on/off switch ... and the power would come back on. The bulb would instantly light up, blinding me, and I'd fall off the ladder in an ocular panic.

If the power is out, the wall switch would need to be in the 'on' position to connect the bulb to the 'dead' circuit to make it come on.
No, they do not have an on-off switch that you will need a ladder for, they are automatic and if the power goes out, they still work like normal. They do need to be solo on a circuit to work, or you won't be able to turn them off.
They are mostly for table lamps.

 

[viking]

I'm kind of a flashlight freak myself, I panicked when I thought I lost my favorite Duracell 1300 lumen flashlight, it's probably the best flashlight I've ever owned, even though it goes through its four C cells a bit too fast, but I fixed that by going to Batteries Plus and bought a bunch of Nuon rechargeable batteries, to my amazement they run off of a charge for about as long as a set of alkaline batteries last. Truth is what isn't made in China anymore? I used to think Duracell batteries were the best to get, now that they are made in China they all seem to start leaking before they die, that dang near ruins the battery compartments, I thought about calling them up but I'm pretty sure that would be a waste of time, it certainly was with the call I made to Everyday company for the same leakage problem. Our emergency lighting is small LED lanterns, some have switches and some come on by just pulling the tops up, all will be powered by Nuon rechargeable, I just don't trust alkaline batteries anymore.

 

[Supervisor42]

Fear not! I have been working for the last 2 months on an article on another LED light that I found 'That Don't Need Electricity To Work'.
But I will make a new thread for those.
I was determined to do extensive 'real-world' testing on them before blabbing about them.

 

[Caribou]

I'm kind of a flashlight freak myself, I panicked when I thought I lost my favorite Duracell 1300 lumen flashlight, it's probably the best flashlight I've ever owned, even though it goes through its four C cells a bit too fast, but I fixed that by going to Batteries Plus and bought a bunch of Nuon rechargeable batteries, to my amazement they run off of a charge for about as long as a set of alkaline batteries last. Truth is what isn't made in China anymore? I used to think Duracell batteries were the best to get, now that they are made in China they all seem to start leaking before they die, that dang near ruins the battery compartments, I thought about calling them up but I'm pretty sure that would be a waste of time, it certainly was with the call I made to Everyday company for the same leakage problem. Our emergency lighting is small LED lanterns, some have switches and some come on by just pulling the tops up, all will be powered by Nuon rechargeable, I just don't trust alkaline batteries anymore.

Bought a package of Duracell batteries at Costco. About 3/4 of them Started leaking in the package. Duracell sent me a coupon to replace the batteries.

A friend of mine uses Corrosion Block to clean battery compartments where his batteries have leaked. I haven't had a chance to try it myself but I trust his opinion.
https://www.amazon.com/CB12-Corrosi...id=1690531698&sprefix=corosion,aps,173&sr=8-5

 

[Magus]

In the UK flash lights are called torches.

My departed buddy brought over his uber flash light that literally set a piece of paper on fire!

Ben

I have one of those!

 

[elkhound]

Fear not! I have been working for the last 2 months on an article on another LED light that I found 'That Don't Need Electricity To Work'.
But I will make a new thread for those.
I was determined to do extensive 'real-world' testing on them before blabbing about them.

has this thread been posted yet? link please if yes.

 

[Supervisor42]

has this thread been posted yet? link please if yes.

Still testing after 2+ months. I will link the thread here when I get all my info together.
They are solar powered lights that harvest power during the day and light up your patio at night. Outdoor, not indoor, like the ones in this thread.
Several unique things about them.

 

[Supervisor42]

has this thread been posted yet? link please if yes.

Still a work in progress....
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/led-lights-that-require-no-external-electricity-to-light-up-your-patio-deck.18987/post-571035

 

[Weedygarden]

This is just for the people that hate fumbling with a flashlight when the power goes out.
What you really want is a lightbulb that doesn't need electricity to work:
View attachment 73276
DW's aunt discovered these and got us some.
They are LED bulbs with a built-in backup battery.
Here is one hanging from the ceiling fan pull chain in my bedroom (regular lights are on):
View attachment 73277
And here it is lighting up my pitch-dark bedroom at 6:00 am when it is completely dark outside:
View attachment 73278
Runtime is supposed to be 3-4 hours in bright mode, and twice as long in dim mode.
When in a conventional desk lamp: if it is on when the power goes out, it automatically switches to battery.
If it is off when the power fails, turning the lamp "on" will light it up.
Disadvantages:
1. Can only be recharged in a live socket.
2. They take a looong time to recharge. >5 hours if completely run down.
3. Cannot be used in a fixture with multiple bulbs.

More info in a following post.

Could one of these be screwed into an existing light fixture and then charge and light up with out the switch being turned on?

 

[Supervisor42]

Could one of these be screwed into an existing light fixture and then charge and light up without the switch being turned on?

The switch must be turned on to light them up when the power is out, if not, you couldn't turn them off.
They use the AC power to charge when working in normal mode.
I stated earlier that they cannot be used in fixtures with other bulbs, just a table lamp solo.

And on testing after a couple years, they all still work fine, and are ready if our power goes out.
(I have not done a full 'rundown' test though).