Posts Tagged ‘solar barricade light’
Solar Barricade Lights Intensity
I get a lot of questions on solar barricade lights, particularly type b solar barricade lights. A common question is how bright these lights are. It is not easy to measure brightness, but a quick check on the number of LEDs is a quick and dirty way of finding out how bright they will shine.
Type b barricade lights shine brighter than regular barricade lights, and because of that they will cost you more. There is also a solar assist option that is gaining popularity which trickle charges that batteries in the light.
Solar Barricade Lights – Environmentally Friendly?
Are solar barricade lights truly more environmentally friendly than battery powered barricade lights? Well, to be honest I do not know the answer, but by posting this I hope to stir some thought about this ‘green’ product as well as others. Though you may not need to change the batteries and worry about disposing them (as often) with solar barricade lights, they still may not be ‘green.’
In other words, do we know what these solar barricade lights are really made out of? Solar barricade lights still have batteries in them, so are they any more or less recyclable than the 6 Volt or D cell batteries we find in battery powered lights? This may be worth looking into if you want a ‘truly’ green product.
What Are They? Solar Barricade Lights?
Solar barricade lights are what you see on top of traffic barricades or traffic barrels. You may see them on your campus, on you way to work, or in your small town. They are a ‘greener’ alternative than battery powered barricade lights because you do not have to keep changing the batteries.
Solar barricade lights typically last 3+ years and even after that you may be able to buy replacement batteries, depending on the light. You will notice that there are a lot more solar lights out there than there used to be, and it is because the technology has become cheaper to a point where it is economical to buy them when you weigh in how much you save from not buying batteries.
Popularity of Solar Barricade Lights
When driving past construction, I doubt the average person looks closely at the type of barricade light attached to the overwhelming amount of traffic barrels. Because of my interest in the traffic safety industry, however, I like to see what brand and what type it is. I am surprised to see that 70% of the time these are solar barricade lights.
I would never think they would be so popular because they are about twice the cost of battery operated barricade lights. But, they are ‘green’ and you do not need to have batteries or worry about going out and changing the batteries.
Battery powered or solar barricade lights?
Should I buy solar barricade lights or the typical battery powered barricade lights? This is a question I hear a lot, and the answer is not extremely simple, because it depends on your needs. If you only need your lights for a 6 months to a year, I would say stick with the battery powered.
If you want something that will be around for 3+ years, go with the solar powered barricade lights. These are designed to last but they do cost more. A typical figure is battery powered barricade lights cost half of what solar powered barricade lights, so if you just need them for a short time go with the battery powered lights.