Posts Tagged ‘solar barricade lights’
Types of Barricade Lights
Continuing with the theme of explaining the different types of products (we did traffic barricades before) we will explain the different variations of barricade lights in this post. The first we will talk about is solar versus battery powered. A solar barricade light is usually $10 to $20 more expensive per unit but will not need to have it’s batteries replaced. A typical battery powered light will need it’s batteries replaced every 3-5 months. Most of my customers prefer solar as you ‘set it and forget it’. No maintenance involved.
Now another option is the intensity of the light. There are ‘Hi Intensity’ lights that are called ‘Type B’ lights. These are bright enough to be easily seen during the day. A regular barricade light is not intended to be seen during the day and will usually shut off automatically as soon as the sun comes up.
If choosing a battery powered light, you have an option of 6 Volt or D Cell. In this case it means a light that takes 6 Volt batteries or D Cell batteries, usually one 6 Volt battery and four D Cell batteries are needed, respectively. Most people choose a D Cell as the base is smaller so it’s a more compact unit. The 6 Volt version has a more traditional look.
Another option when it comes to battery powered lights is LED or non LED. Choosing to have LEDs in your barricade light will cost you between $3 and $7 extra but will make the light brighter. Other options include lens colors and hot stamping the barricade light with text. Changing the lens from the usual yellow to red or clear will typically cost you more, and hot stamping a light will typically involve a ‘set up’ fee and a per item stamp fee around 50 cents each.
‘Fake’ Solar Barricade Lights
Because there are solar barricade lights that are significantly cheaper than others, naturally some distributors and manufacturers are going to call others fake. In fact there are some that look identical but are a lot cheaper.
This can mean that that particular light has either been modeled after the original light. I am not sure if that means it is ‘counterfeit’ or ‘fake’, but to me, if a light works and meets the specs, that should be your primary concern.
Solar Barricade Lights – Brands
I know of at least 4 different brands of solar barricade lights, which means there are at least 4 different models out there. What are the differences? Well, from what I have seen the main difference is just the way it looks.
Most people in the traffic safety industry who know a decent amount about solar barricade lights can tell the brand of light just by looking at it, which means the main difference is in fact the design. This doesn’t mean that some of the specs like how long they last are not different, but just suggests that they aren’t as varied as you may think.
Solar Barricade Lights Batteries
Believe it or not, you can replace the batteries in solar barricade lights. I know that doesn’t make any sense, because solar things are supposed to not require batteries.
The way it works is that the solar panels are designed to charge an internal battery which then holds the charge for a certain amount of time. After 3+ years the battery dies, and on some models you can get new batteries by contacting the manufacturer.