Battery Operated vs Solar Lights

Last summer, we made a conscious effort to replace some electric path lights that lined our front walkway with solar lights. My husband spent a lot of time online determining which lights would be most effective, what styles were available and where we could purchase them. A couple of weeks later, our lights arrived. They looked as nice as we'd imagined and we were really excited about the prospect of finding a greener and more cost-effective lighting solution to the existing fixtures. The eight lights that we installed were easy to assemble and looked great. We measured carefully to be sure that each light was positioned equidistant and waited for the sun to go down.The result? Disappointing.

The problem with solar lights in Northeast Ohio is that there is not enough direct sunlight to charge the solar cell with enough juice to produce consistent and reliable light. Luckily, there is an alternative, though I'm not sure many people know about it. Mr Beams, a Wireless Environment company based in Cleveland, OH, manufactures battery-operated Path Lights that are motion-sensitive. The lights mount easily on stakes and are powered by regular alkaline batteries. The intelligent sensors trigger a low-glow light when it gets dark and brighten when motion is detected. The low-glow feature adds ambience to practicality--you will love that the lights intuitively brighten when they sense motion. You can program the lights to stay on for several minutes, too, providing a well-lit area as you move about.

The Mr Beams battery-operated lights use high-quality LED bulbs and, yes, you can tell a difference from the cheaper bulbs out there. The single bulb in the Path Light is bright and illuminates a wide range. LED lights have already been touted as energy efficient--paired with the technology in the battery powered Path Lights, you have an off-grid lighting solution that defies the cloudiest days in Cleveland.

Mr Beams products can be found at www.mrbeams.com.