Designers Edge L-949 10 LED Rechargeable Solar Panel Shed Light
by Designers Edge
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List Price: Our Price: $16.65 You Save: $40.34 (71%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Category: Lighting See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Designers Edge L-949 10 LED Rechargeable Solar Panel Shed Light
Customer Review: Mounts easily, but I changed the pull string to a ball chain
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this for a playhouse we built for our kids. We wanted some type of lighting so that it would not be completely dark in the playhouse (the size of a shed) in case they played in there at night during the summer or if they even had a sleepover in there. For lighting something the size of a small shed I'd say that the light output is reasonable for 10 LEDs.
The design of this system is mostly intelligent: the cord is long which meant that I could place the solar panel on the roof or side of the house and run the cord inside. It would have been slightly easier if the end of the plug was straight rather than L-shaped because it meant that I had to drill a bigger hole into the side of the playhouse in order to feed the plug through. There are several attachment options for the solar panel. The plastic base that it attaches to allows you to swivel the panel to face any direction, and it also comes with an L-shaped metal arm that could attach to both the bracket and the solar panel itself in case you are configuring it in a tricky spot. I've got the panel attached to the side of the playhouse but facing upward and it charges easily. The design of the charging unit that goes inside the building is smart. First of, it uses rechargeable batteries that can be replaced simply by taking the cover off. No screwdrivers are necessary for this. Thus, if a battery goes bad you can easily replace it. Secondly, the unit has a charging light on it. This meant that I could place the solar panel somewhere and have confidence in permanently attaching it to the building because I could see that it was charging. Also, because the plug actually plugs into the lighting unit, one could theoretically plug this into things other than the LED lighting unit. However, it's a very small plug but if you had matching appliances it could work.
Here are two minor tips I experienced:
1) The unit comes fully charged. I did not realize that there was a charging light on the LED unit so I discharged the batteries by leaving the light on overnight. The light stayed on for 27 straight hours and it gave off its full light for most of that time.
2) The pull cord it comes with is a string. I was hanging this high up in my kids' playhouse so I wanted a longer string and a more durable cord. I took the screws out of the back of the LED unit and found that the string was tied to a lever. Using some tiny pliers I was able to undo the knot in the string. I tied that end to a thread and the other end of the thread to a very thin ball chain that I had. I was then able to feed the ball chain through the level and cap it off with one of those connectors at the end of the ball chain. That way, it would be secure and not go through the hole. The ball chain had a tendency to catch on the lever itself so I took some scotch tape and wrapped it around that part of the ball chain that goes through the lever. I did this after I had fed it through so I had to push some of the ball chain back up but if you can plan properly and do it beforehand, you'll be in even better shape.
Customer Review: Great product, but has design and marketing mistakes.
Summary: 4 Stars
I wish that the manufacturer is reading these reviews (it could only be to their advantage). We crossed into a century when the consumer is not only "the king", the decision maker, but the consumer can help products improve a lot (and therefore can bring a lot more money to the owners, inventors and distributors).
Congratulations, first of all, for the efficiency of the solar panel: this small panel (a mono-crystalline one) can charge the batteries by feeding from any ambient (or reflected) light, not only from direct sunlight (it works OK in the shade). It can be placed in any window (on the inside of the window, in any house or apartment), disregarding if there is sun or not that day. Yes, mine is recharging the batteries although I placed the panel in a North window, where I never have direct sunlight.
The product's price is fair. It also helps a lot that it comes with a light indicating when it is really charging. This solar product could become truly great in its future versions, but only if the design, marketing and manufacturing mistakes are corrected.
(1) The light intensity problems come most likely from the "high-low" switch, which is defective. I have the same problem with my order. Sometimes the light is very bright, sometimes only 5 LEDs work, and sometimes the intensity of all is very poor. I believe that this problem can be corrected by opening the light box and checking for poor connections. Perhaps the best would be to replace that switch, or bypassing the switch, for those of you who bought it and have the knowledge.
(2) It helps that it comes with rechargeable batteries, but Ni-Cd (nickel-cadmium) is an old generation. The consumer is forced to replace them with the newer NiMH (nickel-metal hydride) or perhaps lithium-ion, which can have much better capacity. The second design mistake is placing the battery box in the back of the light, forcing the consumer to unscrew the entire light from the ceiling (or from under the cabinet) in order to replace the batteries. The entire system should have a 20-year life, if it is designed correctly.
(3) The light should have been versatile enough to sit on any table, like a desk light (but it is not). It is not practical as a wall light (who wants the LED lights into his/or her eyes?).
(4) The product is shipped in a nice box, with some descriptions in 3 languages, but the text has some mistakes into it. The glass on the panel is not even mentioned anywhere in English -- it is only mentioned in French and Spanish. Why not in English? The one-sheet instructions are truly poor -- it does not even explain how to mount the metal bracket. Most people throw this part away, because they do not understand its usefulness.
(5) Other reviewers described other problems and I am not going to repeat what they said.
These are examples of how design mistakes and poor supervision can fail a product which otherwise would be a great success.
Customer Review: Good Little Light
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm using this light for a different reason. My whole house is solar powered but one day while getting ready to go to work a component of my system failed and left me in a pitch black bathroom trying to shave.
So this light was purchased to be installed in my bathroom as an emergency backup and it serves well for that purpose.
I found the light easy to install, as others have mentioned, the cord is actually only 16 feet not 20. The angled power plug which needs to fit through a hole in the wall did make it necessary to dirll a 5/8 inch hole, if it had been straight it may have fit through a 1/4 inch hole.
I agree with other reviewers that say this is "night light" bright. It's adequate for my small bathroom, I tried getting ready for work using only this light and had no difficulties until it was time to shave, it was possible but I really couldn't see how well I had done until I turned on another light. So it's bright eneough to move around and get things done but not bright eneough for any detail work.
The box says it will only last two hours on the high level and four hours on the low level. I think it would probably last longer if you were using it in a dark place but the solar panel still in the sun.
Interestingly, this light puts out less light than my two LED headband style light but the light is diffused through out the room where the headband light is more focused
Pros: Easy fo install
It will always be charged and ready to use.
It's only $25
Cons: Angled power plug needed bigger hole
Not as bright as I was hoping but the price is right for what you get.
No explanation for the "L" bracket.
And Thanks to the person that explained the mysterious "L" bracket, it now makes sense but I wasted some time trying to figure out what it was for even after I saw where it fit in the base.
Customer Review: Got a bright one! Lucky I guess
Summary: 5 Stars
Reading from the reviews I wasn't expecting much from such a low price solar shed light. I went ahead and ordered anyway and I'm very very pleased with the results. The light itself came almost fully pre-charged which aided in not only knowing how bright it would ultimately be, but also was useful in locating a good spot for it in the shed before permanent mounting.
So out of the box you get a
* solar panel with hardwired 16ft cable
* exterior mounting bracket with swivel feature
* interior light and mounting all in one
* all screws etc
* strange L shaped metal rod which appears to serve no useful purpose due to the design of the mounting bracket!
The light itself is super bright for a solar led; we have a small shed at 6'x 8' and it saturates it with enough light to find even the smallest item or even work in there. I couldn't say how long the light lasts on a single charge however, but it's perfect for popping in and grabbing some tool as the day gets longer. The light has a half/full option where the top row of leds can be switched off to increase the duration that the lights last at the expense of brightness - nice touch. There's also a small red led to indicate that it's charging and comes with a one foot toggle pull string to switch the light on or off.
My only gripe, which was mentioned in another review, was the connector for the panel to the light was L shaped not straight through as shown in the amazon product pic. This meant making a hole about the width of your finger to be able to push the connector into the shed and then having to silicon it all up to make it watertight. If it was a straight connector, the hole would barely be bigger than the cable itself. A surprisingly poorly thought out design given the rest of the product.
But the rest IS perfect and you cannot go wrong for the price.
Customer Review: Installed in a Run-in Shed
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased and installed this light this month (January 2011) and so will have to come back with a follow up review, but here are my initial impressions:
We bought this light because we did not want a motion detector, but a pull switch. My wife and I consider the light provided to be more than adequate. We installed this in a run-in shed for horses, in a space where we store hay and blankets, etc. We do not need to engage in fine hand motor skill type work. The space is 5'(w) x 20'(d) x 15'(h). We may install a second light in the actual space where the horses hang out, which is much larger of course, being 30' wide, same depth and height.
Before installation, I noticed that the three rechargeable batteries were AA, and only 600mA a piece. I am marking down the initial score I have given this product due to the provided batteries. I replaced them with Eneloop batteries (purchased from Amazon) which are 2000mA a piece. That will dramatically increase the light time. So far, we have not run the batteries to empty.
We like this product. it was easy to install and does what is says it will do.
I will revisit at the six month point if I remember, which will probably mean that something went wrong.