It’s important to be prepared for an emergency, but doing so without attracting unwanted attention can be difficult at times. Always look for alternate uses of everyday items that can be useful in an emergency. Hiding in plain sight is usually the best way. An item that sits in a closet and is only used occasionally is not always the best way to make efficient use of your money. Practice stealth in your preps and get better and more positive benefits in any environment.
Emergency lighting is always a primary concern when there is a disruption of power in a crisis or an emergency. After all, if you can’t see it, you can’t find it! So unless you are fond of rearranging the furniture with your shins, you will need some sort of emergency lighting. One of the best ways to provide emergency lighting is with the “carriage lantern” style solar yard lights. They hang on a pole or shepherd’s hook and can be used to light up dark areas enabling you to see objects in the different areas of your yard. They can also serve as range markers to let you know just how close a would-be intruder is to your home. They can be brought inside and hung on a hook or suspended with cord from existing lights to provide lighting for every room of your house. You can even put more than one in a room for additional lighting. This leaves your hands free for other tasks (like getting the generator going!). They cost virtually nothing to operate beyond their initial cost and the occasional replacement battery. They also turn on and off automatically. They normally provide anywhere from 8 to 12 hours of light depending upon the amount of sun and the capacity of the batteries (900 Mh to 2500 Mh). You won’t be able to read a book but you will be able to move about in your home or yard safely and with ease.
They have other benefits as well. The rechargeable “AA” batteries can also be used in your other gear and flashlights. Having a ready supply of fully-charged batteries for your other gear is essential. Simply remove the batteries from the solar yard lights before it gets dark (most come on automatically at dark and go off at dusk or when the batteries are discharged). The lights will also work with regular batteries if there is no sun. Just make sure to remove the non-rechargeable batteries before placing them in the sun again.
Check out John’s article at http://destinysurvival.com/2008/07/31/rechargeable-batteries-are-a-must-for-your-survival-supplies/ on rechargeable batteries for more ideas.
Emergency lighting is always a primary concern when there is a disruption of power in a crisis or an emergency. After all, if you can’t see it, you can’t find it! So unless you are fond of rearranging the furniture with your shins, you will need some sort of emergency lighting. One of the best ways to provide emergency lighting is with the “carriage lantern” style solar yard lights. They hang on a pole or shepherd’s hook and can be used to light up dark areas enabling you to see objects in the different areas of your yard. They can also serve as range markers to let you know just how close a would-be intruder is to your home. They can be brought inside and hung on a hook or suspended with cord from existing lights to provide lighting for every room of your house. You can even put more than one in a room for additional lighting. This leaves your hands free for other tasks (like getting the generator going!). They cost virtually nothing to operate beyond their initial cost and the occasional replacement battery. They also turn on and off automatically. They normally provide anywhere from 8 to 12 hours of light depending upon the amount of sun and the capacity of the batteries (900 Mh to 2500 Mh). You won’t be able to read a book but you will be able to move about in your home or yard safely and with ease.
They have other benefits as well. The rechargeable “AA” batteries can also be used in your other gear and flashlights. Having a ready supply of fully-charged batteries for your other gear is essential. Simply remove the batteries from the solar yard lights before it gets dark (most come on automatically at dark and go off at dusk or when the batteries are discharged). The lights will also work with regular batteries if there is no sun. Just make sure to remove the non-rechargeable batteries before placing them in the sun again.
Check out John’s article at http://destinysurvival.com/2008/07/31/rechargeable-batteries-are-a-must-for-your-survival-supplies/ on rechargeable batteries for more ideas.
*edit*
John also has an article on solar powered battery chargers here:
Staying above the water line!
Riverwalker
Posts
10 comments:
Excellent idea. The wife has been wanting some of those solar yard lights, it didn't occur to me to use them this way. They can be grid down battery chargers too!
Sam
To: sam
You're right about that! Plus your neighbors won't have a clue as to what you're really going to use them for. Even the non-prepper spouses out there will go for this idea.
Thanks sam!
RW
Thanks for the link to my article. Much appreciated. Feel free any time. I appreciate the practical info you're giving out here, too.
BTW, I've also done a post on solar battery chargers at http://destinysurvival.com/2008/08/05/include-a-solar-battery-charger-in-your-survival-supplies/.
John
To: john
Thanks. Did the link thing for your new post also.
RW
How much energy do LED christmas lights use up? A string of these lights hung up inside your residence can provide quite a bit of light where they are needed, moving them around to where you want them. The greens are particularly soothing to the eye - going outside, they don't mess up your night vision.
I put together some super low draw 12 volt red LED bulbs I found at the auto parts store. This is used with a portable 150 watt solar system I put together a while back.
The "bulb" is part #1156R and is a cluster of 12 "super bright" LED's and fits into a standard auto socket. Bulbs were expensive $12-14, sockets cheap $2. Go with the 2 wire sockets for easy hookup.
Last thing I want is to be the only house in town with white light coming through the black out curtains!
Thats a great post and idea. The ability to prepare for tomorrow while using the value of the purchase today.
To: anonymous
An 8 foot string of 25 LED lights uses less than 2 watts of power(about 1.8 watts or so)at a cost of about $12 to $14 a string. The only problem with these is with the grid down during a storm,etc. you will need a back-up power source. They are low energy consumption though. Thanks for the interesting comment.Hope this info helps.
Thanks.
Riverwalker
BTW, they come in red,blue,etc.
To: doctor zero
Great idea there and thanks for the info on a LED light hookup.
For stealth purposes white may not be the best option.
I have blinds,shades & curtains on all my windows. Ain't much light gonna leak out!
Thanks again for the great comment.
RW
To: Mr Tex (a fellow Texan)
I think expandability is a great way to look at things. I try to use an "Alpha" type strategy in most things I do. The more uses I can get out of an item, the lower the net cost.
Thanks Mr Tex
Riverwalker
Post a Comment