Survivalist Series: LED Solar Flashlight – BoGo

Posted by Matt in April 10th, 2010

Recently, flashlights that use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) instead of conventional lightbulbs have become available. LEDs have existed for decades, mainly used as low-power indicator lights. In 1999, Lumileds Corporation of San Jose, California United States, introduced the Luxeon LED, a high-power white-light emitter. For the first time this made possible LED flashlights with power and running time better than some incandescent lights. The first Luxeon LED flashlight was the Arc LS, designed in 2001.

LEDs can be significantly more efficient than incandescent lamps at lower power levels, so they use less battery energy than incandescent lightbulbs. Such flashlights have longer battery lifetimes, in some cases, hundreds of hours, although the LED efficiency advantage diminishes at higher power levels. LEDs are also less fragile than conventional glass lamps.

Some LED flashlights electronically regulate the voltage supplied to the LEDs to reduce the influence of battery status on light output.By contrast, the light output of non-regulated flashlights change proportionally to the voltage supplied by the battery, resulting in a significant decline in output as battery voltage declines. LEDs also have the advantage of maintaining a specific color temperature regardless of input voltage or current, while the color temperature of an incandescent bulb declines with the power available.

The SunNight series 3 (SN-3) flashlights is SunNight Solar’s third incarnation of their long-lasting, reliable, and durable solar-powered flashlight (the SN-1 & SN-2). The SN-3 illuminates a room for 7 hours on one charge, and lasts for 750-1000 nights before needing a battery replacement.

Product Description

Sunlight Solar designed the SN-2 BoGo Light to be a rugged, long life, solar rechargeable flashlight whose primary purpose is for kerosene lantern replacement and task lighting in “developing world” applications. It’s design brief was to provide wide angle illumination with more usable light than a kerosene “bottle lantern”, for use in rooms up to 4 x 4 meters or as a study or work lamp over a table, while also providing a bright directional “task light” beam for when more directed light is required. The features which make the BoGoLight flash light suited to its primary role also make it a great light for use for camping, automobile use and as a light you can use in an emergency. Leave it where the sun shines on it and you will get hours of operation when needed. With a fully charged original battery the SN-2 will typically operate for 4 to 5 hours on full power, about twice that on its medium power settings and 4 times as long on low power. The SN-2 uses a high efficiency polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic panel (or ’solar panel’) to charge its batteries. The charging capability is limited by the size of the panel would fit on the light. Depending on battery state it takes 8 to 10 “sunlight hours” (hours of direct full sunlight) to charge the supplied 800 mAh batteries. The medium and low power modes allow users to reduce lighting levels to allow longer lighting times when charging conditions are poor. On full power users get about 30+ minutes of lighting per sunshine hour. On medium power they get about 1 hour of operation per sunshine hour. And on low power, about 2 hours operation per sunshine hour. So with 2 to 3 sunshine hours in a day a user can expect 4 to 6 hours of low level but useable light.

Through its BoGo Lights (“Buy one, Give one”) program, SunNight Solar donates solar-powered flashlights to schools and hospitals and homes throughout the world where electricity is unreliable. It also provides lights to women in refugee camps, because reliable light is essential for the safety and security of women and children who otherwise might be attacked at night.

BoGo Lights are being used in the Fugnido Refugee Camp in Sudan, in four United Nations’ relief settlements in Uganda, in the fishing communities of the Kutch coast of India, in the Kenyan village of Suari, and in Tongan villages that were devastated by a recent tsunami. They are providing light for a midwifery program in Afghanistan. Studies show that one light can impact and improve the lives of ten people.

Sure, there are many solar flashlights around but what makes SunNight Solar Bogo Light THE SOLAR FLASHLIGHT? Its name stands for ‘buy one give one’. You can buy it as a present for your friends or family and know that at the same time, someone else around the world who needs it will receive another too!

Rated as the best solar flashlight, SunNight Solar Bogo Light has a worldwide impact, a glow-in-the-dark strip, charges well, is exceptionally sturdy, useful, eco-friendly and an emergency saver.

Benefits
• Worldwide Impact
- Give light to the 2 billion people around the world without electricity

• Charges Well
- Sunny or cloudy, it works!

• Glow-in-the-Dark Strip
- Easy to find when it’s dark

• Exceptionally Sturdy
- Water & shock resistant, some say it can last 20 years!

• Emergency Saver
- A helper for car breakdowns, blackouts or power outages

• Useful
- Tested under real wilderness conditions

• Eco-Friendly
- Fight global warming!
- Replaces costly kerosene, candles, and even disposable battery flashlights.

Technical Details

Half watt polycrystalline high efficiency photovoltaic solar panel fully charges in 8-10 sunlight hours
6 narrow angle high efficiency LEDs for task lighting, 3 wide angle high efficiency LEDs for full room illumination
Three (included) eco-friendly NiMH batteries operate on a full charge on high power for 4-5 hours, medium power for 8-10 hours, low power for 16-20 hours. Batteries come installed.
High impact resistance ABS body and polycarbonate lens, Rugged
Rugged, long life, solar rechargeable LED light originally designed for the developing world – Company founder spent more than 20 years in Africa.

User Feedback:
Here are some of the actual user feedback that I found most useful:

“We live in the jungle of Costa Rica and purchased two BoGo’s… cannot live without them. Can’t even tell you how many batteries we have saved, by using solar BoGo. It’s nice to know we are helping our environment and helping others across the world.”
- Michele Taggart (United States) at Bogolight.com –
“…a great product for a great cause!”
This solar powered flashlight is awesome to use. I actually bought it from the item’s site, where you buy one & for another $20.00 they will donate one to someplace in the world that needs it, or you can choose the organization to donate it to. It actually doesn’t work in direct light but works in dim light or in the dark after letting it charge in natural light. You can’t overcharge it, & it will work all night if needed. (I haven’t actually tried that yet). The promo says that they are trying to eliminate deaths caused by kerosene lamp fires in developing countries. I highly recommend this flashlight for any home emergency kit or general use.

The development of this flashlight was funded with a very large grant by the Rockefeller Foundation to develop a very usuable light by volunteers in Africa.You can also use this as a solar AA battery charger; for an even better upgrade, replace the stock AA batteries with low self-discharge NiMH cells for an always-ready light. This is easy to do.Pay the extra money for this light which really works rather than a lower price for one that really doesnt.

If you want to purchase the product please visit the following links: