There are three lighting systems in use here at the Center.
5.5VDC
These first three pictures show the 5.5VDC system in use here at the Center. The little battery pack has four rechargable batteries in it. It is wired throughout the building with low voltage wiring. The next picture, top right, is an LED tap light. Simply press the center of the light and it turns on. Press it again and it turns off. This light is enough for most tasks at night. It is considerably brighter than a night light but is not bright enough for reading. The bottom picture is an under cabinet LED task light. These two lights come with a jack to plug into an external power source.
DO NOT USE LEAD ACID BATTERIES WITH THESE LIGHTS! DO NOT PUT THEM IN SERIES!
These lights are rated for six volts, maximum. Six volt lead acid batteries can deliver as high as 6.7 volts when freshly charged. This tends to cook the LEDS in a short time. I learned this the hard way. The little battery pack is just the right voltage. They have internal compartments for four AA batteries also. I occasionally use these lights to cook with, just to keep in practice. They are enough, but just barely. This little battery pack will run these lights for two weeks with the amount of use I give it. The batteries are then charged by the charger shown at lower right. This charger will use either grid 110VAC or a 12VDC battery. I generally charge it off the big Optimus battery shown below in the next section.
110VAC
Below left is a home made 12VDC battery pack. I use all sealed lead acid batteries in the building. It cuts down on fumes and acid damage. Plus they are easily transportable for taking back and forth to the power house. The pack is made up of four 7.5AH batteries. This gives 30 AH of storage, enough to run my main lights for several days. When either battery gets below 12.6VDC, I take it out to the power house and charge it up with the solar system. The next picture, on the right, is an Optimus glass matt battery. If you have to have batteries in your house, this is the one to have. It is very rugged and holds an enormous charge. It will run my main lights for a couple of weeks if I am careful. The next picture, lower left, is the inverter panel. The battery in use is plugged into the inverter power jack. It is run to the inverter with internal wiring. This is a little 130 watt inverter that provides 110VAC power. I have replaced all my main lights with compact florescents, shown at lower right. They draw much less power than incandescents for the same light output. I find they are adequate for my needs. When I need to use them, I switch on the inverter and then turn the lights on with the regular wall switch. When I am done with the light, I switch off the inverter. These lights work as well as grid powered lights, but they are solar powered.
Solar Floodlight
The third light I use is a little solar powered garden flood light. This is in the picture below. For such a little unit, it puts out a lot of light. I use it when working on the computer or short reading sessions at night. It is fine for computer use for extended time periods, but a little weak for reading any longer than about an hour. When it gets a little dim, I take it outside and put it in the sunlight. I replace it with another one and the sun charges it up in a day. These little flood lights are perfect emergency lights for when the grid power goes down. Two of them in a large room will provide all the light needed for most tasks. They can be purchased for under $20 each and are an instant solar lighting system for a very low price. The manufacturers of these lights are making them better all the time.
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