Designers Edge L-949 10 LED Rechargeable Solar Panel Shed Light
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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: Great little solar light
Summary: 5 Stars
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013HPNRY/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title
Designers Edge L-949 10 LED Rechargeable Solar Panel Shed Light Model
This is a great little solar light for lighting a shed or garage for short visits. I turn mine on when I leave for a few hours and it gives me light for when I return. It won't stay on all night, but it's good for what it was designed for. I'm going to get a couple more.
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: Great solar light for my greenhouse.
Summary: 5 Stars
This light is great for my greenhouse. It can be used for a shed also.Customer Review: Hit or miss
Summary: 4 Stars
I can see why there is a dichotomy with the ratings. We purchased two of these for our detached garage. One of the lights gives off a relatively bright light, enough to find one's way around with ease at night. The other light was not as bright. The light has a hi-lo switch, and even on the 'hi' setting, the dud-light gave off only a dim glow. We did not return it for another light because after the hastle of installing this light with the solar panel on the roof, it didn't seem that important to us. For future purchasers, remember to give it a test run before installing.Customer Review: I must have got a bad one...
Summary: 2 Stars
I tested this in my small 5x8' shed at night. The light barely illuminated the interior of the shed. I would compare it candlelight actually. The 90 degree plug on the one end on the cord is also a bad idea as you have to drill a 1/2" hole to pass the wire from the outside to the inside. Had it been a straight connection, only a very tiny hole would have had to be drilled. The instructions, as others have said, are poor. Not worth the price so it went back to Amazon.