Emergency home lighting

[sniper 55]

Red lighting is great for keeping your night vision, but rubbish if you need a proper light to make dinner or treat a casuality, yes I know it can be done (done it myself) but it's a heck of a lot easier with white light.
Personally I'd rig up both, a few red for tac situations but proper white for normal use. Lets be honest most of the time you wont really need the red lighting in normal SHTF situations, if the zombies come charging in then switch to red.

[Pete_59]

I think the first question is how long do you expect the lights to be out for? if it's 2 or 3 days then getting some cheap LED camping lights would probably be the easiest. I got a pair of lamps for £6.99 that you can clip onto your existing pendant light fittings. They have 3 light settings and use 3 AAA batteries, I'm not sure exactely how long they would last for, but probably a few days, and of course you can keep replacement batteries on hand if needed.

[Lone]

I’ve got several wind-up multi-function torches, plus two wind-up radios that also have torch attachments, no batteries needed. Acquired also battery motion sensor lights for less-used areas, only coming on the few seconds needed. Loads of batteries in - AA, AAA, ‘D’...etc.

Living alone I use a couple of other battery motion-sensor lamps, to save clicking on and off switches and using power needlessly.

One thing about prepping...you need to also see in the dark...that is when everybody is most vulnerable...hence even the use of outdoor solar security lights too

[Panther]

My approach to emergency lighting relies on both modern and old technologies.
We have rechargeable torches around the house which turn on if there's a power failure. I also have several torches (I love buying torches, you can never have too many.)
Over the years we have also collected antique brass or copper oil lamps. We only bought ones that are still in full working order. With a supply of paraffin in the garage we have emergency home lighting that will last several months.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Paraffin is a kings ransom pushing £2 a litre it used to be very cheap.. keeping my eyes out for a lantern though but good condition command a decent price tag

Brief run down how o stand at the moment....

Tea light candles mix of 4 and 8 hour burners and metal / glass lanterns for them

Pile of pillar candles...

Several gas lanterns (Various fitments) screw / pierce / screw thread cartridge

Coleman petrol lanterns

Philips solar life lights s

Numerous torches accomodation of all battery types ranging from lanterns, flood lights, head torches and standard hand lamps


Rechargeable batteries which I can charge from 12v


Glow sticks

[grenfell]

We have torches , a couple of gas lanterns and even if necessary a shed load of candles ( i'm guilty of hoarding candle wax and once tried selling "fancy" candles) . However , i do have to question just how much emergency lighting is actually needed . As it is i can move around the house at night without the need for light , it's only if i need to find something specific in the pantry or garage that i would need artificial light and even then it wouldn't need to be for long. The woodburner gives off enough light to do some tasks although not for something like reading but then wouldn't most work be carried out in daylight ?

[Deeps]

Like plenty others on here I'm a bit of a torch fiend, I've also got galloons of candles (with some cheap Ikea lanterns etc to house them) and other camping options. If you need light for a relatively short period like a power cut these are brilliant.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SODIAL-Portabl ... b29c1a431f



Clag them into a power bank and they fairly light up a room. They're not particularly economical but especially if you have kids and oldies its better than creeping round with torches. You can also get an 'on/off' button for them and extension cables so you can hang the light up high and have the on/off button and power bank easily located.

[Mad Scientist]

Those look great, Deeps! I’ll add one to my fine collection of wind-up thingies, solar powered fairy/garden lights and candles.

[tarmactatt]

Self-confessed torch snob, couple of thoughts:

While I own a tilly lamp, I would never run the thing inside as it would absolutely stink- the additional ventilation required would negate any heating effect the lamp would have.

Candles are not part of my preps as I, personally, don't see the point of creating additional fire hazards when I have quality LED lighting.

I don't find the idea of a fixed solar LED set-up attractive, I much prefer the flexibility to deploy various head torches, search lights, fairy lights in different rooms as demand dictates. A fixed 'charging station' for cells/batteries, makes sense though.

I find red light very unpleasant to light up a room, as others have said, it's impossible to identify different colours (food, injuries, electrical cables, etc) under red, much better to go with white light. If you want to preserve night vision (or remain inconspicuous) a very dim white light works well - lots of torches offer 'sub 1 lumen' modes for this purpose, also called "moonlight mode".

Headlamps are effiecient- you only light the area you need to see, and your hands are left free to work on things.

Lanterns/fixed lighting is nice for 'atmosphere' - warm white LED products are much more pleasant than 'cold'/blue tint LEDs. Battery powered fairy lights are also good. In a pinch, a torch placed in a mug, aimed up at the ceiling, will do a nice job of illuminating a room.

Mentioned before - motion sensor lights are good for eg. bathrooms etc, especially with multiple people in the house who may forget to turn the light off once done.

Heavy curtains will block out some stray light, but obviously, using the lowest practical level of light will extend battery life and reduce the amount of attention you attract.

For me, charging is best done through solar. I have 5V and 12V portable solar panels and chargers which charge AAA/AA/18650/D cells directly. Be aware, that for direct charging (as opposed to through a 12v Pb-Acid leisure battery), one has to be careful to get a charger that is compatible with the 'ups and downs' of solar- often the more simple the battery charger, the more tolerant it is of fluctuations.

Most of my lights are powered by a single 18650 for convenience: during charging, and swapping new/used cells, there is only one cell to keep track of per light (instead of eg. 3xAAA).

[Jerseyspud]

I have a slight obsession with torches a d lanterns