BS: Solar Powered Lights???

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: MudGuard
Date: 04 Sep 02 - 04:13 AM

Bee-dubya-ell, as you use smileys yourself, did you see the smiley at the end of my sentence?

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 04 Sep 02 - 03:52 AM

I reckon it must be the solar wind, Eric. That reminds me - has anyone noticed that there seems to be more wind generators about? People have tried to tell me that they are for generating electrickery but I know better. Everyone knows that the wind is created by trees waving their arms about. The more trees do it - the windier it is. Now they are cutting more trees down there is less wind hence they have to build wind generators. Them big fans you see on the hillsides are actual powered by electrickery and create wind - not the other way round!

They can't fool me...

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Mr Happy
Date: 04 Sep 02 - 03:45 AM

bee dubya,

i think mudguard meant the lights could be charged during daylight, then used for illumination at night. a window would serve the same purpose when it's light but the solar light would certainly have the edge over a window in the dark.

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 04 Sep 02 - 12:31 AM

Imagine a solar powered light fitted into a wall, the lightbulb on the inside of the builing, the back of the lamp which holds the solar cells on the outside of the wall..

Errrr....No offense, but wouldn't a window serve the same purpose? :-)

I've tried solar-powered outdoor lighting, but our homesite is so heavilly shaded that they won't take a good charge. It's either solar lights or trees and ain't nobody cuttin' down my trees!

However, we do have a solar-powered clothes dryer. It's called a "clothesline".

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: GUEST,ozmacca
Date: 04 Sep 02 - 12:06 AM

Always fancied a solar powered sundial so I could tell the time at night..., with a clockwork driven gnomon so that the light didn't have to move. Howsoever, automatic lights remind me of an elderly aunt of mine who, while being taken for a drive at night, said that she was impressed by those little lights in the road that lit up when you got near them, and switched off when you passed them..... True!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: ddw
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 11:58 PM

Spurious argument, Greg. To get at what you're asking, you would have to calculate the amount of power it takes to MAKE AND USE conventional lighting and then do the same for solar lighting. I'd bet on solar as the cheaper of the two.

cheers,

david

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Gareth
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 06:46 PM

A pedant writes

As all forms of energy, wind, hydro (well with the possible exeption of nuclear) and including fossile fuel, originated from the source of energy as the sun.

Is all energy Solar ???

Gareth

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: wilco
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 05:16 PM

Maybe someone could help me with my new Hohner solar powered harmonica (see thread)

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: open mike
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 04:50 PM

my house is powered by solar panels.. so this mud cat session is actually solar powered!! all possible because of photo voltaic cells and storage batteries and inverters... hooray for the sun!

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: greg stephens
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 02:46 PM

anybody know how much energy it takes to make one of those solar-powered lights? seems to me they might not be so energy-saving as you might think.

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 02:34 PM

We've got some solar powered lights in the garden-very pretty to

Dave, are you sure you've not got solar wind?

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 12:02 AM

Ogh, long life to the moon for a fine noble creature
Who serves us for lamplight each night in the dark
While the sun only shines in the day, which by nature
Needs no light at all, as yez all may remark

[Recorded by Gordon Bok on Dear to Our Island, source given as "Irish poem"]

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Alice
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 12:00 AM

Dave, solar powered lights are very common in the US for outdoor night lighting. They charge up during the day and can be located in remote areas far from electric power lines. Many people add them along driveways for night lighting.

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 02 Sep 02 - 07:39 PM

they have solar candles advertised on the Art Bell show..I forget the manufacturer...they have a lot of neat sounding things though. you take the solar candles outside and charge them and then bring them inside later for light. brilliant idea.

mg

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 02 Sep 02 - 11:05 AM

Hehehe - I think I could make a fortune out of that MG! I wonder why no-one thought of it to avoid paying window tax? ;-)

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: MudGuard
Date: 02 Sep 02 - 04:42 AM

Even then they could make sense.
Imagine a solar powered light fitted into a wall, the lightbulb on the inside of the builing, the back of the lamp which holds the solar cells on the outside of the wall... ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 02 Sep 02 - 04:31 AM

OK, OK! I know I am pedantic but it is the term solar powered lights - Ie lights that only function when light is shining on them, like solar powered calculators - that tickled me. If they had said solar powered batteries it would have made more sense!

Perhaps it was just that Stewart Hall was presenting them that made it funnier:-)

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Mr Happy
Date: 02 Sep 02 - 02:36 AM

i've a solar torch. it's wind-up too. very handy for camping.

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Kaleea
Date: 02 Sep 02 - 01:33 AM

Solar Lights? Hmm, uh, well, leg's see. It was the Soviet Space Station which made the best use of Solar power, keeping the entire space station going on batteries. Solarpower can be freely generated & temporarily stored, for use a bit later. I have seen a solar battery used by a Mennonite man who was quite progressive! Oh yeah, I have several of them in my front yard along my driveway. They light the area afater dark till about 3-4 in the morning. The elec company wants $78 from me for the elec I used inside the house for last month. If I could, I would use all the solar power I could, & just use the elec backup when there is not enough light to recharge the battery cells. Not to mention the extreme dangers all day every day, with many of the nuke & fossil fuel power plants in service today. Solar is an unending supply--except when it is too cloudy, & then it usually is sunny again in a couple of days in my part of the country. I haven't used a battery powered little calculator in 20 years!

Subject: RE: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: MudGuard
Date: 01 Sep 02 - 05:39 PM

What's wrong with solar powered lights?
They collect energy during the day and give it off in form of light when it is dark.

Most ridiculous invention? A non-smoker ashtray - looks like an ordinary ashtray, but does not have the notches (is that the correct english word?) for the cigarettes.

Subject: BS: Solar Powered Lights???
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 01 Sep 02 - 05:22 PM

Is it me?

Or does there seem something strange about an advert (UK TV) in which Stewart Hall advertises solar powered lights? I'm not sure if it is the principle of such lighting or the venerable Mr Hall that makes the ad ridiculous?

Whats your next most riduculous invetion (luminous sundial?) or the next daftest advertiser (John Stalker advertising home security shutters - Oh, hang on, that's real!)

Ah well. Perhaps I should just go to bed and read a while...

Cheers

Dave the Gnome