LED Lighting is a Better Choice for a Motion Sensor Light than CFL Lighting

LED lighting is a better option for a motion sensor light than a compact fluorescent because the life of a CFL light could be greatly shortened by regular turning on and off. The Mr Beams Motion Sensor LED lights will trigger when motion is detected. When motion is no longer detected, a timer is started inside the light. Depending on the product, the light will turn off automatically within a minute or so.

For example, the Mr Beams MB980 Anywhere Ceiling Light will auto shutoff in 60 seconds after motion is no longer detected. Depending on the application, the light may turn on 10 to 20 times a day if not more. The normal life of a CFL bulb may be 6,000 hours however this can be reduced by up to 85 percent when turned on and off quickly and often. To meet the 6,000 hour life span, a CFL should be on three hours or more. Also, it takes more than three minutes for a CFL to begin working efficiently.

Another application where CFLs are not effective is in a car garage. Garages experience extremes in temperature and tend to go on and off frequently. CFLs will wear out quickly in a garage due to the constant on and off and high heat and low temperatures. We recommend a Mr. Beams Motion Sensor LED Spotlight to light a garage. Mr. Beams wireless lights install in minutes. The Mr. Beams Motion Sensor LED Spotlight is designed with a motion sensor to go on and off frequently. The durable LED holds up to all temperature extremes, is vibration resistant and can go on and off up to 3,200 times on one set of batteries.

CFLs are good for certain applications but when it comes to motion sensor lights similar to Mr Beams LED lights, it is best to look for a light source that is well made for the application. LEDs do not have the same limitations as CFLs and it makes them better suited to be controlled by a motion sensor. The best solution for a motion sensor light are LED lights. The best wireless LED lights are made by Mr. Beams and are far more durable than CFLs.

Mr. Beams Wireless Battery LED Lights for Porch Light

Mr Beams has taken a lot of pictures of our wireless LED lighting products as they provide important lighting solutions. We have found that pictures of the lighting applications that show the best solutions solved by our wireless lights is very helpful when looking to light different spots: Garages; Sheds; Doorways; Bathrooms; Showers; and many others. How better to show the best uses of our wireless battery powered lights than to take a lot of pictures? We have hired a photographer or two but have taken a lot of amateur photographs too (really amateur in my case).

One of my favorite pictures is of our MB980 Anywhere Ceiling Light used as a porch light. An LED porch light with motion sensor is a great application for the MB980. You can use it to add light to a dim porch or garage and the fact that it is battery powered and has a motion sensor eliminates the need for a light switch. When motion is detected, the battery powered light turns on and stays illuminated until no motion is detected for 30 seconds. During daytime, a photo cell detects that it is light out and prevents the light from activating. The MB980 is weatherproof and wireless - all the mounting hardware needed for easy installation comes with the unit.

We have also seen people use the MB360 Security Light as a porch light. This is a great LED porch light for larger porches because you can mount it at one end of the porch pointed towards the entry way, stairs and door. It operates exactly like the MB980 but is designed to be more of a flood light or spotlight. It is small enough to be unobtrusive in the corner of a porch. The other thing we have seen people do is to use the MB371 Remote Control Spotlight as a porch light. This is a unique product because it operates exactly as the MB360 in that it has a motion sensor and turns on when it detects motion however it also comes with a remote control such that if you are inside your house and you want to turn the light on for someone coming home or coming to visit, you can turn the light on with a remote. This is the only bright porch light available with a remote control for turning the light on and off.

So maybe our photography isn't always the best but in the case of a battery powered LED porch light like the one shown in this picture, I think we got it right. The Mr Beams LED lighting products are great as a porch light, garage light or for a number of other outdoor lighting applications where a completely wireless light is the best light to solve the problem.

Battery Powered Lights and the Chilean Miners

I was watching Anderson Cooper on CNN talk about the rescue of the Chilean miners and he mentioned several times that they were using battery powered LED lights as their source of light. They had a dark area for sleeping and an area that was illuminated by battery powered lights where they spent their time while awake. Someone was very smart in selecting LED lights because for battery operated lights, LEDs put out more light and last much, much longer on a set of batteries than flashlights, those old tap lights (that no one ever seemed happy with) and other types of battery powered lights.

Mr Beams LED lights are battery operated, wireless lights. Typically, we have a motion sensor or RF control. For example, I would have recommended our MB980 battery-powered motion sensor ceiling light or MB530 battery-powered motion sensor step light for the mine. They are bright LED lights that are motion sensor activated. Perhaps if they wanted a remote controlled product, I may have recommended the MB371 remote controlled spotlight that uses an RF remote control to operate the LED spotlight. On a set of batteries they would have lasted for more than 40 hours. I am sure that the last thing the rescuers wanted to do was lower batteries down to the miners. We feel the same about our customers - we do not want them buying and changing batteries more than they have to. That is why we use the more efficient LEDs and quality components that extend the life of the batteries.

Congratulations to everyone involved with the rescue. They truly are heroes. And thanks to Anderson Cooper for highlighting the role of battery powered LED lights in the mine.

Stick Anywhere Night Lights By the Toilet--Not the Most Glamorous Application, But Hey, They're Perfect There!

Guest blog by David Levine while I'm on vacation researching about more places and ways to use Mr Beams:

Almost nothing disturbs sleep as much as bright light. Two things that disturb sleep as much are having to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and having to answer a screaming child. So here is how we have reduced the disruption at my house using Mr. Beams battery-operated lights.

First we put the Stick Anywhere Night Light next to our toilet. It is off all day and night, but once its motion detector picks me up it lights up the toilet with its bright LED. Not so bright to disturb my sleep, but bright enough to provide the proper guidance. For my wife it shines enough to show her if I left the seat up. It took 10 seconds to install and since it is battery-operated it can be attached anywhere. After 30 seconds it goes off and stays off until it detects motion again.

Next we installed the Mr. Beams Step Light in the hallway connecting our bedroom to the stairs to get to the kids' rooms. It glows lightly all night (think Timex's Indiglo feature) so I can see where the wall is and walk a somewhat straight line towards it. Then once it detects my motion - typically more than 15 feet away - it turns on the bright LED and lights up the entire floor. One battery-powered Stair Light provides enough light in my hallway to keep me from falling or banging into something.

Since our kids are upstairs, we use the big light of the Mr. Beams Ceiling Light to light up the stairs. This battery-operated light is the brightest of the three, providing more than 80 lumens of light. Again, it is enough light to help us navigate the stairs safely, but not enough light to disturb my sleep or wake up the good child who decided to sleep through the night (no names, but the bad child knows who she is). And since finding a light switch at 3 a.m. seems challenging, the motion sensor is a great feature as it will turn on as soon as we approach the stairs. With its broad, white light it lights up the stairs like a 20W light bulb would. It has auto shut-off, so it shuts off automatically once we pass, and waits to detect motion again. This light installs like a battery-powered smoke detector - two screws and no wires. Our has lasted 14 months without needing a battery change.

Learn more about Mr Beams at www.mrbeams.com. There are countless applications that require Mr Beams and you don't even know it! Visit the Idea Center for your "a-ha" moment...