Local Community Reducing Street Lights to Save Money

25 September 2012

We recently heard a story on the news about a nearby community, Richmond Heights that caught our attention. The city is going to be reducing the number of street light in half on a few main roads. According to Fox 8 News, they will start using every other street light on some major streets to save the city $50,000 per year. The Police aren't anticipating any major problems due to the changes. But it is reported that residents and local business owners are concerned about an increase in crime rates, since darker spaces offer a greater opportunity for burglars to strike without being seen.

The city is currently starting with majors roadways, but if they start to reduce side street lighting, more residents will be affected. An easy solution for anyone living in this community or on any street with poor lighting, would be to install some outdoor battery powered lights around their home and yard. The Mr. Beams battery operated LED lights provide an affordable way to keep areas lit in darkness for safety and security purposes. All Mr. Beams lights (excluding the under cabinet) are designed for outdoor use with weatherproof/water resistant seals. Plus they are super easy for anyone to install. Our Mr. Beams Outdoor Security Spotlight offers owners a sense of security, knowing that these lights will brightly light up when any motion is sensed within 25 feet. Did you hear a noise outside and want to check your yard just in case? Purchase a Remote Controlled Outdoor Spotlight that will activate with motion, but can also illuminate your yard with the click of the remote, for extra peace of mind. And for pedestrians, customers and your own safety, residents and business owners can easily line walkways and paths with the Mr. Beams Path Lights with Remote Control. They will stay dimly lit from dusk to dawn to outline walkways so no one trips. Plus they will alert you when someone is walking up to your door by lighting up brightly when someone walks by.

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outdoor LED path lights with remote control Battery Operated Outdoor Security Spotlight

While you cannot control your city's money saving strategies or the street lighting in your neighborhood, you can control the amount of light on your property, no wires or electricians required! Read the full story about the Richmond Heights community here: http://fox8.com/2012/09/21/citys-money-saving-measure-concerns-residents/

Customers Share How Mr. Beams Spotlight Helps Light The Way

19 September 2012

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We love to hear how customers use our Mr. Beams Battery Powered Lights to light up areas of their homes and yards. It is no doubt that the MB360 Spotlight is a best seller! Is it because it's wireless and easy to install anywhere? Could it be the convenience of motion-sensor and auto shut off, so you can simply walk away without wondering if you turned the lights off? Here's some recent feedback happy customers have emailed us with how the MB360 Wireless Spotlight helped them.

As an individual with physical and visual disabilities, I was excited to find Mr. Beams' Spotlight. I need a large amount of light to see at night and the light certainly makes it safe for me to get to the bathroom in the middle of night. In addition, the unit itself is very light and easy to hold. Loading batteries is a breeze and does not require any tools or strength and great feats of dexterity. It sits unobtrusively on a shelf, yet easily brightens a room with minimal movement. In fact, unlike other lamps, you know it will not turn off until you are ready to exit the room. I would strongly recommend this light to anyone, with or without special needs. - MSJ

Couldn't be more pleased with these lights. I am kind of a light freak/geek, and these are just the best DC powered security lights I have found. I own 5. Bright enough to easily illuminate a 2 space driveway. Highly recommend. – Phil, ID

Wanted to drop you a note to say how pleased I am with your products. My in-laws moved into a condo recently and the sidewalk isn't well lit.

They tried solar garden lights, but between being on the shady side of the house and have an abundance of little lizards who like to sunbathe

on the solar cells (they live in Florida), the lights didn't charge and weren't bright enough when they did.  Your Outdoor Security Spotlights provided a great solution. They were easy to install and position. The light they put out covers a broad area and illuminates it with a pleasant light. They aren't harsh like regular floodlights so they won't be a nuisance to neighbors. I was concerned about how weatherproof they might be. The evening I

put them up a rather dramatic thunderstorm came. They weathered it without any worries, coming on as expected. Over all I am very pleased with your product. Easy to install -- no wiring! Works as advertised. Provides an ample pool of light that is easy on the eyes. You are definitely on my recommended products list! - BW 

I have raccoons in my backyard, and a little dog who needs to 'go out' at night.   At least, I will know if the raccoons are around when the spotlights go on. I love the fact that they are weatherproof and have a timer.   Much thanks for a great product! - AF (on MB371 Spotlight with Remote)
 

 
Love these spotlights. Have installed seven so far in and around my house and backyard. They are ideal for a surprise deterrent for possible intruders and to see where my dog is on the property. – Naydeen, WV
Plus to appeal to indoor & outdoor decor, the MB360 Spotlight will be available in white! (MB330 available October 2012).
Email us your ideas, stories and product images for a chance to be featured on our blog and receive a free product of your choice! 
 

Emergency Supply Kit to Pass On

18 September 2012

In case you haven’t been on the Web lately, September is National Preparedness Month. Hundreds of articles have been posted on how you can be prepared and what Americans should have in their emergency kits. The scary part is, with all this information available, less than 50% of Americans are actually considered to be prepared.

FEMA has an excellent website featuring unlimited resources for helping you and your family prepare including safety tips for children, pets and elderly friends and neighbors. Below is FEMAs recommended list of basic emergency supplies everyone should have ready in case of an emergency.

We’ve found older adults who may feel prepared, may in fact not be, due to technology, including a cell phone charger. If someone you know does not have a cell phone, urge them to get one. Purchasing a pre-paid phone to use only for emergencies could be lifesaving.

A basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:

Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
Flashlight and extra batteries
First aid kit
Whistle to signal for help
Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
Manual can opener for food
Local maps
Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger

Please share this list with everyone you know. For more information on emergency preparedness visit www.ready.gov.

Don’t forget our latest project ReadyBright LED Lantern has a built in USB Charger, to provide light while charging any USB device during an emergency. Help fund our project while supporting the local Red Cross Cleveland Chapter.

Why Customers are Trading Flashlights for ReadyBright Power Outage Lights

17 September 2012

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The number of power outages increases every year due to storms, fires and other uncontrollable circumstances. This storms season, you have read or heard more than once, about the importance of being prepared in a power outage, including having battery powered lights/flashlights in your kit. If you're in a high storm area, you probably have a slew of flashlights and batteries ready for emergencies and you are good to go.

Think about this. When you hear about a big storm or hurricane may be coming, you dig through your drawers and find as many old flashlights and candles as you can. If you can get through a power outage on the batteries you have, you likely throw them in a drawer nearby or even leave them out on the kitchen counter so you can get to them easily for the next storm. A few weeks later, you arrive home from work late due to a traffic jam from a heavy rain. You go upstairs to change while your kids are playing a game in the basement. Just as you go into your closet to get your sweats on, BOOM the power goes out again! Now the flashlights you strategically placed on the kitchen counter are not conveniently nearby, and you are patting around the floor trying to find some article of clothing to put on to avoid navigating around the house sans pants. As you slip on your husband’s gym shorts, yelling to the kids that you'll be right there, you trip over the dog toys in the hallway and nearly fall down the stairs.

What many customers don't realize is that the ReadyBright Power Outage Flashlight/Detector is really the smartest flashlight you can purchase today. For those of you who want to keep things simple, you can use it as a simple rechargeable flashlight. For the cost you can scatter a few throughout the home to avoid running around your home in your birthday suit. Plus since it is rechargeable, you don't have to worry about looking for batteries because they will be charged (remember to plug them back in when the power goes on to recharge).

Need another reason to try out our ReadyBright Lights? It’s getting a powerful LED Lantern with USB Charger! This smart lantern will work with your Flashlight/Detector to turn on automatically when the power goes out! What to do with it the other 354 days of the year? Take it camping, hunting, or even while your exploring in the backyard with your kids!

Click here to learn more about how the ReadyBright Power Outage System works

Mr. Beams Motion Sensing LED Light for Lockers

11 September 2012

locker lights With the new school year underway, students, parents and teachers are looking for an easy solution to provide more light inside dark lockers. Lockers are squeezed into every school nook possible to accomodate all students, including small corners and closets in the classroom. And almost all of them have poorly lit fluorescent overhead lightly, making it hard for students to pull out the proper books and supplies they need to take to class or home. This problem can easily be solved by using a wireless light that is easy for your child to install quickly before their school day. Mr. Beams Locker Lights

We've found the Mr. Beams Under Cabinet Light (MB852/MB862) is perfect for small spaces like lockers. It is battery powered and can be installed in minutes. These LEDs come with strong double sided adhesive all you have to do is pop in the batteries, close up the unit and stick in their bookbags. Your child should be able to pull off the adhesive and stick the light to the top of their locker in under a minute. All Mr. Beams products are motion sensing with an auto shut-off feature, which will conserve battery life. With several activations per day, the light should last one full school year on one set of AA Batteries. At $29.99 for a set of two, you can cover two of your lockers or keep the other to use in your kitchen, office or locker at your gym. The LED will last a lifetime, so the only additional cost would be if you needed a new set of batteries each school year and some new adhesive strips or try magnets so you can reuse them each year.

Off-Grid Lighting Association Now Operational

06 September 2012

The Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA) is now fully operational. The original ideas for Mr Beams LED Lights came from a firm belief that the combination in rapid technology advances in solid state lighting such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and technology advances in battery power as well as solar and other off grid power sources would lead to off-grid lighting products that rival grid connected lighting products in every way. In fact, for some applications especially outdoors and in rural areas, off-grid lighting options can be a less expensive, simpler to install and equally as effective lighting solution as if there were a connection to power from the power company.

Other organizations such as Lighting Africa are providing a connection between the need for off-grid lighting and how modern off-grid lighting products can fill that need. One of my favorite pictures on their website is the one of the five boys doing their homework under an off-grid light. Without an off-grid light to study by at night, they certainly would fall behind in their education as the years go on. The hope of everyone at Mr Beams is that the advances in technology that make off-grid lighting a strong solution today will provide a tomorrow that is even brighter.