Mr. Beams Co-Founders Visit LightFair and Talk About the Industry

23 May 2012

My sixth LightFair left me with a greater sense that the lighting companies truly understand LED lighting and are applying the unique characteristics of solid state lighting (SSL) to make advanced lighting products.  I think back to the 2007 LightFair when there was a huge buzz because about 15% of all lights displayed were SSL.  There was a discussion as to whether these products belonged at LightFair and if the trend would continue.  The following years showed a marked increase in the number of SSL option - many of them ill-conceived and forced by traditional lighting manufacturers looking to appear progressive.  The talk in 2008-2010 was when will SSL be adopted, and why is it taking so long for the LED Lighting market to take hold.  But now many of these traditional lighting manufacturers are on their third generation of product platforms, and the results are impressive.  Many different approaches to LED Lighting and many of them appear to be well-engineered, with good user research behind them.

How the Mr. Beams MB980 Motion Sensing Battery Powered LED Ceiling Light Can Improve Your Home

16 May 2012

I use the MB980 Anywhere Ceiling Light in two places in my house - in my walk in closet and in my laundry room.  In old houses, some closets do not have an overhead light connected to AC power because it may presents a fire hazard under certain circumstances.  Builders of homes used to just avoid putting lighting in closets.  Battery powered lights do not present the same hazard.  In my case, I do have an overhead light.  I installed our MB980 first to test the product but it has become the only light I use in my closet.  When I walk in the motion sensor detects me and turns the light on right away.  After I leave, it shuts off 30 seconds later.  It is bright enough to do anything I need to do in my closet.

I later installed a second MB980 in our laundry room.  It is more of a laundry closet than a room.  We had no overhead light in the laundry room and used to rely on the hallway light.  My wife has been very happy with this light and we now sometimes use only the MB980 to light up the laundry room.  The motion sensor and automatic shutoff make this very easy to use in this application.

My father uses the MB980 differently.  He installed it in a shed that is behind the house that has no electricity connected to it.  When he opens the shed double doors, the light turns on automatically.  Since he goes into the shed once every few days or weeks, the batteries in his MB980 have lasted for a couple of years.  For shed lighting, cabins, gazebos, boat houses and other applications for structures totally detached without electricity, the MB980 is a great solution.

Finally, my next door neighbor installed an MB980 as a storage space lighting below the stairs down to the lower floor in her house.  The builder did not put any lighting in this space.  Most people use a flashlight to go into a space like this.  But this is exactly where the MB980 Anywhere Ceiling Light and completely wireless lights like those manufactured by Mr Beams can really solve a problem.  Easily installed, my neighbor has a light in this storage space bright enough to illuminate the entire area that turns on automatically with motion.  She goes into this space maybe every few weeks.  The batteries will last a long time where she has it installed.

DIY Security Lights with Mr. Beams Motion Sensing Wireless Spotlight with Remote

14 May 2012

At Mr. Beams we love to hear our customers' feedback and creative ways they are using our wireless LED motion sensing lights in their homes.  Brett from North Carolina sent us a creative way he set up our Mr. Beams Remote Control Motion Sensing Spotlights to ensure safety for everyone in his home.  Brett purchased 4 of our Motion Sensing Spotlights.  

I got some PVC pipes & caps, spray-painted them black and they ended up looking like wrought-iron poles.  I mounted them up about 8' high (so nobody could 'snatch' or turn them off).  The other two are mounted about 20' high off the back deck.  They're all on the same remote switch- perfect for when we come home (and are out of the sensor radius).

Brett's story is a great example of how Mr. Beams Motion Sensing Remote Control Spotlight can help you and your family feel safe in your home.  It's perfect for those living in an apartment or condo where additional security lighting is not an option.  Brett even went one step further and sent his homeowners association the information on the Remote Control Spotlights.  As you can see, Brett created a balanced amount of light that will allow his housemate to turn on the lights while walking from the parking lot with the remote control from 75' away.  

As with all Mr. Beams wireless LED lighting options, there are no wires or electricians needed.  All Mr. Beams products are guaranteed for easy installation; if you can work a screwdriver and put in batteries, you are set.  Battery-operated LED lights are the best solution to provide a sense of security for you and your loved ones.  If you have elderly parents or children moving out on their own, or pets in the yard, Mr. Beams wireless LED lights are the perfect lights for you.

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LEDs Magazine Article on Path to Success for LED Lighting

30 March 2012

An excellent article by Maury Wright recently published in LEDs Magazine provided an overview of speeches given at the Strategies in Light "LEDs in Lighting" track. At Mr Beams, we cannot agree more with the tagline at the start "LEDs are doing quite well in general-illumination applications..." but as the article points out there is still work to do.

Part of the work described in the article is in educating consumers. The reason we launched this blog, aside from the blatant attempt to market our products, was to have a forum where we could post information that we think is important for people to know about LED lighting. We field a lot of customer questions in the area of general knowledge about LEDs and products that have LEDs in them.

Just to add one point to the article, we believe that our Mr Beams LED lighting products are best for the consumer when they are designed for specific applications. That means that our products are designed to solve a specific lighting problem or a range of lighting problems for our customers. For example, our ReadyBright Power Outage Lighting System is an off grid LED lighting solution for lighting during power failures.  

This thinking is somewhat specific to products like the ones offered by Mr Beams - we are a manufacturer of wireless lighting products. A manufacturer of a standard LED light bulb that replaces an incandescent or CFL bulb is less application specific and more reliant on an existing bulb market.

Emergency Preparedness Kit Advice - Start Small

16 March 2012

One piece of advice I have seen recently that I think makes a lot of sense for people who feel unprepared for emergencies like power outages and weather related emergencies is to start small but definitely get started. There are a number of checklists available on the Internet. I recommend searching to find a checklist that seems reasonable to you.

For example, I like this checklist because it is simple and breaks down your preparation to Work, Car and Home. I think it is reasonable - some of these checklists seem to go over the top. Even if you cannot hit every item in the list, the key items are fairly straightforward and the checklist is a nice resource to follow to at least improve your readiness.