An inexpensive renewable lighting solution

A few weeks ago, I had an idea that the little solar powered garden lights may be a good emergency lighting source. They are on a little spike that you just push into the ground. They have a little solar panel on top and one or more LED lights inside them. During the day, an internal set of batteries is charged up. At night, the unit senses the absence of light and turns on the light, using the stored energy. I will incorporate a system of these lights in the renewable energy house. The cheaper ones don't put out much light, but the more expensive ones can put out an astounding amount of light. The better ones have a switch to turn them off. So you can let them charge up during the day and bring them in at night, turning them on when you need them. Voila! Instant emergency lighting. Yesterday, my friend Don gave me a solar powered floodlight. I have been letting it charge up all day and will do a post on how much light it will do when I check it out after dark. The technology in these little lights is nothing short of phenomenal. The flood light has four AA batteries, which can be charged up by the sun and put in a wired six volt led system in a house and be used for all but the most demanding lighting needs. And the cost is only a few percent of the standard solar setup. Get the ones with a switch, so they can be turned off when not in use. You need at least two leds in each unit, but three or more really do the job. Also, the solar cells are larger and they have more battery capacity in them in the more expensive units.