When camping it out in a remote destination, you may find that it’s too dark to move around at night without a flashlight or setting-up a lighting system. Using a flashlight is not very effective and is only a temporary solution to getting around at night. It’s just a hassle having to locate a flashlight every time you want to get around. Because of all of this, I’ve decided to create a simple yet effective solar light set-up.
Setup lighting outside to light up commonly used areas
To make the set-up as cheap as possible, you want to just light up certain areas which you use the most. Remember that, you’ll only need to light-up the areas in which you must use during the night. For example, you’re unlikely to have to go to your stream, but you are likely to use your toilet area.
Some places you may want to consider lighting up are:
- Your water storage
- Around your cabin
- Pathway to your outhouse
- Wood Pile
Water Storage: During the night you may feel like you need to something to drink, this isn’t a problem if you keep drinking water inside your cabin but if your water is stored outside, then lighting up your water storage is a really good idea. You may also need to get to your water storage for other reasons such as washing yourself in case of late night incidents.
Path to your outhouse: Nothings worse than having to fumble around searching for your outhouse in the dark. Also, having to locate a flashlight to find your outhouse is just an inconvenience. Therefore, lighting up the path to your outhouse will help you greatly.
Wood Pile: If you’re using a fireplace to keep your cabin warm, you’ll often need to re-fuel it with some wood whilst it’s dark when it’s especially cold. Therefore, it is a good idea to ensure that you light up your wood pile, allowing yourself to quickly find the wood you need. Staying warm in cold weather is extremely important, as cold weather has a heavy influence on your body’s ability to tackle infections and viruses.
Around your cabin: I’d highly recommend just lighting up the immediate area around your cabin. You never know when you must explore your immediate area whilst it’s dark. From my experience, I often hear noises which sound like invaders around my cabin, and being as paranoid as I am – I like to check just to make sure; having the area around my cabin lit-up allows me to do so.
Use solar powered lights for simple off-grid installation
For my set-ups I’ve decided to go with solar powered lights.
- Battery powered lights require constant replacement and they’re also rather weak.
- Normal lighting requires a generator and requires the use of many wires.
Solar powered lights are a way more effective alternative to these types of power. If you’re in an outside environment, why would you not want to go with solar power? Solar powered lighting is generally a lot stronger than battery powered ones, and they don’t require the intensive wiring like the other power sources do.
My Recommendation: Lampat Bright 90 LED Solar Powered Security Lights
Reason for recommendation:
- The main benefit of using the solar light I’ve recommended, is that the solar panel is separate from the light. This means that the panel can be mounted in the most effective location impossible (Whether gets a lot of direct sunlight). This is a lot more effective.
- Another benefit of the solar light I’ve recommended is that it features a very large solar panel. The more area on the solar panel, the more light it will get and therefore the more power it will generate.
- The solar lights I’ve suggested feature a clean and sleek design that don’t catch very much attention. They blend in nicely with the environment and you’ll forget they exist after having them for long enough.
- These lights are highly customizable, you can decide how long you want lights to stay on for after they’ve been triggered – you are also able to adjust the sensitivity of the motions sensors so that small animals don’t trigger them.
Light and motion sensors
The energy on these solar lights should be used effectively, therefore it’s not a good idea to have running all day long. Instead, you should use a light or motion sensor, I use both. Light sensors are useful as they only turn on when it’s dark, which is when you’ll need it the most. They use more energy than motion sensors do, so the battery is more prone to running out.
With the use of a motion sensor, this means that the lights only turn on when they detect movement. This is very useful as it only turns on when you need it. You can adjust the sensitivity of these so that they don’t turn on unnecessarily. I use THIS light.
These lights can be switched off and on manually, in case you want to ability to have them turned off temporarily whilst you sit around the campfire. The lights I’ve recommended are also waterproof so if they get splashed with water for whatever reason, they’ll be completely safe.
Set-up a battery-powered LED in the outhouse
I’d highly recommend you purchase a small battery-powered motion sensor LED to provide some lighting inside your outside. These small LED’s are very cheap and affordable. These can be very tidy as they’re very small, meaning you can place it in tight locations and out of view; they also don’t require any wiring as they’re battery powered.
These are perfect for outhouses and rooms as the light is not bright enough for them to be useful for outdoor lighting, they’re perfect for indoor lighting. I use them in all my bathrooms.
I’d highly recommend this battery-powered wireless motion sensor LED night light. This product comes in a pack of 6, so you have plenty to light-up your outhouse or other indoor interiors. They can be stuck to any surface so you’re not limited to where you can place it.
The motion sensor devices are perfect for late night rest room visits as you do not have to waste time and energy searching for the light switch.
I use these lights to light up my stairs and other tripping hazards. This is useful for those who constantly stub their toes on corner and counters. It is also a good idea to light-up your mirrors using these so you can see what you’re doing.
The light I’ve recommended can last up to 50,000 hours. This is amazing for such a small, lightweight LED night.
My name is Eugene Thornhill. I'm an outdoor enthusiast who loves nothing more than being one with nature. I've lived in numerous outdoor homes and even constructed my own. Living off-grid is something I'm very familiar with, more so than living in the city. For many years I've dealt with the many problems of living off-grid. It's time to pass on my knowledge through Cabinguides.