Why you need an Emergency Lighting system

Why you need an Emergency Lighting system

An emergency light is a device that switches on automatically when a building experiences a power outage. Every model, therefore, requires some sort of a battery or generator system that could provide electricity to the lights during a blackout.

Emergency lighting helps people to see clearly, avoid obstacles, locate equipment, and navigate effectively throughout a building during a power outage.

An emergency lighting device could be something as simple as a candle, or a flashlight. But what are you going to do when the candle is all used up or the batteries in your flashlight dies?

Fuel power generators are an option for short term power outages. These are also known as portable power stations, camping batteries, or backup generators.

The Westinghouse WGen7500 will run up to 11 hours on 6.6 gallons of fuel. That might work great for you and your family if you only lose power for a short period of time, like during a hurricane.

Westinghouse WGen7500

When it comes to just emergency lighting, you should consider a propane lantern.  The Coleman Gas Lantern runs for 7 and a half hours on 16.4 ounces of propane.

Coleman Gas Lantern 

Then there is also a kerosene lantern that works in the same way. The Coleman Kerosene Lantern runs for 8 and a half hours on 2 pints of kerosene.

Coleman One-Mantle Kerosene Lantern

Again these are all short-term solutions. In the long term, you want to consider a solar-powered generator.

Now let’s go back to candles. They are a cheap solution, that while not ideal for the long term, they do work great during short term power outages. You can buy candles cheaply at the dollar store. You can get two 10 inch taper candles for $1. In comparison, it would cost you at least twice as much to buy them at Amazon.

You can visit your local dollar store and buy them in bulk. In my case, I bought out their entire stock for less than $100.  Just remember that when you store them you need to store them in a cool DRY environment. You don’t want them to melt on you.  I wouldn’t recommend freezing your candles because they are very sensitive to extreme temperatures on either side of the thermometer. The wick may also become damaged if frozen because it would have absorbed too much moisture.

  • When storing any type of candle, avoid a lot of direct sunlight. The darker the place, the better. Not only will they melt in direct sunlight, but the colors and scents will fade faster.

 

Why you need an Emergency Lighting system