Erase the Waste: IKEA’s SUNNAN solar-powered lamp

Close your eyes for a minute and just picture this... the mailman arrives and leaves your mail in the mail box. Once he drives away, you walk out to the mailbox and get the mail. As your flipping through the mail you see the electric bill. Opening it, you slide the bill out of the envelope and look with wonder at the $20 bill inside. Wouldn't that be a dream - to owe only $20 a month on your electric bill. I can't promise you that of course, but for every solar appliance you add to your home, your electric bill will drop a bit.

Want another scenario? OK picture this. There's a raging storm outside. Lightning & thunder crash in the sky. The wind is blowing. The power flickers and your neighbor's houses all go dark when the power goes out. You continue reading by the light of your solar work lamp. No disruption. No kids in the dark with no power in their rooms. So how is this wonderful thing possible?

The SUNNAN work lamp runs on solar cells that transform sunlight into electrical energy. This means that the lamp helps save energy and reduce the environmental footprint. The SUNNAN work lamp is for indoor use and uses LED as a light source, which has a long life, is durable, and difficult to damage.

All you have to do is detach the solar panel and put it outside in direct sunlight for about nine hours. It's very easy to detach. All you have to do is pop it out & push it back in.  No screws or anything like that.  Then put it out in the morning & by night time you will have more than enough energy in the solar work lamp to provide light for about four hours.

Starting in 2009, for every SUNNAN reading lamp that is sold in IKEA stores worldwide, an IKEA SUNNAN lamp will be donatede to children in refugee camps and in villages in remote areas where there is no electricity. To date, more than 500,000 lamps have been donated to children in need to help them draw, read and write. It really is a gift that gives back.  I love companies that give back! Find an IKEA store near you to purchase the SUNNAN lamp.

I cannot tell you how many applications this has in my life.  Free electricity & electricity that still works even when the power is out a huge draw but that's not all.  We live in an 1865 farmhouse.  We don't have an awful lot of electrical outlets available.  The kids only have one outlet in their room each and when you've plugged in the electric alarm clock and the light, that leaves no room for the radio (gasp!). Great solution is to have a solar light which frees up an outlet for another use.  Maybe you like to go camping and are looking for a light in your tent in the evening to read or for your kids to fall asleep with.  What better way to go than a solar lamp?

We don't have 9 hours of good sunlight yet here in Vermont. It's a little too early in the season. So I wasn't able to charge it completely.   It will work without 9 hours of sunlight.  It just won't light as long or as brightly.  I absolutely love this.  It works great on my desk near the computer where I don't get a lot of light.  I just take it out in the morning & set it on the picnic table to charge.  When it starts to get dark, I bring it in. That's all there is to it!  It's available in a variety of different colors so it should fit the decor in just about any room.  It's compact and doesn't take up a lot of space and it stores flat when you aren't using it.

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My thanks to the sponsor for allowing me to review this product.

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in order to write my review. I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.