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.

Connect with IKEA on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with all the latest product news.

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.

Guest Post: Energy Efficiency in a Little Free Time

Have some free time?  How about making your home more efficient?

You have been hearing for years now how we need to conserve energy to save money and make our homes more appealing to buyers. This sounds like a good idea, but you really do not have the money to sink into upgrades, and the cost of professional assistance today is sky high.

Look around at what in your home needs to be more efficient, and you may be surprised to find that you can do these little upgrades yourself in a short amount of time.

We all look forward to a nice hot shower to wake us up in the morning or to relax at the end of a hard day. Many linger as the hot water falls upon them minute after minute. We have been led to believe that showering is more energy efficient than bathing. What most people do not know is that many showerheads can fill a gallon bucket in twenty seconds, which is truly a waste of water. To conserve that water, simply replace your showerhead with a new WaterSense-labeled one and you could save up to 2,300 gallons annually.

Still looking to conserve more water? In about five minutes you can add an aerator your faucets, and it only takes an hour to install a water efficient toilet. Still not enough? – Maybe try replacing your washing machine hose, or drain that extra sand and sediment from your water heater. All of these tasks take less than twenty minutes and will add to great savings over the years.

Maybe you feel you are wasting heat, and sick of seeing your heating bills costing you an arm and a leg. Begin by making sure everything is air tight in your home, looking for places where heat is escaping out or air is sneaking in from outside.

Take a look at your thermostat; are you always moving it up and down? Try installing a programmable one. This will help you instantly preset the temperature in your home, and reduce heating costs.

Check your attic and be sure it is insulated. If an attic is not insulated, you lose heat in the winter and cool air in the summer. Your chimney is another place where heat escapes, so be sure to plug up the flue with a chimney balloon. Of course, windows cause us to lose both hot and cold air. In no time you can insulate those windows, and start saving energy.

Now that summer is over and the days are shorter, we tend to use our lights a great deal more. You definitely do not want to sit in the dark, so why not switch to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs)?  These bulbs last 10 times longer than traditional bulbs and use 75% less energy.

A beginner can handle most of these jobs, yet the savings will be pretty impressive. The next time you have an hour or two spare, pick one or two of these energy-efficient projects and improve your home’s worth and efficiency level!

Guest posted offered by DebtConsolidation.com.  Aiding consumers with their different debt consolidation needs for over 10 years