LED Lighting Panel Module Insert Quandary...
I've tried to follow all the discussions as best I can regarding substitute LED module models, price, performance, durability, etc.
But I got lost in the process. It seems new models constantly appear and buyers shout "THIS ONE IS IT!" Then someone else chimes in and ridicules it.
Here's the situation...
Solar voltaic power has come to some parts of Mexico but it is in its infancy. Totally off-grid operation at remote ranchos. Deep cycle batteries are becoming more available CICLO PROFUNDO. Basic PWM controllers, and voltage meters. One rancho has a pair of 120 watt panels and two 110 amp hour group 31 batteries. A Samlex MSW 1,000 watt inverter...
And the saddest lighting I have ever seen.
Single tube 15 watt 12 volt fluorescent lamps. The fixtures are NOT Thin Lite brand, so as poor of efficiency as the Thin Lights were, these are worse. Three months and a six-dollar fluorescent tube has black ends, half the light output, and twice the amperage draw. An entire family gathers for supper and a one-tube stupid fixture is supposed to light up a 12 foot by sixteen foot dining and living room area. The one ranchito I speak of has six fluorescent fixtures. One for each room. The outdoor kitchen has no light whatsoever.
Sure, lights light those from Command Electronics are available but this is not the USA. Someone has to purchase any LED inserts, have them shipped to a USA address then someone else has to embark on a multi-day multi-thousand mile trip to go get them. Wait! There's more. Upon re-entering Mexico, one has to pass the MEXICANS CUSTOMS DUTY OFFICE. Can you believe a FOUR HUNDRED PERCENT TARIFF ON ITEMS MADE IN THE ORIENT ?!?
The import tax thing can be "handled" OK. What is difficult is finding THE LIGHT. The INSERT MODULE that does not have a high rate of failures, suicide by smoke, or a price tag that would make even my knees wobble. The folks grown their own food, milk their cows and maybe earn twenty or so dollars a day. Campesinos like this are the HEART and SOUL of Mexico. They have zero interest in becoming "indocumentos" north of the border. Everyone is better off if they stay here.
But the days of candles and smoky fires in 40C heat hopefully are gone. Children need to do their homework and chores. They need to bathe. No TV, only radio. And there is no need to worry about radio frequency buzz because they will simply turn everything off and turn the radio on.
Mexicans are NOT enamored with WARM lighting in the 3,000Kelvin range. They've had their fill of "warm" lighting for the last 500 years. Candlelight and "lumbres" (fires) do that to a person.
They much prefer 5,000K "sunlight" grade lighting. Not blue, but white.
So what I'm asking is merely the impossible.
Do reliable INEXPENSIVE 12 volt modules exist that are "something special" in the value department? They would be hard wired to switches. If affordable enough they can add more and more, then a battery, then another panel. You know the story...
These folks DO HAVE volt meters and they understand to not over-discharge a battery. Those 31's cost a hundred seventy dollars a pop.
Eduardo would handle the modules here in the store. The standard 20% markup would apply. I gain zero financially (actually go backward) but payment would be rendered in smiles.
You folk have way and far gone more experience with LED lighting than I do. I'll channel my energy into finding the lamp modules, making arrangements with the seller and then working with the buyers to have the modules installed in their fixtures the right way.
Yeah, this is a pretty serious request. Put yourself in their shoes, their lifestyle, and believe me your opinions are vital. They will be appreciated. People down here will learn anonymous Americanos all pitched in to help their southern friends.
Thank you.
But I got lost in the process. It seems new models constantly appear and buyers shout "THIS ONE IS IT!" Then someone else chimes in and ridicules it.
Here's the situation...
Solar voltaic power has come to some parts of Mexico but it is in its infancy. Totally off-grid operation at remote ranchos. Deep cycle batteries are becoming more available CICLO PROFUNDO. Basic PWM controllers, and voltage meters. One rancho has a pair of 120 watt panels and two 110 amp hour group 31 batteries. A Samlex MSW 1,000 watt inverter...
And the saddest lighting I have ever seen.
Single tube 15 watt 12 volt fluorescent lamps. The fixtures are NOT Thin Lite brand, so as poor of efficiency as the Thin Lights were, these are worse. Three months and a six-dollar fluorescent tube has black ends, half the light output, and twice the amperage draw. An entire family gathers for supper and a one-tube stupid fixture is supposed to light up a 12 foot by sixteen foot dining and living room area. The one ranchito I speak of has six fluorescent fixtures. One for each room. The outdoor kitchen has no light whatsoever.
Sure, lights light those from Command Electronics are available but this is not the USA. Someone has to purchase any LED inserts, have them shipped to a USA address then someone else has to embark on a multi-day multi-thousand mile trip to go get them. Wait! There's more. Upon re-entering Mexico, one has to pass the MEXICANS CUSTOMS DUTY OFFICE. Can you believe a FOUR HUNDRED PERCENT TARIFF ON ITEMS MADE IN THE ORIENT ?!?
The import tax thing can be "handled" OK. What is difficult is finding THE LIGHT. The INSERT MODULE that does not have a high rate of failures, suicide by smoke, or a price tag that would make even my knees wobble. The folks grown their own food, milk their cows and maybe earn twenty or so dollars a day. Campesinos like this are the HEART and SOUL of Mexico. They have zero interest in becoming "indocumentos" north of the border. Everyone is better off if they stay here.
But the days of candles and smoky fires in 40C heat hopefully are gone. Children need to do their homework and chores. They need to bathe. No TV, only radio. And there is no need to worry about radio frequency buzz because they will simply turn everything off and turn the radio on.
Mexicans are NOT enamored with WARM lighting in the 3,000Kelvin range. They've had their fill of "warm" lighting for the last 500 years. Candlelight and "lumbres" (fires) do that to a person.
They much prefer 5,000K "sunlight" grade lighting. Not blue, but white.
So what I'm asking is merely the impossible.
Do reliable INEXPENSIVE 12 volt modules exist that are "something special" in the value department? They would be hard wired to switches. If affordable enough they can add more and more, then a battery, then another panel. You know the story...
These folks DO HAVE volt meters and they understand to not over-discharge a battery. Those 31's cost a hundred seventy dollars a pop.
Eduardo would handle the modules here in the store. The standard 20% markup would apply. I gain zero financially (actually go backward) but payment would be rendered in smiles.
You folk have way and far gone more experience with LED lighting than I do. I'll channel my energy into finding the lamp modules, making arrangements with the seller and then working with the buyers to have the modules installed in their fixtures the right way.
Yeah, this is a pretty serious request. Put yourself in their shoes, their lifestyle, and believe me your opinions are vital. They will be appreciated. People down here will learn anonymous Americanos all pitched in to help their southern friends.
Thank you.
