Thursday, October 9, 2008

My Sun Jar (Love at First Light!)



Hello All!

Jackson here.

SuperForester Alex was kind and thoughtful enough to buy me an amazing gift: the Sun Jar!
I had read about it online, but don't really buy much, so when Alex gave it to me I was thrilled. I had every reason to be.

Ladies and gentleman, this may sound silly, but the Sun Jar has changed my life. Not a lot, but enough to make me want to say: Go and get one, they are amazing.

Here's how it works:

The Sun Jar is an ordinary Mason jar with some very clever tech inside.
The electronics are a five piece system; you've got a mini-solar panel, a rechargeable battery, a light sensor, an on/off switch, and a long lasting LED.

Simply place the Sun Jar in the sun during the day, and when you get home from work it will merrily light up the night, no energy needed.


Here's how I use mine:

When I wake up, I put ol' SJ on my window ledge. Then, when I get home from work, I put the Sun Jar in the bathroom.

While I was working, the Sun Jar collected and stored its fill of energy from the sun and stored it in its battery. Now, whenever I go to use the bathroom at night, I keep the main light off and simply switch the Sun Jar on as I walk into the room. When I leave I switch it off again. It's that simple.

What amazes me is the amount of light that it puts out. It may not be bright enough to read comfortably by for extended periods, but it's plenty bright to wash your hands by, or just to use as mood lighting. And such a sexy mood!



Because I only have three light switches in my apartment, because of Alex's generous gift, I have now reduced my power usage by nearly a third.

You read that right, this unassuming little device has cut my power consumption by one third.

I want two more!!! (Alex? Ahem hem...?)



The Sun Jar is an original creation by Mr. Tobias Wong. (Thanks Tobias!)
You can get them online at Suck UK for forty bones per, plus S&H.

The Sun Jar is an amazing product, and if you have the means I highly recommend picking one up. That said, if you don't have the means and wish to construct a similar "sunlight storage device," here's an instructable to show you how.

So, I take baby steps away from the grid, but the umbilical is still firmly attached.

Love,

Jackson

2 comments:

spoon said...

I heard about this! Now that I have a trustworthy review, I will have to check it out :D

Laurie Ann said...

It's like lightning bugs in a jar without all the cruelty. I'm totally going to make these.