Gama Sonic Lighting Needs

I picked up 4 (2 sets) of the Gama Sonic Rechargeable LED Lanterns the last time they were around here. Great lights and so useful that I gave 2 away as gifts. I keep them plugged in and they have already proven their worth during a power failure. They came on automatically so they lit up they room and were easy to find. I may get a couple more!

do any of these last more than 2 hours past dark? in the winter? above 45 deg latitude?

Hi, it’s a great question. The answer is yes, but as always there are qualifications. We design our products for 8-10 hours of performance with fully charged batteries. But in some environments, getting enough sun on the panels to charge a fixture’s battery is easier said than done. If you have a spot on your home or in your yard that gets direct sun for six hours a day, you should get maximum performance. But direct sun really means direct sun–not sun obscured by eaves or trees or shadows or thick clouds.

Only you know whether that’s feasible in the area you’re thinking of using the lights. It’s a fair rule of thumb that each hour of direct sun on the panels equals 1.5-2 hours of performance at night. We work hard to optimize charging efficiency, but there are factors in each light that determine whether it falls on the lower or upper end of this spectrum.

We hope this helps answer the question. Don’t hesitate to ask more. We’re here to help.

Best Regards,

Gama Sonic Support

I purchased the LED accent spotlight a couple of years ago (Oct 2013) and it has performed pretty well. I have an open garage without power and like having the light when I get home late. It definitely doesn’t stay on all night (probably 3-4 hours) but I also don’t have the solar panel positioned well (it is shaded half the day). Doesn’t matter to me - I just need the light when I get home. I have had the panel in sunnier spots and the light stayed on much longer.

My only concern - I have hard, clay soil and I was worried I’d break the plastic spikes on the panel and light when I was trying to secure them in ground. They didn’t break, but I was pretty cautious.

Got a set of these last time however due to a advertising issue, instead of getting 2 lights per set, it was 1 light per set. So, credit to WOOT for offering the take them back and give me 5 woot bucks, I sent them back. First impressions was that they are nice lights. Built well and love the colored options (sesonal). Living above the 43 line, the solar lights I currently use stay from dusk to about 4am. Winter, they still give me about 7 hours of light. They are 3 years old and never have replaced the batteries. The brand escapes me but got them from Costco or Sams and they are a silver (metal) finish. If I had to guess, the solar panel looks just like the same type used in the Anker and GoalZero panels which is of the monocrystalline (Had to look that up for spelling) which are popular for handling hard conditions (but not efficiency)