World's First Solar LED Headlamp

New Option Lighting began developing solar LED products in 1998 and has several USA and foreign patents covering various aspect of this technology.  A typical example are several patents involves solar-powered LED traffic signs, which were approved in 2004 by the Federal Highway Authority (FHWA) and the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) after several years of field testing at high accident locations which proved the effectiveness of the technology.  The solar LED traffic sign technology has been exclusively licensed by New Option Lighting to Traffic and Parking Control Company (TAPCO), located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  TAPCO's BlinkerStop and BlinkerSign products can be seen at their website   www.tapconet.com

In 2003, the company began development and testing of solar-powered LED lighting products for outdoor and home use.  These products can be seen at the company website  www.newlite.com  and have been showcased two times per year since 2004 at the Outdoor Retailer Summer and Winter Market trade shows in Salt Lake City.

The new EL8 Solar LED Headlamp is also the first LED Headlamp on the market to use cell phone battery technology (lithium-ion battery chemistry).  This makes the Headlamp lighter weight while providing increased battery capacity compared with nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery chemistry.  The Lithium batteries retain their charge for up to one year, significantly better than NiMH batteries.  The small solar panel (2.5x4.5 inches size) charges the Lithium battery in only 8 hours of full sunlight.  The 5pcs of bright white LEDs operate at full brightness for 12 hours from a full battery charge.  The 5-position sequencing switch also provides a photocell mode, where the LEDs automatically come on from dusk to dawn, as well as dim mode (providing about 30 hours of continuous LED light), and blinking mode for emergengies or for signalling purposes.  There is also a battery charge indicator LED that glows green for high, yellow for medium, and red for low battery voltage.  The solar panel plugs into the centerline of the LED Headlamp, and can be unplugged as needed.  There is a conventional flexible headband strap with a hinged mount used for adjusting the light output angle.  This EL8 Solar LED Headlamp is available at a retail price of $49.95.

New Option Lighting also offers voltage converters that can be plugged into the LED Headlamp and used for charging cell phones, iPods, MP3 players, digital cameras, GPS devices and the like.  The EA1 provides a 12VDC female cigarette socket to be used with any type of car charger.  The EA6 provides a USB-A female port to be used with USB-chargable devices.  Power output is limited to 300mA.  These voltage converters also come with a T-adapter so the solar panel can continue charging while the cell phone is charging.