Candela Rechargeable Lights
by TreeHugger on 12.13.04
These rechargable lights finally gave us a way to spruce up the place for the holidays without resorting to cheesy wreaths and Santa Claus figurines. No batteries to throw away, and they won’t burn once and be binned like a real candle, either. The soft glow is just what we’re looking for, and the color choice is wide enough for even the most non-traditional holiday palette. We must apologize for our earlier filing of the lights under “almost”: it turns out the plastic contains recycled material and can be recycled again. The manufacturer even goes to the trouble of taking back used units for recycling by a certified facility, and they’ll take the pop-out batteries from the 2005 version back on their own for responsible recycling. $79 for 4 as pictured from ::vessel [by KK]
A word of caution: these are prone to failure. Several people I know have these, and I bought a set also. They all have died; apparently the charger doesn't tolerate minor surges. They advised my friend to use a surge protector (an odd recomendation for a normal consumer product).
The failed units were replaced under warranty; mine are out of warranty so it's $79. down the drain.
Also, the unit draws power all the time so if you are watching watts this gets expensive over the loang haul, not to mention using a lot of energy compared to the short time they are actually used. The induction charger can get quite hot, as it is much less effecient transfering electricity than than a direct connection would be.
Overall, especially from a green perspective, definitely not reccomended.