10 Unique low-power lighting options for festivals

Diwali is the festival of lights and people from all castes and faiths are seen celebrating it with great joy. Preparations are done well in advance and you see people flocking markets buying gifts, sweets and decorations for their house. Speaking of decorations, you will usually find houses lit up with candles, diyas, string bulbs and a lot more. However, most of the lighting accessories available are very much the same and you will not find much difference between two decorated houses, except for the arrangement and the colour of the lights. Most of these lights are not eco-friendly and tend to silently eat into your electricity bills, but the spirit of the festival blinds you towards such additional expenses and this fact is usually ignored. Lighting up your house with eco-friendly and low-powered lights is recommended as they not only cut down on your power bills, but will also light up efficiently and with a pleasant glow. Morever, it will also be less taxing on the environment. Lighting options currently available in the market consist of regular filament-based bulbs and LEDs. These are usually imported from China and are definitely cheaper as they last you a few years. With Diwali around the corner, and Christmas and New Year following soon, why not be different this season and get yourself some lights that are cheap and completely different, and pique the interest of others. Here are some options.

Solar-powered string lights – Approx Rs. 2,000

Solar-powered string lights

These are 200-LED based light strings that are available in white and blue colours and do not require electricity. These are solar-powered lights that juice up the internal batteries during the day and will automatically light up for 6-8 hours at night. Great for decorating outdoors, yards, gardens and trees. You also get 30-LED based solar light strings for around Rs. 1,200. Solar-powered miniature lanterns are also available with 10 coloured lanterns on it and cost around Rs. 660.

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Multi-coloured LED optical lights – Approx Rs. 420

Miniature optical lights

This is a 4-pack multi-coloured optical fibre-based battery-powered lighting accessory that can be kept on windows, doorways, inside vehicles and even hung around the house. The LED inside changes colour automatically and is powered by three button cells each. 

Laser projector – Approx Rs. 2,400

Laser projector

Light up your house from inside or from the outside using fine dots of multi-coloured lasers that randomly move around making different patterns of light. They look like stars and beautify the entire area. This one is even sound activated, so if you are playing some music in the background, the light effects are stunning as they move along with the beats in the background music. You can even use this projector while hosting parties at your home. These are available in different variants, with the cheaper variety selling for as little as Rs. 1,000.

LED ice cubes – Approx Rs. 180

LED Ice cubes

This is a unique item for lighting up your guests’ drinks. You could even randomly place them around your house as a lighting accessory. The cubes are battery-powered and are available in different colours or even in multi-colour.

Glow sticks – Approx Rs. 800

Glow sticks

These are available in different colours and in dual colour too. Each pack contains 100 sticks and each stick is for one-time-use only. These are not battery-powered, but are thick plastic tubes that are filled with a few chemicals. To activate the light, you simply need to bend it and the stick starts glowing automatically. The sticks can be bent to make shapes or rings and can be placed around the house, garden, hung indoors or even outdoors. The glow of each stick lasts at least 10-15 hours. A pack of 100 can last you at least a few days, depending on how many you use each day.

Water-proof cold lights – Approx Rs. 600

EL glowing wire

This is a unique item and you definitely will not find it easily in India. This light has no LEDs or bulbs, but is made of EL or electroluminescent wires that are filled with a small amount of phosphor (similar to fluorescent tube lights used in homes). The phosphor is placed between two electrodes and lights up completely when electricity runs through it. Each of these lights is powered with two AA batteries (or can be connected to an AC adapter) and has modes for blink, strobe and flash. Each wire is three metres long and can be tied up to almost anything or simply hung from anywhere. The light is cool and completely out of this world and looks as though there is a string lit up. The product is available in multiple colours—blue, white, red, green, violet, pink, yellow and a few more.

LED candles – Approx Rs. 360

LED candles

Replace your oil-based diyas with these electronic battery-powered flickering candles. Simply shake them to light up or blow them to switch off. These multiple coloured candles are fun and will definitely have your friends pestering you to know the place where you purchased these from. Each pack has four candles that operate on three button-sized cells. You even get a single large LED candle with the same feature for Rs. 250. Optionally, you can also opt for a 12-pack rechargeable candle kit with glasses for Rs. 3,600. 

Glow pebbles – Approx Rs. 1,000

Glow pebbles

Another unique item, the glow pebbles are actually shaped as pebbles. These are plastic glow-in-the-dark pebbles and are available in blue and green colours. They do not work on batteries or electricity, but soak up solar (UV) light from the sun during the day and glow for up to 3 hours at night. Shine some UV light on them and make them glow further into the night. These pebbles are available in a pack of 100 pieces. You can scatter them around in your garden, bunch them and hang them around the yard or even make a garland and wrap them around the trees in your yard.  

LED flood light – Approx Rs. 2,500

LED floodlights

If you were hosting a small party on your terrace, in your garden or your society compound, you would require floodlights to light up the place. Regular floodlights require lots of power and emit a great amount of heat; you also need thicker wires to connect them to your meter room. Why not use the LED-based floodlights that emit white light and no heat? These floodlights use just 10 watts of power (quarter of a single household tube light) and can be mounted anywhere. These floodlights are available in 20W, 50W and 100W variants for higher light output and in multi-colour option (remote controlled) for stage lightings. 

Motion sensing switches – Approx Rs. 480

Motion sensing switches

These switches can connect to any device and switch it on the moment someone moves around it. Connect multiple switches to string lights and arrange them in your isle, stairway, entrance or garden to greet your family and friends with automatic lighting as they move along the way. It automatically switches the lights on and off when there is motion detected. This makes a great lighting effect when someone moves around the place. It also helps save on power when the lights are off. You can later use it for other purposes such as in bathrooms, garages, washbasins, closets, terraces, lofts and other such places where you do not have to hunt for a switch. Your presence will automatically turn it on or off accordingly.

Now, for the most important part. These products are available online and you need to pay using a PayPal account. The shipping is free and the product will reach you within 10-15 days via regular post (airmail). If you want it within a day or two, you can pay a bit more and opt for a courier service such as UPS or DHL. You may also get these products in the Indian market, but it is very difficult to find them. And if you do, the cost will definitely be higher than what you get online.

Here is a list of the websites from where you can order these products: 

Here is the secret—if you are shopping online with these websites, you can get a discount of 10–25 percent, which will help you save quite an amount. Register yourself for free on these websites, fill in your shipping details, shop and add to cart the products and during checkout, you have an option to present a discount coupon. These coupon codes are available from other websites, which can give you discounts. Simply browse through the below mentioned websites, check out the coupon related to the website you want to shop from, reveal and copy the code and apply it while checking out. Do note that some coupons are expired, and some are valid only on certain products and purchase values. Lastly, most of these shopping websites also give you points for the amount you shop. You can even earn points by writing a review of the product and sharing your experience with the shopping website. You can exchange these points for coupon codes and discounts in your next purchase. I remember getting a $2 discount on my next minimum purchase of $10, which is almost 20 percent.

Here is a list of the websites to get free coupon codes:

For more Diwali related articles, check out our link here; we’ve got some great deals and devices listed out for your festive shopping.