Customer Feedback

"...I am writing in regards to the Carmanah A601 solar-powered red LED obstruction light. We have approximately 60 here at LAX now, and we absolutely LOVE them. We have constant projects, paving and otherwise, on the airfield, and these lights pay for themselves in convenience and time saved. Not having to tow a light plant, and a regulator, and string them all together is a pleasure. And we no longer have to deal with the paving machinery operators damaging our lights/cords. Now, they just move them aside.

I wholeheartedly recommend your lighting products... They work great, with excellent battery life. In the near future I plan on buying some standing blues also..."

"The [Carmanah] lights are working great. We are saving a lot of money in batteries, maintenance and overhead. We used to go through 90 batteries in a couple of weeks, costing hundreds of dollars. The Carmanah 601 barricade light has worked for nearly two years, maintenance free and with no problems. A great product and safety enhancement for Chicago O'Hare... "

"During the research for aviation lights for Metrology Towers we found Carmanah’s products very useful for our purpose. Their 700 series is low cost and easy to install compare to other products on the market. The well-described manual and easy programming is very suitable, as we have to work in many different countries with different requirements for aviation light on Metrology Towers... we have used the 700 series under extreme conditions with variation of temperature from 35° to 40° Celsius in the summer to -15° Celsius with frequent snow blizzards in the winter and they have performed incredibly well. "

"We did get the lights installed, and they are wonderful... Comments from all the pilots are that they are very pleased with them, and they wish that we had them about nine months earlier when we first got here... "

"Everyone loves the lights, they don't wash out NVGs but they're bright enough to see without them... one nice thing I've found is the taxiway lights are heavy enough that if you just need one to temporarily mark a spot, you can just drop it there with no fanfare. They don't move at all with the jet blast... "

"...the only comments [so far from base personnel] is that the lights are surprisingly bright... "

"All I can tell you is these lights have made a world of difference. They do not affect the NVGs at all and having a fully lit runway and taxiways is awesome. We were operational with all of the lights on Thursday, 6 Nov 03! It was a great moment! "

"The [Model 702] lights provide the pilot with enough guidance to taxi anywhere on the airfield. We originally put them only 50 feet apart, because we were unsure of their potential. But as you can see they work great and we've moved them to the 200ft requirement. We have them on our primary taxiway that is also used by helicopters. Even with constant rotor downwash they don't move. The only time we lost one is from numerous hits from fuel truck and other vehicles. They are great lights... "

"...the lights look great... the taxiway light installation begins on Saturday. I brought the boss up to the tower last night and he was beside himself. Very impressed! Hopefully, by next week we should be completely installed and open for fixed-wing night ops... "

"...a fuel truck crushed one of my blue 601 taxi lights, and other than being flattened it still works like a champ! "

"... the lights that are being used now are subjected up to 140°F (60°C) sun temperature. They perform perfectly. I also provided the Airfield staff with an un-scientific evaluation by using our food freezers to simulate cold conditions. The new protos we have met any criteria the staff threw at them and performed beyond your published specs... "

"In May of 2003 we purchased 70 Model 701 Carmanah lights for runway edge lighting. We really like the way Carmanah lights appear under night vision goggles (NVG). The EALS have a halo around them with the NVG, but your Model 701's do not have this halo effect and are much easier to see under the NVG condition... "

"I have had informal feedback from ops and some pilots. They said [the Carmanah lights] are brighter than the EALS we currently have... "

"...I am the Engineering Flight Chief at a Middle East USAF Base... you've worked with our team in the past on our Carmanah 601's that were used to light up a new taxiway constructed prior to Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. I wanted to send you a brief note to reiterate our complete satisfaction with your product, as well as our sense of overwhelming relief that you were able to meet our requirement in such a timely fashion... "

"I am just writing you a note to say how happy we are with your product. We had been looking for a way to light up our 60 meter tubular towers and had been getting some pretty scary quotes from some other lighting companies. When we found out about your products - their ease of use, their longevity, the fact that they do not need an external power source - we immediately put them to the test.

After finding us a contractor to custom make some mounting brackets for us (thanks again), we attached the lights and began erecting the first of the tilt up towers. Unfortunately one of the anchors came loose during errection and the tower came down from a height of about 30 feet. When we went to inspect the damage we found that the tower had fallen right on top of one of the lights which was now embedded deep in the ground. After pulling the tower up a bit and replacing some of the other meteorological equipment that was smashed, we threw a bag over the light so see if it still worked. To our amazement it still worked as good as new. I can’t think of another lighting option that we looked at that would have remained intact after such a blow.

We will definitely be using Carmanah for all our future lighting needs and would recommend your products to anyone. "

"I am the guy who installed these lights and I am extremely delighted with their performance. They came in handy during the peak of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. They fit the bill and did exactly what we wanted... illuminating an expedient taxiway during combat operations. Thanks for sending us a quality light, and I look forward to doing business with you again... "

"I'm a permanent party civil engineer here at an air base in the Persian Gulf region. We had need of an expedient way to light several new taxiways and ramps under a very tight time schedule. Permanent fixed installations would have taken months to get in place in addition to blowing our budgets. (Our installed costs [using Carmanah lights] were approximately 10% of a hard wired system with supporting infrastructure...

...Carmanah was very responsive and provided some minor customization for our application. They are professional, friendly and truly believe in their product. I think Carmanah's solar-powered lighting products will change the way people look at airfield lighting... everyone is amazed at the brightness of the lights and we have already received inquiries from one of our sister bases for information. "

"We are located at 62 degrees Northern Latitude with limited short winter daylight periods, and for the test program so far we have continually experienced temperatures in the range of -30°C to -40°C. Today it is -44°C and the lights are operating as expected... we recognize this technology contribution to [aviation] and other industry applications and have received excellent service and support from Carmanah throughout this test program..."

"I am very pleased with the way the Carmanah Aviation Lights are operating and would I do it again? YES. Will we be purchasing some more lights? YES. We use Carmanah Lights as obstruction lights (red) around our fuel area and at the approach ends of our main taxiway (blue). They have never missed a beat with the winter that we have had this year... Being a pilot and also the airport manager (for 25+ years), the lights are an added safety improvement for Neil Armstrong Airport. Should any one ever want to stop in and check out our application, please feel free to do so..."

"In a comparison of lights with visibilities up to 3.5 nautical miles, the Carmanah Model 601 and 701 lanterns proved to be the lowest cost of acquisition, the lowest cost of installation, as well as the lowest cost of operation for up to 3 years. The Model 601 also provided the lowest cost of operation for both the 6 and 10 year intervals in the 2 nautical mile category. "

"City Public Service was requested by the base commander...to have lights installed on a 138kV transmission line that was being installed on the base. The structures are 100-ft to 105-ft in height, and his concern was for the safety of the helicopter traffic. After some research we choose the Carmanah Model 601. This unit was light, compact, has a battery life of five years and provided visual lighting of over one mile. For mounting, we had a bracket made in our machine shop and utilized the existing bolts to secure it to the pole. All the work was done while the pole was still on the ground making installation simple. If our conventional lighting had to be used it would have required the need to string a service wire to each structure and running conduct up the poles to the lights. This would have required the use of a 8-man line crew and equipment for an extended length of time. It took two men approximately 10 minutes per pole to install the Model 601. It is estimated the cost savings was in the thousands."

"The Carmanah self-contained, solar light was a true find... While trying to find the components for remote obstruction lighting [for wind-testing equipment], I stumbled onto Carmanah's web site and wow... there it was... the answer to my problems. It was less expensive than what I was putting together. The 501 will last five years before needing replacement while what I put together was only going to last little over one year. I think the most important part was that it took less time. All I had to do is pull it out of the box and attach it to the tower. Thank you Carmanah for a great product."

"Wow! The lights came today. That is a fast delivery time! I am impressed with the service and I am impressed with the lights! They both started right up after being exposed to the light and then having their solar collectors covered. The quality of the lights is outstanding! I could not be more impressed. The fact that the small light has a pipe fitting cast into the base makes it all the more desirable."

"The ATC 2003 Maastricht Conference was a real success with the showing of Carmanah products. The market in Europe for aviation just became aware of Carmanah's new lighting possibilities. Since the cost factors are getting more and more important, the airports do not only look at the procurement costs but also the costs during a lifecycle of a product.

The interests were mainly in the blue taxiway lights and the red 201 and 301 for temporary obstacles. All of these products will be used for civilian and military airfields and helipads. The quality of Carmanah solar-powered LED lights seems to be outstanding. The experience coming from maritime applications is very much appreciated. Saltwater, dust and similar factors does not harm or threaten the lights durability. Using LEDs reduces the power consumption and with the LEDS not having to be replaced over 100,000 hours lighting, eliminates costly maintenance factors.

I am originally an electronics engineer and was head of control-systems (radars, direction finders, Electronic warfare etc.) in my previous position. I am very impressed with the durability, quality and applications of Carmanah's solar powered LED Aviation Lights. "