Lighted house numbers may sound unnecessary. Ask any pizza delivery guy making late-night runs to customers, however, and your opinion will quickly change. The Guiding Light Mailbox adds solar-powered illuminated numbers right on your letter box, allowing people to see it from “half a football field away” in the dark.
I’ll put it out there now. The “half a football field” claim may be a bit excessive. After all, the strip of lighting is just a tad larger than a big cell phone slab, so you can’t put very large characters on it. Regardless, it should make it leagues easier for anyone to make out the labels from afar at night – a much better proposition than coming up to every house just to read their sign.
Shaped like a saddle, the device is designed to mount on top of your mailbox. The body is made from heavy-duty plastic and houses a complete solar-charging facility, allowing the rig to store energy and power the integrated lights all on its own. Four hours under the sun should let it power the lighting panel for up to four 24-hour cycles, making sure you have enough charge even if the next few days turn up cloudy. It comes with six sets of house numbers (0 to 9), so you can use it even when you move.
If you don’t have a standard box for mail (of the shape and size as in the photo), you can probably hang the solar-powered label from a tree or from a porch. Of course, it’s not going to be as easy to spot, so that sucks.
The Guiding Light Mailbox is now available from their website, with shipments rolling out starting October 1st. Price is $79.95 via Paypal, including shipping and handling.