Battery Operated or Flameless Candles & LED Tealights - Whatever next?

Worry-free candles?

In what must be almost the single best idea since Percy Shaw of Boothtown, Halifax, West Yorkshire invented the "Cat's Eye" and one really wonders how and why this particular idea took so long, technology is now in the process of ensuring that traditional candles and candle-makers will ultimately be relegated to the world of obsolete, or financially uncompetitive (which is the more or less same thing) with the introduction of battery powered, or "Flameless Candles".

LED lighting has been around for a while now, but LED Candles have really come into their own more recently, many now even flicker very realistically just like the real thing.

In fact the higher quality Flameless candles available these days are almost indistinguishable from the real thing, except for one tiny detail, there is no fire, hence no heat, hence no danger (except of the battery running out mid-seduction - but that is actually "pi$$ poor planning" and is the subject of another hub entirely ;)

So let's count the advantages of Battery powered candles over the real thing shall we, and see if we can assess the liklihood of the (traditional candles) business model.

Advantages of flameless candles

• Safe, no fire, no danger
• Clean, no smoke or carcinogens to inhale
• Economy, they last forever, only replacing the battery
• No molten wax on furniture
• No lighting them, no need to have matches or lighters around (for kids to find)
  
• Peace of mind - you know the candle isn't going to burn the house down.

Disadvantages of Flameless Candles

..er.. sometimes cost slightly more to purchase, but even then not always, as real candles are both labor and materials intensive and are not always cheap to buy, but even if the battery candles do cost more, you only ever have to buy it once, and not replace it after a couple of candle-lit nights.

That was actually the only disadvantage we could come up with, and even there the battery candles still win out long term, so if you have any stocks or investments in candle factories or candle-makers, we would advise now is a good time to get out, because it looks like along with the butcher and baker, the candle-stick maker is about to get replaced by supermarket based technology..