Remote Controlled light / extinguish candles with real flames
These LuDela (Gen 2) pillar candles have a real wax outside cover to give an authentic candle look, but inside is a plastic shell with a USB-C rechargeable IR receiver, a spark igniter, and a fan. You can use the included remote control to light the candle flame remotely. You pick a 1, 3, 5, or 8 hour runtime when you turn them on, and the candles automatically extinguish themselves after the time has elapsed.
Alternately, you can push the "off" button on the remote to turn on the fan which extinguishes the candle immediately.
They also have a few safety features that auto-extinguish the candle flames. If the candle detects it is tipped over or lifted up it will extinguish the flame (so you can't carry them around lit). The top plate of the candle can also detect touches, so if you touch the top of the candle it will blow out the flame. (Note that it can not detect fingers over the candle flame, so you can certainly still burn yourself or use the candle to light something on fire as long as you don't touch the top of the candle.)
To turn on the candle with the remote control, you need to first press a time button (1,3,5,8 hours) and then hold the "on" button for 3 seconds before it sends the command to the candle.
The company claims this is a "child lock"....which seemed to be a bit of a stretch to me, until I gave the remote to my 13 year old....who can read, and eventually did read the instructions on the sticker on the back...and still couldn't figure it out until I showed him. So I guess it's complicated enough at least for my son.
After he figured it out, he spend the next two days playing Harry Potter, lighting and extinguishing the candle with a wave of his hand, wand, remote, etc... Although as these are real flame candles, they are NOT a toy, and should only be used when supervised under direct observation.
The ability to light/extinguish the candles with a remote control makes them super simple to use, and I like the added safety features (extinguish on tilt/lift/touch), but there is a bit of extra complexity in the whole system (liquid refill cartridges, remote control, usb-c charging candle electronics) which I'm sure added to the cost. [I bought them surplus after the company went out of business for probably 10% of their retail cost, so I feel I got a good deal, but probably wouldn't have spent full price.]
I think they are most useful for wall mount sconces or candelabras that are difficult to reach normally, but the "timed auto-off" and extra safety features are a nice touch for any location.