While trekking in Nepal in 1997, Dave Irvine-Halliday was struck by the plight of rural villagers having to rely on smelly, dim and dangerous kerosene lanterns to light their homes. Hoping to make a difference, Dr Irvine-Halliday, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Calgary in Canada, founded the Light Up The World Foundation. The non-profit organisation has since helped to distribute low-power, white light-emitting diodes (LEDs), at low cost or free, to thousands of people around the globe.

About 1.6 billion people worldwide are without access to electricity and have to rely on fuel-based sources for lighting. But burning fuel is not only extremely expensive — $40 billion is spent on off-the-grid lighting in developing countries a year — it is also highly inefficient and contributes to indoor air pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases. If people switched from using fuel-based lamps to solar-powered LEDs, carbon-dioxide emissions could be reduced by up to 190m tonnes per year, reckons Evan Mills, a staff scientist at America’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. That is equivalent to one-third of Britain’s annual carbon-dioxide emissions.

LEDs are an ideal off-the-grid light source because they need so little power. They can be run on AA batteries, or batteries recharged using small solar arrays. Compared with kerosene lanterns, LEDs can deliver up to 100 times more useful light to a task, besides being extremely long-lasting. All this adds up to a life-changing impact for the lamps’ owners, ranging from increased work productivity, more time to study at night and reduced health problems and fire hazards.

Several firms are getting ready to tap into this underserved market. Cosmos Ignite Innovations, a spin-out from Stanford University that is now based in New Delhi, India, has developed the MightyLight, a solar-powered LED-based lamp that is waterproof, portable and runs for up to 12 hours. So far, Cosmos has sold nearly 5,000 of its $50 lamps to various charities.
via bookofjoe

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With just a four-hour charge of sunshine the LightCap will stay bright for hours while the rechargeable Ni-Cad batteries will last for at least 300 cycles. Set it in the sun or hang it from a railing during the day and you’ll have light all night long!

The solar power unit is totally sealed; in fact, it is molded in from the top (outside) of the cap so there’s no possible contact with the contents of the bottle. There’s also a handy waterproof switch on the cap that lets you change from the white LED (bright), to red (preserves your night vision), or turn it off completely. You can leave the red light on all night (minimal energy draw) so you can easily find the bottle; then switch it to white if you need a light!

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The resin Solar GardenGlo planter by Patio Living Concepts uses sunlight to power six LED bulbs, which last 20,000 hours, according to the manufacturer. The planter comes equipped with a solar control unit, meant to be mounted to a ground stake and positioned in direct sunlight. The unit then captures and stores rays, saving the glow for later. The planter’s best feature? The hi-tech control unit is also light sensitive—a flick of a switch, and it can be programmed to turn on automatically at dusk (it can also be turned on or off manually). Color choices include frost, lemon, green, stone, and blue and terra cotta (shown here). To the surprise of Patio Living president Dale Klaus, the planter has also been known to serve as a cooler. Add a little ice, and it keeps a bucket full of beer chilled…
via: treehugger

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The SolarCap system consists of modular, self-contained lighting devices that can be used for decorative or traffic flow purposes – powered only by solar energy. These unique devices incorporate the newest “EnergyCache” technology for energy storage, instead of the high maintenance rechargeable batteries that are currently used in solar deviced. Unlike batteries which must be changed every two-three years and can not tolerate environmental extremes, EnergyCaches enable SolarCap lighting to be used i any environmental without maintenance for more than 10 years with a wide operating temperature range of -25 – 60 degree C.

During daylight hours, the tiles use solar cells to capture energy from the sun that is than converted to electricity and storef using SolarCap’s EnergyCaches to automatically turn on soft light emiting diode (LED) lighting in the evening. Full charge takes about one hour under direct sunlight and up to eight hours in shady or indirect lighting conditions. The light will stay on for up to 12 hours with fully charged EnergyCaches.

Available in six colours, user can arrange SolarCap light emitting tiles in any imaginable shape or space to achieve a variety of drsired effects for residential or commercial applications in high-traffic or isolated areas. They can be easily installed just like a standard brick or tile on horizontal or vertical surfaces.

Read what other blogs write about SolarCap:
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