Sustainable Light Source: No Batteries, Plugs, Solar Panels or Kerosene

Plugging in a light is simple when you live in a first-world country. You have access to electricity, you can choose between LED lights and CFL lights, and you can even tap into solar power for a more sustainable source of energy. Batteries for a flashlight or lamp can be easily purchased at a store down the street. Living in a developing country is a lot different. There is no place to plug in a lamp. Solar power, while it may be a viable source of renewable energy, is not necessarily affordable.

So, how do these people get light? How can they see at night if they cannot afford to buy batteries or purchase their own solar powered-lamp? Kerosene lamps are one of the primary sources of energy in areas such as these. People use kerosene lamps indoors to provide them with a relatively inexpensive source of energy. Of course kerosene needs to be purchased each time the lamp runs out, so long-term costs of such a lamp are not really cost-effective. The main problem with this type of lighting source is the toxins produced by a kerosene lamp are extremely harmful to a person’s health. These types of lamps present a fire danger as well. Thankfully Deciwatthas come up with a solution: GravityLight™.

GravityLight is a sustainable light source that requires no batteries, does not need to be plugged into an electrical outlet and does not necessitate solar panels. It can be used even when the sun is not shining. Cost of the GravityLight is anticipated to be around $6-$7 wholesale. What is even better is there are no continual running costs as would be found with a solar panel, battery or other source of electrical energy. The GravityLight apparently takes only seconds to charge and one “charge” can last almost half an hour on low light or around 12 minutes on high. This light can also be used to power other small devices or recharge batteries.

Now while you may have heard of this invention before, it has not yet been released on the broad-scale. Testing is currently ongoing in 25 countries around the world and here are some of the photos of the GravityLight being used. According to the company’s website, they expect to reach large scale production sometime in 2015. Retail price for the GravityLight could be as much as $10-$15, which is a far cry from the long-term operational costs associated with most other lighting sources.

2 Comments

  • Jon

    This is the first time I’ve come across this idea and to start with I thought this must be some sort of wind up (excuse the pun). However I can see with the advent of LED lights that very low wattage device can actually generate meaningful amounts of light. Thanks for highlighting this.

    • Tara

      Hi Jon,
      Yes, I have seen lots of solar lighting inventions, but this was a new one for me too. I thought it was quite innovative. As you scroll through the images of people using this light to brighten their homes, you can clearly see how much of a difference an invention such as this can make.
      Have a great one!
      Best, Tara

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