GravityLight

The conceptual device, GravityLight, plans to provide a safe, reliable source of lighting to developing countries, without the dangerous effects of kerosene...

Did you know that currently over 1.5 billion people have no access to reliable electricity?

In developing countries people instead rely on biomass fuels like kerosene, which have deadly side effects. The World Bank estimates that, as a result of the use of kerosene lamps in developing countries, 780 million women and children inhale a quantity of toxic fumes equivalent to smoking 2 packs of cigarettes every day. 60% of adult, female lung-cancer victims in developing nations are non-smokers.

The fumes also cause eye infections and cataracts. But burning kerosene is also dangerous. 2.5 million people a year, in India alone, suffer severe burns from overturned kerosene lamps. Burning kerosene also comes with a financial burden. Kerosene for lighting alone can consume 10 to 20% of a household's income. This burden traps people in a permanent state of subsistence living, buying cupfuls of fuel for daily needs.

A commonly held view is that solar power lighting is the answer to these problems in the developing world. However a number of conflicting factors combine to complicate matters. Solar panels produce electricity only when the sun shines. Also the amount of energy stored is dependent on the size of the panel, the size of the battery, and how much (if any) sunshine reaches the solar panel.

Batteries, panels, and lights are expensive. Solar lighting projects continue to provide lighting for thousands of people in the developing world, but the spread is slow because the cost is so high, and the meager incomes of people in developing countries just can't afford the high price tag.

So what is the solution to this problem?

Two London based designers think they have the answer.

Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves have spent the last four year developing what they're calling, the GravityLight.

GravityLight has a built in LED lamp that just might lift the burden. As the name implies, it is powered by gravity. A clip holds a bag that can be filled with anything that weighs around 20 pounds. It only takes a few seconds to lift the weight, which generates enough energy for half an hour of light. It has no batteries to run out, replace, or dispose of. It is completely clean and green. And because there are no running costs after the initial low cost purchase, it has the potential to lift people out of poverty, and/or allow them to use more of their income to purchase food or other necessities.

"We will gift them to villagers in both Africa and India to use regularly," say the GravityLight developers, "The follow-up research will tell us how well the light met their needs, and enable us to refine the design for a more efficient MK2 version. Once we have proved the design, we will be looking to link with NGOs and partners to distribute it as widely as possible."

The GravityLight works any time of day or night, and could be super, super cheap. The designers' target is less than $5. The project is still in the conceptual stage, but the developers do have working prototypes. For now, though, they're raising money through Indiegogo to get the lights into off-the-grid communities to test them out.

In order to help the project out you can donate twenty-five bucks and get a light made and delivered to a person in India or Africa. Fifty bucks gets you one of your own (although it looks like that option's sold out - but for $10 more you can get the light, plus special updates on the project).

Here's a video describing the project: