There are currently 1.5. billion people across the globe who have no reliable access to electricity. These people are instead reliant on biomass fuels, mainly kerosene, once darkness falls.
Kerosene fumes are dangerous. The World Bank believes 780 children and women inhale smoke, which is essentially the equivalent of smoking 2 packs of cigarettes every single day. In fact, in developing nations, over 60% of adult female lung cancer victims are non-smokers. 2.5 million people a year are burned severely from overturned kerosene lamps.
In addition, the financial burden is considerable since using only kerosene for lighting can consume up to 20% of a household’s income. And last, but not least, kerosene consumption produces over 244 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
Enter GravityLight. Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves, the London-based designers responsible for the invention, have created a unique, clean, inexpensive, and safe light source. GravityLight takes only 3 seconds to lift a weight that powers the device, which then creates 30 minutes of light on descent, for free. There are no batteries to buy, replace, or dispose. The light is 100% green.
The initial cost of the GravityLight is low, about $10, and according to the inventors it pays for itself within three months and allows people to save money thereafter since they will not be buying expensive kerosene. Another bonus: LED bulbs do not attract mosquitos like conventional bulbs, a huge benefit in countries that battle mosquitoes and mosquito-borne illnesses.
Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves work for therefore.com and GravityLight is a product of therefore.com’s deciwatt.org initiative. Please visit the indiegogo GravityLight page to make a contribution.
If your serious about power for remote villages just ask me. The gravity light or gravity driven generator is only a small part of the solution. Power is available anywhere when you think about it. I have designs just for this application. Contact me by responding to this message. The ASPIRE concept of energy generation has been around for about 13 years but nobody took us seriously so we put it on the back shelf. So who wants it?