Category: Lighting

Solar Bottle Bulbs – A Liter of Light

Solar Bottle Bulbs – A Liter of Light

Need more light? A solar bottle light bulb was designed by an engineer from Brazil in 2002 who wanted to find a cheap way to illuminate  dark and small spaces in low-income areas in Brazil.  The  “solar bottle bulb” as it is called is made of an empty 1.5 liter soda bottle which is filled with purified water and liquid bleach, and is put into the roof of a home or shack so that it is half outside and half inside the structure.  The result is a light source that during the day puts out as much light as a 50W incandescent bulb.

This simple solution to bring light to a dark space is easy to make.  To make and install a bottle bulb, it takes about an hour.  The design has been used by some MIT students and others in an effort to bring light to the Phillippines to homes that do not have access to daylight or electricity.  Currently, millions of Filipinos live without any kind of light source in living spaces.

The project Liter of Light called Isang Litrong Liwanag, is a sustainable lighting project done by MIT students which aims to bring the Solar Bottle Bulb’ to communities nationwide.  To date, the organization has installed 10,000 of these units throughout the city of Manila.

Image Source:
Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light)

Links:

Use a 2-Liter Bottle a a 50 Watt Ligth Bulb lightbulb

Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light)