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Launching the world’s most affordable solar-powered light

38 points by sethbannon 11y ago

zeckalpha 11y ago
What about soda bottle lights with bleach? http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-SOLAR-BOTTLE-BULB/ http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-SOLAR-BOTTLE-...
- phowat 11y ago
  The ones from the article work at night though.
- aaron695 11y ago
  How do they charge a mobile? A very important job. Perhaps more so than the light.
  - mkesper 11y ago
    This one doesn't, either.
tomcampbell 11y ago
The $5 USD retail looks suspiciously like $47.95, or am I missing something [1]? Could not see a sku w/out charger, though [2] [1] http://www.amazon.com/d-light-Rechargeable-S300-Lantern-Charger/dp/B00BJE7K18/ http://www.amazon.com/d-light-Rechargeable-S300-Lantern-Char... [2] http://www.amazon.com/d-light/b/ref=bl_dp_s_web_3023737011?ie=UTF8&node=3023737011&field-lbr_brands_browse-bin=d.light http://www.amazon.com/d-light/b/ref=bl_dp_s_web_3023737011?i...
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- imaginenore 11y ago
  Regardless, $5 seems doable. Rechargeable batteries are cheap. LED lights are dirt cheap. Solar panels are pricey, but I see some 1W ones for under $5 on Amazon, which means they probably cost $1-2 in bulk. http://www.amazon.com/Weiheng®1pc-181ma-Solar-Module-Charger/dp/B00LSED8GA/ http://www.amazon.com/Weiheng®1pc-181ma-Solar-Module-Charger... http://www.amazon.com/Weiheng®1-1w-183ma-Solar-Module-Charger/dp/B00LSE09D0/ http://www.amazon.com/Weiheng®1-1w-183ma-Solar-Module-Charge...
  - grimman 11y ago
    Given that, around here anyway, solar powered "night lights" for use outdoors are very prevalent and only set you back about a dollar a piece... $5 certainly seems very possible. Now these lights I'm talking about are really quite dim (and omni-directional), but they really are disgustingly cheap as well. A product designed to be of practical use rather than almost purely for decoration, and at 5x the price point, would most likely fare a lot better. Edit: Would "likely" fare better? Obviously it does. I seem to have lost track of the point I was trying to make, namely the price. XD
- xutopia 11y ago
  The light shown in the video is quite different than that one. It is smaller and cheaper looking.
- worldadventurer 11y ago
  Looks like they don't have the new model, the A1 Solar Lantern, on Amazon yet. The one for $47.95 is bigger (16 hours of light instead of 4 hours) and has a USB charger to charge a phone. Link with more info on the A1, including specs: http://www.dlight.com/solar-lighting-products/single-function/a1/ http://www.dlight.com/solar-lighting-products/single-functio...
RankingMember 11y ago
I found the opening line of this article confusing, and, overall, wish this article went into some degree of technical detail, even just a brief blurb about battery life and how they managed to keep the price down (I suspect it may be heavily subsidized). It seemed a bit more masturbatory than actually interesting because of this lack of detail.
acd 11y ago
The statement that it is the most afforadable is not true. There are bottles that refracts light in liquid invented by a Brazilian car mechanic Alfredo Moser. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2393454/Brazilian-mechanic-uses-plastic-water-bottles-bleach-create-LIGHT--illuminating-1million-homes.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2393454/Brazi...
- imaginenore 11y ago
  They don't work at night.
rmetzler 11y ago
What about the gravity light? Solar-powered is good, but the sun isn't available for a few hours every day. Gravity is there all the time. http://gravitylight.org/ http://gravitylight.org/
akshayB 11y ago
I feel that the Gravity Light is the way to go because it can work throughout the whole night. It is totally independent of Sun or any weather conditions.

38 points by sethbannon 11y ago

What about soda bottle lights with bleach? http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-SOLAR-BOTTLE-BULB/ http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-SOLAR-BOTTLE-...

phowat 11y ago
The ones from the article work at night though.
aaron695 11y ago
How do they charge a mobile? A very important job. Perhaps more so than the light.
- mkesper 11y ago
  This one doesn't, either.

tomcampbell 11y ago

The $5 USD retail looks suspiciously like $47.95, or am I missing something [1]? Could not see a sku w/out charger, though [2] [1] http://www.amazon.com/d-light-Rechargeable-S300-Lantern-Charger/dp/B00BJE7K18/ http://www.amazon.com/d-light-Rechargeable-S300-Lantern-Char... [2] http://www.amazon.com/d-light/b/ref=bl_dp_s_web_3023737011?ie=UTF8&node=3023737011&field-lbr_brands_browse-bin=d.light http://www.amazon.com/d-light/b/ref=bl_dp_s_web_3023737011?i...

deleted 11y ago
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imaginenore 11y ago
Regardless, $5 seems doable. Rechargeable batteries are cheap. LED lights are dirt cheap. Solar panels are pricey, but I see some 1W ones for under $5 on Amazon, which means they probably cost $1-2 in bulk. http://www.amazon.com/Weiheng®1pc-181ma-Solar-Module-Charger/dp/B00LSED8GA/ http://www.amazon.com/Weiheng®1pc-181ma-Solar-Module-Charger... http://www.amazon.com/Weiheng®1-1w-183ma-Solar-Module-Charger/dp/B00LSE09D0/ http://www.amazon.com/Weiheng®1-1w-183ma-Solar-Module-Charge...
- grimman 11y ago
  Given that, around here anyway, solar powered "night lights" for use outdoors are very prevalent and only set you back about a dollar a piece... $5 certainly seems very possible. Now these lights I'm talking about are really quite dim (and omni-directional), but they really are disgustingly cheap as well. A product designed to be of practical use rather than almost purely for decoration, and at 5x the price point, would most likely fare a lot better. Edit: Would "likely" fare better? Obviously it does. I seem to have lost track of the point I was trying to make, namely the price. XD
xutopia 11y ago
The light shown in the video is quite different than that one. It is smaller and cheaper looking.
worldadventurer 11y ago
Looks like they don't have the new model, the A1 Solar Lantern, on Amazon yet. The one for $47.95 is bigger (16 hours of light instead of 4 hours) and has a USB charger to charge a phone. Link with more info on the A1, including specs: http://www.dlight.com/solar-lighting-products/single-function/a1/ http://www.dlight.com/solar-lighting-products/single-functio...

RankingMember 11y ago

I found the opening line of this article confusing, and, overall, wish this article went into some degree of technical detail, even just a brief blurb about battery life and how they managed to keep the price down (I suspect it may be heavily subsidized). It seemed a bit more masturbatory than actually interesting because of this lack of detail.

acd 11y ago

The statement that it is the most afforadable is not true. There are bottles that refracts light in liquid invented by a Brazilian car mechanic Alfredo Moser. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2393454/Brazilian-mechanic-uses-plastic-water-bottles-bleach-create-LIGHT--illuminating-1million-homes.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2393454/Brazi...

imaginenore 11y ago
They don't work at night.

rmetzler 11y ago

What about the gravity light? Solar-powered is good, but the sun isn't available for a few hours every day. Gravity is there all the time. http://gravitylight.org/ http://gravitylight.org/

akshayB 11y ago

I feel that the Gravity Light is the way to go because it can work throughout the whole night. It is totally independent of Sun or any weather conditions.