Category: Light Up the World
July 25, 2003
Return to Mali Folkecenter
This afternoon, we went back to the Mali Folkecenter to talk to the director, Ibrahim Togola, about next steps in a collaboration between Design that Matters and the MFC. The three main areas of discussion related to the Kinkajou projector, other designs like Amy Smith's screenless hammermill and Light Up the World's LED lamps, and other potential design collaborations between DtM and the MFC such as solar cooling, low-tech load-shedding windmills and locally-manufacturable photovoltaic charge-controller circuits.
We took some more pictures at their office, including one of this nifty screw-in LED light bulb from Germany--don't know if Dave Irvine-Halliday and his colleagues at LUTW have already seen this design. It`s got ten 0.1W LED bulbs and costs about US$35.
We left Ibrahim with two LUTW lamps of the most recent design (adapted to accept 4-24 volts) and a rechargable AA battery pack. Tom Burrell, the MFC's solar and lighting expert, is going to give the LUTW lamps a thorough test in the field this summer, and they plan to follow up with LUTW in early Fall to talk about a school lighting project in the works for rural Mali.
Posted by Timothy Prestero at 11:10 AM
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August 06, 2003
Lighting in Kemon
Kemon, like many rural villages in West Africa, is not connected to the electric grid. Night-time lighting is mostly provided by various classes of kerosene lamps, although about 50% of the population can afford to use battery-powered flashlights for getting around town after dark. One of our goals for the visit with MVV was to introduce them to Light Up the World's solid-state LED lamps. Here (from left to right), we have an electrician from a larger, nearby village, our friend Gabriel Agbede, and MVV's technical expert Salomon Chabi getting a first-hand look at the LUTW lamps.
The LUTW lamps were a big hit. We left two units in the village for testing by the community, and Salomon has one unit at his office in Cotonou for additional testing.
In terms of community lighting, kerosene lanterns are the most common source of night-time illumination. There are a few different categories of kerosene-burning lamps.
- "Lampion" (simple, locally-made wickless kerosene lamp with open, sooty flame) - 100-200 CFA (US$0.20-0.40)
- Wick lantern with glass mantle (everything from inexpensive Chinese brand to pricey French brands) - 6,000-20,000 CFA (US$12-40)
Although fuel prices fluctuate significantly depending on the political situation in neighboring Nigeria, kerosene in Benin currently costs around 300 CFA/liter ($us0.60). In the village, fuel is rarely bought in liter quantities. Families will instead buy small quantities of kerosene in soda bottles for 50-100 CFA. 50 CFA ($US0.10) is enough kerosene for roughly two night's illumination in a lampion or slightly longer in a lantern.
It is also possible to find mantle lanterns that burn camping gas. The camping gas cannisters cost about 700 CFA ($US1.40) in the village, and last about three hours.
Below, Arcadius Chabi from MVV demonstrates a camping gas lantern (L) and a Chinese-made kerosene wick lantern (R).
As Dave Irvine-Halliday at LUTW has pointed out, both open-flame kerosene lamps and wick lamps with glass mantles represent a fire hazard. Thousands of children in Benin are burned every year in lantern accidents.
Posted by Timothy Prestero at 03:44 PM
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August 13, 2003
Centre Songhai and Light Up the World
At this morning's meeting with Songhai director Frere Nzamujo, in addition to the Kinkajou and various other potential DtM projects, we discussed potential applications for Light Up the World's one-watt LED lamps. Rural community lighting is the most obvious application, and Songhai does work with solar lighting systems for their training centers in regions not connected to the grid. A less obvious application, and the one that was the most immediately compelling to Fr. Nzamujo, was the use of LUTW lamps in Songhai's fish and poultry hatcheries. A reliable source of low-power lighting would allow them to increase the growth rates of fish larvae, and would encourage their chicken to lay more eggs. The fact that an LED bulb has an average lifespan of 20,000 hours--that's almost three years of continuous use--made it an attractive alternative to incandescents and fluorescents.
This is the Songhai egg house--thousands of chickens in wire cages, with wire ramps on the floor of each cage that empty directly into little gutters, allowing the staff to collect the eggs without having to hunt around under the chickens.
This facility houses juvenile chickens. "All they seem to do is run around, peep and eat," said Liz.
Finally, this is from the larvae tank at the Songhai fish farm.
We left three LUTW lamp sets with Fr. Nzamujo for testing in their hatcheries. They are looking forward to contacting David Irvine-Halliday and his colleagues at LUTW, and they have promised to send us details and data from their various test installations on the farm.
Posted by Timothy Prestero at 07:36 AM
| Comments (0)
July 25, 2003
Return to Mali Folkecenter
This afternoon, we went back to the Mali Folkecenter to talk to the director, Ibrahim Togola, about next steps in a collaboration between Design that Matters and the MFC. The three main areas of discussion related to the Kinkajou projector, other designs like Amy Smith's screenless hammermill and Light Up the World's LED lamps, and other potential design collaborations between DtM and the MFC such as solar cooling, low-tech load-shedding windmills and locally-manufacturable photovoltaic charge-controller circuits.
We took some more pictures at their office, including one of this nifty screw-in LED light bulb from Germany--don't know if Dave Irvine-Halliday and his colleagues at LUTW have already seen this design. It`s got ten 0.1W LED bulbs and costs about US$35.
We left Ibrahim with two LUTW lamps of the most recent design (adapted to accept 4-24 volts) and a rechargable AA battery pack. Tom Burrell, the MFC's solar and lighting expert, is going to give the LUTW lamps a thorough test in the field this summer, and they plan to follow up with LUTW in early Fall to talk about a school lighting project in the works for rural Mali.
August 06, 2003
Lighting in Kemon
Kemon, like many rural villages in West Africa, is not connected to the electric grid. Night-time lighting is mostly provided by various classes of kerosene lamps, although about 50% of the population can afford to use battery-powered flashlights for getting around town after dark. One of our goals for the visit with MVV was to introduce them to Light Up the World's solid-state LED lamps. Here (from left to right), we have an electrician from a larger, nearby village, our friend Gabriel Agbede, and MVV's technical expert Salomon Chabi getting a first-hand look at the LUTW lamps.
The LUTW lamps were a big hit. We left two units in the village for testing by the community, and Salomon has one unit at his office in Cotonou for additional testing.
In terms of community lighting, kerosene lanterns are the most common source of night-time illumination. There are a few different categories of kerosene-burning lamps.
- "Lampion" (simple, locally-made wickless kerosene lamp with open, sooty flame) - 100-200 CFA (US$0.20-0.40)
- Wick lantern with glass mantle (everything from inexpensive Chinese brand to pricey French brands) - 6,000-20,000 CFA (US$12-40)
Although fuel prices fluctuate significantly depending on the political situation in neighboring Nigeria, kerosene in Benin currently costs around 300 CFA/liter ($us0.60). In the village, fuel is rarely bought in liter quantities. Families will instead buy small quantities of kerosene in soda bottles for 50-100 CFA. 50 CFA ($US0.10) is enough kerosene for roughly two night's illumination in a lampion or slightly longer in a lantern.
It is also possible to find mantle lanterns that burn camping gas. The camping gas cannisters cost about 700 CFA ($US1.40) in the village, and last about three hours.
Below, Arcadius Chabi from MVV demonstrates a camping gas lantern (L) and a Chinese-made kerosene wick lantern (R).
As Dave Irvine-Halliday at LUTW has pointed out, both open-flame kerosene lamps and wick lamps with glass mantles represent a fire hazard. Thousands of children in Benin are burned every year in lantern accidents.
August 13, 2003
Centre Songhai and Light Up the World
At this morning's meeting with Songhai director Frere Nzamujo, in addition to the Kinkajou and various other potential DtM projects, we discussed potential applications for Light Up the World's one-watt LED lamps. Rural community lighting is the most obvious application, and Songhai does work with solar lighting systems for their training centers in regions not connected to the grid. A less obvious application, and the one that was the most immediately compelling to Fr. Nzamujo, was the use of LUTW lamps in Songhai's fish and poultry hatcheries. A reliable source of low-power lighting would allow them to increase the growth rates of fish larvae, and would encourage their chicken to lay more eggs. The fact that an LED bulb has an average lifespan of 20,000 hours--that's almost three years of continuous use--made it an attractive alternative to incandescents and fluorescents.
This is the Songhai egg house--thousands of chickens in wire cages, with wire ramps on the floor of each cage that empty directly into little gutters, allowing the staff to collect the eggs without having to hunt around under the chickens.
This facility houses juvenile chickens. "All they seem to do is run around, peep and eat," said Liz.
Finally, this is from the larvae tank at the Songhai fish farm.
We left three LUTW lamp sets with Fr. Nzamujo for testing in their hatcheries. They are looking forward to contacting David Irvine-Halliday and his colleagues at LUTW, and they have promised to send us details and data from their various test installations on the farm.
