Sunlight By Night

The solar-powered LED lantern,named Sun King,was the vision of three young men from Urbana Champaign,Illinois University. With an aim to light up the estimated 1.6 million un-electrified homes across the planet with sustainable electricity,Mayank Sekhsaria,Patrick Walsh and Anish Thakkar devised the affordable LED lantern that emits light for 16 hours after being charged in the sun for a day.

Their newly-launched company — Greenlight Planet — along with an NGO,Friends of Tribals Society (FTS),have begun distributing LED lanterns to impoverished tribal villages of the state. Sekhsaria says,“The common light source in Indian villages is kerosene lanterns,which in addition to emitting toxic fumes are highly combustible and less efficient. On the other hand,an entire village of around 100 houses can be provided our lanterns for approximately Rs 75,000 — one each for a family.”

Today,as dusk falls in Chikanpada,streaks of thin white light from the nearly 80-odd huts tell the story of development and hope. Sekhsaria says,“Technology has taken a giant leap across the world. It’s odd to think that these villagers who keep mobile phones in their pockets don’t have electricity and landline telephone in their homes. Our attempt was to bring light to them,without expenses like electricity bills. The sun is the greatest source of energy. Most villagers have already affixed their small 6.5” x 4.5” solar panel on their roofs. The lantern gets charged effortlessly,by a wire connecting it to the panel.”

While the price of a solar lantern is approximately Rs 4,000 to 5,000,Greenlight has managed to make it available for Rs 850. “We have made it possible by adopting several energy-efficient steps. For example,each LED used in this lamp is conservatively powered at half its rated capacity to prevent long-term degradation. Also,we have provided three types of low-powered (torch),medium-powered (regular) and high-powered (turbo) lamp modes so that energy is not wasted.”

In Chikanpada,lanterns were sold at a subsidised rate of Rs 200 each with the help of Rotary Club,Bombay,and FTS. “We don’t want to distribute the lamps free as people value it when there’s a price.”

Greenlight Planet,which has received awards like the UNESCO-Daimler ‘Mondialogo Engineering Award’ for the innovation,now looks to take the lantern to several village clusters in Thane. In keeping with the rural needs,the lantern has been designed to be portable,durable and water-resistant. “It can be dismantled from its stand and strapped to the hand or a bicycle. When attached to its steel stand,the lantern can be mounted on a wall,hung from the ceiling,or simply propped on the floor.”