Solar Lights for a Million Filipino Homes

Which light bulb requires no electricity or battery, costs pennies to install and runs for years without needing to be replaced?

If you guessed the solar bottle bulb made from a 2-liter plastic bottle, a little bleach and some water, you’re correct. A Liter of Light (Isang Litrong Liwanag), an initiative of My Shelter Foundation in the Philippines, has big plans for them. Founder Illac Diaz learned of the simple light bulb, developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students, and knew it could transform life for millions of Filipinos without electricity.

According to the initiative’s Web site, “3 million households still remain powerless outside Metro Manila. And even in the metro, families still continue to live in darkness. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has reported that a large number of fire-related incidents involve faulty electrical connections. Informal settlements are high-risk areas, since the BFP does not conduct fire hazard inspections in these communities. MyShelter envisions sharing to unprivileged communities an economically — and ecologically — sustainable source of light that will provide an immediate solution to our fellowmen’s problems.”

Brazil’s Alfredo Moser is credited with the first model. He filled the ubiquitous throwaway bottles with water, added a cap made of camera film, and avoided mold by mixing in 2 caps of “sanitary water.”

MIT students and Illac Diaz made a few improvements, and now Isang Litrong Liwanag is on a mission “to light a million homes by 2012.” The solar bottle bulbs only work during daylight hours, but their low cost and high impact are changing lives for Filipino families.

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Photo from spare parts studio via Flickr Creative Commons

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Marc B.

2:33AM PST on Dec 15, 2011

Great idea - light will decreace accidents and improve education.

send a green star

Cathy N.

10:15PM PDT on Oct 31, 2011

~This was a wonderful article!~Mr. Liwanag certainly has brightened alot of lives with his homemade lightbulb!~Terrific invention that impacts alot of lives!!~

Ann S.

10:57AM PDT on Sep 30, 2011

Do they care about the torture animals endure through testing of this corrosive bleach they are using? How would it feel to have bleach poured into our eyes, forced vapor inhalation, etc.? I adamantly avoid supporting any producers of any household cleaners/chemicals that are clearly caustic, and thus, have obviously been tested on animals.

CHRISTOPHER S.

6:36PM PDT on Sep 25, 2011

Think I might try these in my garden shed and chicken coops.

Sue G.

6:27PM PDT on Sep 21, 2011

This really is a brilliant innovation. Well done Solar Demi. Maybe this clever man could adapt alluminium cans and mirrors to make Sun Pipes. I saw these in the London Ideal Home Exhibition. They were just alluminium pipes with mirrors placed inside at different angles. They start on the roof and drop inside the attic or any space. There's branches coming off to reach every dark room. They end up on the ceilings fixed to a round glass which looked like a ceiling light that was switched on. Copy and paste example below.

http://www.jupiterblue.co.uk/tubular-skylights?gclid=CIKclNjYr6sCFeomtAod5CxqeA

John S.

6:23AM PDT on Sep 21, 2011

It only works during daylight hours? Maybe I'm failing to see something, but ....

Don G.

9:54AM PDT on Sep 19, 2011

:000!!! is there a way I can contribute??

Tom S.

9:12AM PDT on Sep 19, 2011

kool

Katherine W.

8:06AM PDT on Sep 19, 2011

AWESOME!

Will R.

6:12PM PDT on Sep 18, 2011

Wow! Beautiful idea. I wish I could do it in my house but it is impractical, ..though I could do it on my garden shed I suppose, though I would have to block out the windows. I may have to build another garden shed.