Solar Home Lighting For Rural India

Akash Pattanaik

Seminar Technical Writing

November 15, 2017

 1. Abstract

A solar lamp also known as solar light or solar lantern, is a lighting system composed of an LED

lamp, solar panels, battery, charge controller and there may also be an inverter. The lamp operates

on electricity from batteries, charged through the use of solar photovoltaic panel. Solar-powered

household lighting can replace other light sources like candles or kerosene lamps. Solar lamps use

renewable energy with infinity supply which is cheaper than standard lamps. In addition, solar

lamps reduce health risk as kerosene lamps have a bad impact on human health. LED solar lamp

system is a solar energy based system for operating LED lights for specified hours of operation per

day. LED based lighting system has become a popular substitute for low voltage lighting as LEDs do

not suffer from low efficiency, poor reliability and short life time exhibited by bulbs. LEDs are

favored over incandescent bulb or CFL as LEDs convert far more of their energy in to light. For

instance, substantial amount of energy is wasted as heat in bulbs. Increased efficiency means that

batteries will last much longer maintaining the brightness. The lifetime of LEDs is over 1000,000

hours. The maintenance cost is negligible. Also it operates in at a voltage as low as 1.8 V. So LED

Technology has opened new vistas for lighting with its unparalleled capabilities.

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 2. Introduction

In remote villages of India, many families cannot afford electricity to illuminate their homes. Many

in such areas would love to possess a source of light to dispel darkness and by which to study, read,

work, cook, and the like. Presently most families depend on kerosene lamps, which not only is a

recurring expenditure but also a cause of health and fire hazard. The process not only combines the

generation of power with the daily routine of the villagers but also drastically reduces the capital

cost to nearly 50% when compared to a solar powered lamp of equivalent output. When thinking

about what we could design to bring a revolutionary change to make the rural areas of the

developing nations brighter, we decided to focus on affordable, renewable light because it had the

potential to greatly improve the comfort and development of the peoples living in areas which are

deprived of electricity or which receives very minimal electricity during the entire day. About 39%

of households in rural India still use kerosene to meet their lighting requirements. Kerosene lamp is

a source of poor quality light; produces greenhouse gas emissions and most importantly, have

significant health and safety hazards associated with it. Thus the need for an alternative solution for

rural lighting arises. LED (light emitting diode) based Solar Lamp is an initiative to provide a low

cost solution for rural home lighting requirements in India and other countries. In India around

7,716 villages are still not connected to the power grid. Around 9 million rural households depend

upon kerosene to meet their day-to-day lighting needs.

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 3. Motivation

Solar lamp will allow rural India to access lighting and thereby replacing kerosene with the

portable LED based solar lamp. This unique product range offers a wide array of benefits including

reduced air pollution, improved studying conditions for children, safety from kerosene lighting led

accidents, cost effectiveness, generating more work capacity and potentially higher income by

offering night work opportunity to skilled laborers with a better light source.

4. Existing Lamp Design

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 5. Common Problems With Existing Design

5.1. Flickering Light And Frequent Burning Out

Flickering lights occur due to loose connections or loose parts in the lighting fixtures as well
as worn out contacts inside the fixture.
Poor quality lights or bulbs will flicker and provide poor and inconsistent lighting.
Lights may flicker because of heavy loads such as pumps that are unstable or overloading
the circuits.
A high rate of bulbs going faulty or burning up could be due to loose connections, worn out
contacts, poor quality bulbs or faulty lighting fixtures.

5.2. Insufficient Light

In most of the existing designs of lamps, the amount of light required is not enough.
Insufficient Light affect the task performance, the appearance of an area and the human
activity for which lighting is to be provided.

5.3. Poor Distributed Light

Most of the lamps are based on Down lighting, up lighting and front lighting methods of
light distribution whether in rural areas, people requires wide range distribution of light
because the household comes together and becomes active after dusk.
The distribution of light within the space to be lighted, whether indoor or outdoor.
Most of the lamps have round distribution of light so that people have to place the lamp in
the middle on the house.
Some of the lamps are having straight forward focused light distribution. They are not much
useful for household purposes in rural areas.

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 5.4. Glare - Too Much Light For Need

Glare is a common lighting problem. Glare is what happens when a bright light source or
reflection interferes with how you are 'seeing' an object.
In most cases, your eyes will adapt to the brightest level of light. When this adaptation
happens, it becomes harder to see the details in the duller or darker areas of the work space
(even though they are actually sufficiently lit!).
Glare can cause annoyance and discomfort, and can actually decrease a person's ability to
see.
Most of the lamps are having too much light that discharges the battery in short time of
period.

6. Apparatus Used For New Design

Solar Panel
LED Lights
A Multiple Indicator for the Charging
Battery indicator
On/off Switch
USB Mobile Charging Port
5000mAh Lithium Ion battery with in-built Charge Controller
Specular Mirror Finish Aluminum Plate

7. Advantages Of Using LED Lights In Solar Lamp

Economical maintenance free, light weight, reliable & Solar based solution.
Solar lamps can be used in areas where there is no electrical grid or remote areas that lack a
reliable electricity supply.
Once solar panels are installed, they produce energy without generating waste or pollution.
They operate with little maintenance or intervention.
Adopting high brightness and small light decline for LEDs.
Longer life with high efficiency constant current driver.

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 Solar power generation is economically competitive where grid connection or fuel transport
is difficult, costly or impossible. For example: satellites, hilly areas, remote locations and
when power is not available.
With solar lighting there is no risk of electrocution and the lights are cool to the touch,
making them safe for children and pets.
Safer than traditional electric current.
The use of solar lights improves education for students who live in households without
electricity.

8. Features And Solutions For Existing Problems

I am using LED lights for lighting as LEDs do not suffer from low efficiency, poor reliability
and short life time exhibited by bulbs.
Lamp can be moved in any direction as per the kind of human activity for which lighting is
to be provided.
A Specular Mirror Finish Aluminum light reflecting Plate is used to distribute light widely
which is movable with the lamp.
Based on Down lighting, up lighting and front lighting or back lighting methods of light
distribution.
USB Output to Charge Mobile, MP3 and Etc.
LED indications (battery charging or low battery), battery status (Battery indicator) and
protection functions.
A 5000mAh lithium ion battery with inbuilt charge controller is used.

9. Methodology Of Design

Research was done on the problems faced by rural areas with the existing designs of the
solar lamp.
On the basis of the problems, a new sketch design of the solar lamp was sketched.
According to the sketch design, different parts were created using Part design in CATIA
software.
All the parts were assembled using Assembly design in CATIA software.
As a result, a new design was obtained.

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 9.1. Sketch Design

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 9.2. CAD Model

10. Conclusion

By observing all the problems faced in rural areas with the existing design of solar lamp we
created a new design for the better lighting purpose. Here the Specular Mirror Finish
Aluminum light reflecting plate is used for the better distribution of light in homes. Our
model is a LED based solar lamp and the batter
battery
y used for the lamp is lithium ion battery.
Lithium ion battery is necessary for the solar lamp because it is a rechargeable battery The
solar panel is used to charge the battery.

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 11.References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_lamp
IDC school of design, IIT BOMBAY
http://www.idc.iitb.ac.in/projects/student/projects/Home-Lighting.html
http://www.yoursolarlink.com
http://www.thesolarcentre.co.uk
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/troubleshooting-common-problems-with-your-solar-
lights
http://solarlighting.com/solar-lighting-advantages
https://livingonsolarpower.wordpress.com/advantages-of-led-based-lights
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED_lamp
Make lithium ion battery usage mandatory for solar lamp makers - Thomas P. Abraham;
January 3, 2014
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery

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