Imagine living in small houses that are built very close together and made with metal roof sheets. It would be difficult for daylight to shine into your home. Now imagine that your family does not have the money to pay for the electricity bill this month, and you are left doing homework on the streets of your dense neighbourhood or walking around your house banging into furniture. It isn’t very safe or fun to be in an indoor environment with no lighting. Many squatters live like this in the slums of the Philippines. Electrical lighting is expensive and there often is a risk of fire-related incidents involving electrical connections in poorer areas. Three million households on the outskirts of Manila were without power in 2009 according to the Philippine National Electrification Commission.
Illac Diaz understood that the squatters had a difficult life and wanted to help. He established the MyShelter Foundation and started a sustainable lighting project known as A Liter of Light. A Liter of Light brings “eco-friendly bottle light to communities living without electricity” (aliteroflight.org).
Diaz holding a Solar Bottle Bulb; Source: developmentmarketplace.org
Solar bottle lights were originally developed by students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The innovative light is simple and easy to make. First, you fill an empty plastic bottle with mineral water and add a little bit of bleach to keep the water from turning green. Then, you cement it halfway through a small metal roof sheet to keep the bottle from falling through the roof. Lastly, you cut a hole in the ceiling for the bottle to fit through, place the metal sheet and bottle on top of the roof, and cement any cracks. Within an hour, the solar bottle light has been installed and there is light in the house! Purchase and installation costs approximately one dollar per light and lasts about 10 years. The best part is that you’re recycling plastic bottles and helping to minimize pollution in the Pacific.
Installed Solar Bottle Bulb; Source: mechanchi.com
The use of a solar bottle light is more beneficial and effective than cutting a hole in the roof. Bugs and the rain would find it easier to creep through the home’s skylight. In addition, the light would only shine directly through the hole. Solar bottle lights, on the other hand, collect light through two main physics laws: Snell’s Law and total internal reflection. In other words, the refracted light is able to spread throughout the room more evenly than direct light through a hole.
The science behind solar bottle lights; Source: physicscentral.com
Although the solar bottle light cannot be used when there is no sunlight, it is more advantageous than struggling to spend money on electricity with risky wiring. A Liter of Light has made it possible for this cheap and eco-friendly solar bottle lights to spread to homes in India, Kenya, Singapore, The Middle East, Spain, and many others.
Tedx of Illac Diaz talking about his project. Skip to 2:35 for part about Solar Bottle Light. Source: TEDxTalks
-Stephanie Mrakovich
