Saltwater-powered LED light from Japan

Can you light up a bulb with water?

Apparently you can. It's ingenuity at its best when the Japanese added salt to water and voila! You have simple and cost effective solution to power up your tent, camp, or use it as emergency light during the frequent SESB power interruption.

At RM248 a piece, it's a bit steep but imagine the convenience and its low operating cost.

Available online: JapanTrendShop, eBay, alibaba

Green House Salt Water Powered LED Lantern

Green House Co., a Japanese office equipment manufacturer, has launched sales of an LED lantern, its GH-LED10WBW model, which can generate electricity using just water and salt. The device requires no dry cells or battery charging. By simply pouring saline water into the lantern, ions start traveling from a metal rod of magnesium to a carbon rod, thus generating electricity to power the light, which has a luminous flux of 55 lumens.

While the single magnesium rod can generate up to 120 hours of light, the saline water needs to be replaced every eight hours of use. The electricity generated can also be used for USB-powered devices using a USB cable that comes with the lantern. With no need to worry about self-discharging, the lantern is ideally suited as part of any outdoor or emergency preparedness kit.


Features of the GH-LED10WBW lamp by Green House

Lights: 10 LED
Lasts 8 hours on single charge of salt water (after use, please dispose of water)
Brightness: 55 lumens
Power: 350cc of salt water (3-5% salinity, 16g / 0.6 oz of salt)
Change rodes every 120 hours
Size: 210 x 113 x 28mm (8.3 x 4.4 x 9")
Weight: 680g (24 oz)
Power generation: DC1.5V, LED DC3V
Recharge power: DC4.5V
Includes USB cable, handle, mounting hole, water supply pack
Instructions: Japanese only

Price: $80 (approximately RM248)

Source: Japan Trend Shop

LED lighting for SK Randagong, Ranau

Being far away from the development of the urban area should not stop you from being efficient in your energy usage. Especially so if you happen to have been adopted by big corporation such as SESB (Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd).

Energy efficiency is what we want to drive home to the younger generation and SESB did just that to the school children at SK Randagong in Ranau.

SK Randagong - children will learn about energy efficiency early. InsightSabah photo.


Called Energy Efficient (EE) Light programme, SESB started the initiative off in the rural area by 'acting' rather than 'preaching'. SESB came to the school and changed all its conventional light bulbs with energy saving LEDs in September last year, and helped reduce the school’s electricity bill by about 30% the next month. The less-than-expected saving is probably due to power consumption by other appliances that are not energy efficient.


How much?

The  total cost of changing all 35 lights at the school is RM5,350 which works out to be about RM135 per unit. A check with online retailers shows that LED tubes will set you back at RM130 to RM190 per set. Comparing this to the conventional fluorescent tube which is retailed at about RM14 (36 W), it is still a very expensive affair at the current market price.

But life span of LED lights are also about 10 times longer and are brighter,  plus there is virtually no heat generated compared to incandescent/filament and conventional tubes.

Coverage by local dailies, DE, NST and BP was not conclusive as to whether SESB replaced all lights with LED tubes, compact fluorescent tubes or combination of both but looking at the cost involved, I'm convinced they are LEDs.


Why LED? (The LED Revolution)

LEDs are evolving much faster than any other lighting technology. They offer advances in:-

• Efficiency. Energy savings from 50% to 70% compared with conventional technologies result in similar cuts to carbon emissions.

• Controllability. Better control over light colour,  intensity and direction allows lighting system designs that can deliver a wide range of social co-benefits. 

     Examples:

1. Outdoor LEDs offer improved visibility for pedestrians and traffic, as well as reduced light pollution.
2. Indoor LED smart control systems have been shown to improve student behavior and study performance.

• Lifespan. Well-designed LEDs are expected to last for 50,000 to 100,000 hours or more. Lifespans can be extended even further by coupling LEDs with smart controls.

According to LED 2012 Report by The Climate Group (Supported and sponsored by HSBC & Philips), when smart controls allow LEDs to dynamically change lighting levels in response to conditions, total system energy savings can reach up to 80%.*

While fluorescent tubes have doubled in efficiency since 1950, white LED efficiency has increased by a factor of ten since 2000. Today LEDs are among the most efficient lighting sources available, but in the near future they will reach far beyond any competing technology and become the technology of choice for most applications – with energy savings reaching up to 90% compared to today’s conventional technologies. [The Climate Group]


TheGreenMechanics:

SESB should not stop there. Move on to other schools, higher learning institutions, and collaborate with other GLCs or even local authorities. Get the involvement of the people. Involvement would instill the sense of belonging.

Thumbs up and many thanks, SESB!


* LED June 2012 Report by The ^oClimate Group.

LED lighting market expected to double in 2014

The government's decision to ban incandescent bulbs by 2014 does seem to be timely. The pace at  how the development and improvement of the existing LED technology is moving forward makes it very likely that this type of lighting is becoming viable.

In my previous post, I was a bit critical and skeptical about the timing and of our government's capability to  ban them altogether.

According to industry research (part of which is appended below), sales of LED-related lightings will double in slightly a year's time. Malaysia is also targeting 2014 to start using LED street lightings.

The following table by thecleanrevolution  shows device efficacy and price trends until 2020. Prices are expected to continue to decline over the next 5 years as demand and production ramp up.

Note: KLM = 1000 lumens

Sales to double and performance to improve rapidly

While estimates vary widely throughout the lighting industry, a new report by Strategies Unlimited predicts that LED lighting sales should double by 2014. The independent report stated that LED lighting should be an $8.3 billion dollar industry by that time, according to rapidonline.com

"LEDs are getting so much better, and the market is flooded with them so there are so many to choose from," Victoria Lee, lighting designer, told the news source.

Strategies Unlimited accounts for the spike in growth due to increased consumer awareness of the energy-saving qualities of the lighting source, improvements in performance and the influx of readily available commercial products for home use, businesses and industrial capacities.

In addition, with the onset of the global economic recession, more and more countries have instituted fiscal stimulus measures that include energy-efficient lighting such as LEDs. The wide-scale phasing out of incandescent lighting has also attributed to the industry's surging growth. The economic downturn has consumers spending more wisely, so they will try anything to reduce the prices of their utility bills.

Ref: Birddog Diostributing


So, yeah, let's light up the streets and malls with LED and save energy.

Kota Kinabalu city to use energy-saving bulbs soon

It's a good initiative by City Hall, taking cue of government's intention to use LED for street lighting in 2014. For building illumination, a pilot project by the federal government helped save it around RM3.5 million or 10.3% in power usage, between January and October last year.

Energy saving light powered by solar at Petronas building compound in Kota Kinabalu

Citing what was reported in the Daily Express on Jan 10, 2013 "the use of LED is much cheaper from the existing lamps", I hope the tabloid merely misquoted the Mayor as this is definitely not the case. Infact the use of LED lamps is 'very expensive' if you compare it with sodium vapour and or metal halide street light bulbs.

The major selling point of LED lamps is its extremely low energy usage, and that is why the City Hall will save a lot in its electricity bills when using it. However, initial installation cost is higher than the existing ones.

_____________________________________________

Energy-saving bulbs for some KK areas
D.Express. 10-1-2013

Kota Kinabalu: City Hall has identified some areas in the city to be lit by energy saving bulbs to help save on utility bills this year. Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir on Wednesday said City Hall would begin the installation of such bulbs like Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs in a pilot project, to determine its viability, soon.

"Certainly the use of LED is much cheaper from the existing lamps, we will not replace them all at once, but the installation will be done gradually, in phases," he said.

Preliminary results of a pilot project in the peninsula, revealed LED bulbs used in 12 government buildings in Putrajaya showed average savings of 10.3 per cent or RM3.5million from January-October last year.

The move could help the Government save up to RM800 million from the RM2.7 billion it spends each year. However, the cost of implementing the plan is costly, revealed Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister, Datuk Seri Peter Chin.

Reference: Daily Express

GravityLight: lighting for the electricity-deprived places

No matter where you are, you should not be deprived of energy, or in this context, light.

People come up with a number of ideas on how to produce light when you are at the most remote of an area. Or, if you are residing in a developing nation with minimum coverage of electricity. Meet GravityLight.

Weight and light!

What is GravityLight?

As the name suggest, the light bulb is powered by a small rotating generator turned by the descending weight.

It only takes a few seconds to lift the weight, which creates enough energy for half an an hour of light, whenever it is needed. It has no batteries to run out, replace or dispose of. It is completely clean and green.

Because there are no running costs after the initial low cost purchase, it has the potential to lift people out of poverty, allowing them to use the money they have saved to buy more powerful solar lighting systems in the future.

I believe it took the inspiration of energy stored in water, such as in hydro-electric power generator. In the case of GravityLight, a tiny 'turbine' is turned by the weight and the LED bulb is the sole load of this generator.

Bright enough when you need it most

You can place it anywhere. Hang it in the shed or make it into a great porch light, you can clip on a hanging basket or anything weighing about 20lbs.

The GravityLight components: No operating cost, apart from a tiny bit of energy to lift the bag.

How much?

Less than $5 (RM15) if mass produced. The inventors are looking for sponsors so that this light can be distributed free to places in Africa and India. If you want to find out more visit indigogo.

Addressable Light Bulb Goes On Sale

Do you fancy switching on some particular lights at home using your smartphone while you are still on your way?

In the internet protocol, every device connected to the world wide network has its own IP address. That's including your PC, laptop and mobile smartphones. This means that your devices have unique identification and therefore addressable.

Think about light bulb that has IP address of its own. And think about hundreds or thousands of addressable light bulbs. That is what this title is all about. LED Light bulbs that can become data hotspots and be controlled (switch on/off, dimmed, auto-switched, programmable) from anywhere in the world.

Image: dvice

On Monday, October 22, 2012, GreenWave Reality and NXP launched a new line of WiFi-networked LED light bulbs, along with the Connected Lighting Solutions platform to run them. According to Greentechmedia, GreenWave has already started shipping the bulbs to European utility customers, such as in Denmark, Netherlands, and Sweden. The new bulbs are also certified for sale in the US.


How much?

Noting that possibility is endless with such bulb, how much would you be willing to pay for it? For a start, a basic kit containing a gateway device and four bulbs, along with a handheld remote, will cost about $200. Individual bulbs can then be purchased at $20 to $30 (RM60 - RM90).

The technology make use of IPv6 connectivity to network LED light bulbs.

If $30 is too steep, think about these two things about network and connectivity:

1. The rise of the “Internet of Things” is pushing basic IP connectivity down to pacemakers, security webcams, smart thermostats and other devices at a pace that should cut costs dramatically in the years to come.
2. There’s a new breed of IPv6-enabled mesh networking technology that’s allowing these devices to receive and pass along data to one another, which beefs up the topological factors (i.e., walls) that can cause trouble for low-power wireless networks.

The advantage of using light bulbs as places to add wireless mesh nodes, is that they are likely to reach every part of the home or business they are deployed in. Hence the data nodes as well.

Although GreenWave and NXP are not the first to come up with the idea of a house full of IP-addressable smart light bulbs, the usability of such technology is still in infancy stage. But as earlier mentioned, the possibility is endless.

If you are interested to read further, hop in to GreenTechMedia

LED : Lighting the Future

It is very interesting to note that the country intends to use Light Emitting Diode, LED to light up its streets by 2014.

Light-emitting diodes (LED) are solid-state devices that convert electrical energy directly into light of a single color. LED do not waste energy in the form of non-light producing because they employ ‘cold’ light generation technology, in which most of the energy is delivered in the visible spectrum. It could offer long service life and high energy efficiency, although at this juncture, initial costs are higher than those of fluorescent and incandescent lights.

LED street-lighting: Image - Soltron Corp.

Although costlier, LED's offer a variety of advantages compared to conventional lighting; among the more commonly known are:

Long-lasting

LED light can last up to 50,000 hours or 10 times as long as compact fluorescents, and far longer than the conventional incandescent. Very little maintenance is required through out the life span of the lamp.

Durability

LED are filament-free, solid and robust. Thus, they are not easily damaged under the same circumstances where regular incandescent bulbs would.

Environmentally Friendly

No mercury. More environmental friendly. LED's are made of non-toxic materials, unlike fluorescent lights that contain huge amounts of mercury and other hazardous material.

Cold Temperature Operation

Cold temperature is one of the challenges of fluorescent lights. On the other hand, LED light output and efficiency increase as operating temperature drops, making LED a natural choice for refrigerators, freezer cases and cold storage facilities.

More efficient

LED light produces more light per watt compared to incandescent light, a feature that would be useful in battery powered devices. In addition, LED light can emit an intended color without the use of color filters employed by traditional lighting methods. The following Table shows the comparison of the equivalent wattage and light output of Incandescent, Compact fluorescent, and LED lights.

Table 1: Equivalent wattage and light output of Incandescent, fluorescent (CFL), and LED Lights


LED lights are fast becoming the light source of choice for many general lighting applications, such as architectural lighting, down lights, freezer case lighting and retail display lighting. Even street illumination using LED is quite a common sight nowadays. Due to the low power consumption of LED lights, they can be solar powered and installed off-grid at remote locations.


General Lighting Term used

• Illumination:  The distribution of light on a horizontal surface.
• Lumen:  A measurement of light emitted by a lamp
• Efficacy: The ratio of light produced to energy consumed. It is measured as the number of lumens produced divided by the rate of electricity consumption (lumens per watt)
• Color Rendering Index (CRI): The Color Rendering Index (CRI) is a 1–100 scale that measures a light source’s ability to render colors the same way sunlight does.

Reference: Buletin ST, Issue No.1, 2012

LED streetlights by 2014

If the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment has its way, by 2014 Malaysia will be using Light Emitting Diode (LED) to light up its streets. By doing so, the government is expected to save RM300 million every year on energy expenses for streetlights.

    A typical LED streetlight, powered by solar. The ministry's initiative will be on grid power.

An example of a widely use of LED lamp application bright sighboards and traffic lights. Due to its directional light beam, when angled correctly, LED lamp is very bright and suitable for traffic lightings during daytime.


Initiative by KePKAS

According to Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister (KePKAS), Datuk Bolkiah Hj Ismail, the move to use LED for street-lighting is to achieve a sustainable development through the adoption of green technology. It is the government's desire to look into more development plans that are environmentally friendly.

Through the use of green technology via LED lights, there is an expected saving of up to 75% (I'm quoting Datuk Bolkiah) of energy compared to conventional lights. A pre-qualification registration and consulting service on the use of LED lights to contractors was held on Monday, organised by Realkey Solutions Sdn Bhd.

The Federal Government is expected to roll out the budget on the installation of LED lights nationwide soon. State governments, agencies and departments may also receive a huge allocation to phase out conventional lights.

To help the nation reduce carbon emission, the State Government would take the LED lights installation as one of the steps towards the adoption of green technology. At the federal level, LED lights will be installed at Ministry of Health premises and streets under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department.

Teluk Likas street showered with LED lights? Maybe, soon.

TheGreenMechanics' two cents: Massive funding, don't screw it!

Do up some rough mathematical calculations and using 5 to 6 years of ROI, the total investment in the LED street lighting could cost the government a whopping RM2 billion to RM2.5 billion. But with the large number of lights to be replaced the amount should be much lesser than this. The intention is noble, so, don't screw this by turning the exercise into a national scandal.

LED lighting technology is still evolving and lamp manufacturing code has not been standardised yet, unlike the conventional lights.

What this means is that each manufacturer (e.g. Philips, Osram, GE, Siemens, etc) will have their own standard on fittings, rating, lifespan, build and so on, making compatibility a big issue.

For instance, when you buy a Philips LED bulb c/w fitting, 6 to 7 years down the road you would want to replace a faulty 'bulb'. You can only do so using a Philips 'bulb' and not Osram's or Siemens'. If you insist on other brand, you would then need to replace the whole fitting which is a very expensive affair.

In short, plan properly at the beginning and don't blow the budget halfway.


Reference: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=81885