Philips to target education sector in Africa with solar powered school homework light
16 February 2009. Philips has announced the development of a new solar powered reading light, which allows people to read books and write in the dark. This light – called ‘My reading light’, should help boost the education sector in Africa and allow a new generation of school children to continue with their homework after the sundown.'
Today an estimated 500 million Africans live without electricity. For these people nighttime means either darkness or the flickering light of a candle or kerosene lamp. However the disadvantages of Kerosene lanterns are many, including safety and health risks, high costs due to the link with oil prices. And the light output of these lanterns is so low as to make reading almost impossible.
As a result therefore, at the going down of the sun which occurs at around 6.30-7.00pm life simply comes to a stop. Children can’t do homework and other economic activities cease too whilst the quality of life is affected, both in the short and long run. Solar powered lighting solutions can really make a difference here.
Quality LED Lighting
‘My reading light’ provides high quality LED lighting, which is evenly distributed along a patended anti-scratch coated perspex sheet. It is extremely lightweight and can be held or placed over the page of a book, allowing the user to read or write. ‘My reading light’ has a built in rechargeable battery, which provides between 3.5 and 9 hours of light depending on the light level selected. There is a choice of high/middle/low dimming settings.
Low cost version
In addition to the main reading light a slimmed down low cost version is also being developed. My Reading Light is an application which has been developed by Philips Research Shanghai, a cradle of innovations for emerging markets.
SESA
These new developments are part of Philips commitment both to developing sustainable lighting solutions for Africa and to its partnership with the Dutch government on the ‘Sustainable Energy Solutions for Africa’ (SESA) project which aims to provide 10m people with affordable, appropriate and sustainable energy services in 10 sub-Saharan African countries by 2015. SESA links with existing UN projects to help provide sustainable lighting, cooking and water purification in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mission
Philips mission is to improve people’s lives and is committed to making affordable, high-quality, energy efficient lighting available to areas where it is most needed. Philips is also involved in the World Bank Group initiative to provide modern lighting to the 500 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa who have no access to electricity. Jointly managed by the World Bank and IFC, Lighting Africa aims to develop market conditions for the supply and distribution of new, non fossil fuel lighting products, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs and light emitting diodes, in rural and urban areas of the region that are not connected to the electricity grid.
