Charge me up!

John Timmer

Last week, I got notification that there was a package waiting for me at our corporate headquarters in Times Square. The customs declaration announced that it was a solar-powered lamp. That on its own didn't surprise me. A variety of organizations have been promoting these as indoor lighting for places that aren't on the grid, and I'd covered just how significant the health benefits of this lighting can be since it would displace fuels that create lots of indoor air pollution.

But opening the package brought a rather unexpected surprise. There was a solar lamp inside, but it wasn't the sort of thing that I'd expect from a large aid organization. It was clearly made by hand, with rough edges in its white plastic and the On/Off labels stuck on with adhesive. The letter that accompanied it told an interesting tale. Its manufacturer, Simon Lule, was making these himself in a workshop in Kampala, Uganda, selling them for the price of about two months' worth of kerosene, the fuel of choice in the area.

Simon was raising awareness of his work after launchinga fundraising campaign hoping to buy some equipment that could injection-mold the plastic. And he was hoping that an article on his work would raise the profile of his campaign.

Masa Energy's Simon Lule describes his creation.

We've been able to confirm Lule's description of the power and lighting situation in Kampala through someone in the US Military who's stationed there. And, through e-mail and a Skype call, he was able to provide a lot of detail regarding how the hardware came to be and is now produceddetails that are consistent with the unit we have and the video he's produced.

Lule told Ars that the whole thing started when he returned home to Uganda from London to visit his grandparents. Although Uganda does have a limited electric grid (it generates most of its power from dams on the Nile River), most of the population doesn't have access to it. The CIA World Factbook rates the country as 139th of 216 countries in terms of electricity consumption, barely edging out New Caledonia. The organization says that "unreliable power" is holding back Uganda's economic development. Lule said that only eight percent of the country's population has access to the electric grid, a figure consistent with other sources we've checked.

Lule's grandparents are among the remaining 92 percent and were lighting their house with kerosene. As we learned late last year, burning fuel indoors for lighting and cooking kills more people every year than malaria; Lule put the health impact at the equivalent of two packs a day of cigarettes. He also told us that the fuel costs over a dollar a weeknot a small figure, given that Uganda's average per-capita income is only $1,400.

So, his first thought was to buy a solar lamp, one that can charge during the day and provide lighting at night. But when he went searching for a product in Uganda, all the options were expensive and didn't run long enough to be useful. So, thinking he'd found a way to both do good and supplement his income, Lule looked into whether he could import them from China. But again, none of the options would actually work well due to either cost or performance.

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Let there be light: A hand-made solar lamp from Uganda

Every home has lighting but not all homes take advantage of the creative designs and wide array of styles available. In order to achieve a well lit, yet comfortable room bothceiling lightingand accent or ambience lighting is needed. Every room has different lighting needs which are determined by the room type, size and layout. Evaluate your room carefully before choosing your lighting fixtures, consider the space itself, what types of activities will take place in the room and what style you would like to achieve.

Ceiling or overhead lighting is a great way to set a mood, create an atmosphere and make a statement. Any and every room in the home should have some type of ceiling lighting, as the room's primary source of light. Illuminating from the ceiling provides the best overall lighting, making cleaning more efficient as well as making general tasks easier and safer. Available inhanging,recessedorflush mounted, this lighting comes in any style imaginable to suit any room and any design motif. Consider amulti-light pendantover a large island in the kitchen or a boldchandelierto welcome guests in the foyer. Amid-sized chandelierover the everyday dining table will add interest as well as even, comfortable lighting over the area. The goal should be fixtures that will fill the majority of the room with comfortable warm light, too little light can be just as uncomfortable as too much light, balance is important.

Next you'll want to evaluate accent and task lighting.Wall sconcesadd style and a little drama by highlighting a dimmer area or assist in creating a focal point of a room feature or wall art.Pendantsare a stylish addition to many rooms in the home such as a bar area, kitchen or study.Lampsare a great way to add a lot of character and are ideal task lighting fixtures. The styles are endless, fromfloor lamps,table lamps,swing arm lampsand even beautifulTiffany styledoptions. Lamps are a great way to easily add warm inviting light and a great deal of style.

Different situations require different types and amounts of light. For example you want the room brighter while cleaning or reading and maybe a little dimmer while watching TV or having a conversation with friends. Some rooms require specific lighting needs for safety, such as the bathroom for shaving and the kitchen for cooking, slicing and dicing. Need some help finding the perfect ceiling fixture for your needs? Give one of our friendly product experts a call today!

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Indoor Lighting and Outdoor Lighting

The new generation of indoor lighting systems that have been recently introduced into the market offer control and monitoring capabilities to address lighting challenges and maximise the full potential of energy-efficient lighting units, such as LEDs. The new solutions can be integrated into a new build at the design phase or retrofitted into existing sites as part of a refurbishment plan. With the aid of wireless networked controls, the new lighting solutions will help avoid costly rewiring of current buildings, as well as disruption to the usual business operations.

Technological advances in monitoring and control solutions for indoor lighting offer designers, engineers and managers an array of benefits from significant reductions in a building's energy consumption, and the associated cut in CO2 emissions, to unrivalled dynamic control of all lighting output. Innovative lighting systems are inherently flexible and offer completely customisable solutions for every client.

There is huge potential to make significant savings on energy costs by taking control of indoor lighting. Of all the controllable lighting sold in Europe today, 75 per cent is currently not being controlled by anything more sophisticated than an on/off switch. As lighting accounts directly for 50 per cent of the electricity consumed in Europe's office buildings, control of this expenditure would be hugely beneficial to those organisations wishing not only to cut energy costs but also boost their green credentials.

Figure 1: Harvard Engineering's EyeNut LED-lighting control infrastructure.

Traditional lights are extremely energy inefficient or lack controllability. For instance, incandescent light bulbs convert less than 5 per cent of the energy they use into visible light and the remaining energy is converted into heat; an unwanted output and unnecessary expense in offices that then have to rely on air-conditioning to regulate the temperature.

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Advanced indoor lighting systems maximise energy-efficient LEDs

New Taipei, Taiwan FZLED, maker of high-performance LED lighting products, introduces the new collection of omnidirectional GU60 series of LED bulbs (GU60-02). The series uses 12 watts SMD LED, and fits standard E26, E27 sockets to conveniently replace traditional lighting source, used in different applications such as indoor, office, storage or residential usages.

With advanced three design concepts, the beam angle is 270 degree, the lumen performance is over 910 lm/w, and the CRI (Color Rendering Index) is greater than 80. This GU60 LED bulb series comes with two CCT (color temperature) 3000K (warm white) and 6000K (cool white). The warm white type achieves an efficiency of 910 lumens at 3000K, and delivers 1080 lumens at 6000K. Additionally, these energy-saving bulbs have lifetimes of more than 35,000 hours, an operation temperature range of -0 to 35 C as well as an input voltage range of AC 100-240V.

Emitting no harmful UV or IR rays and with very low heat emissions, the high-performance, energy-saving LED bulbs are an excellent lighting product to use for indoor, architectural, flood, mood, and spot lighting situations in both residential and commercial lighting.

The GU60 LED bulb series are available in Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore soon. FZLED is excited to build relationships with more distribution partners in order to provide consumers around the world with their innovative, energy-saving, and high-performance lighting solutions.

Applications Indoor Lighting Architectural Lighting Flood Lighting Mood Lighting Biological Lighting Spot Lighting

Features Energy Saving No heat, No UV, or IR light radiation Light source: SMD LED Ra>80 Long life time>35000 hours E26/E27/B22/GU10 socket compatible Power consumption up to12W for different length of FZL-GU60 High power driver efficiency > 90% Non-Dimmable CE, FCC Approved

Specifications of the FZLED GU60 LED Bulb Series

FZL-GU60-02-WW-12 (Warm White) & FZL-GU60-01-CW-12 (Cool White) Power Consumption 12Watts Luminous Flux (lm) 910(10%) or 1080 (10%) CCT 3000K or 6000K CRI >80 LED SMD Lens Frosted Input Voltage AC 110-240V Socket E26 / E27 Beam Angle 270 Operation Temp. +0 - +35 Dimensions 77.6 x 135.7mm Net. Weight 0.115(10%)

Product URL http://www.fzled.com.tw/products.php?KindID=3&CID=38

About FZLED FZLED is a Taiwan-based manufacturer and innovative designer of high-performance LED lighting products. As a sub-division of FZtech Inc., FZLED's products have superior mechanical and thermal designs, utilizing the expertise of FZtech. Committed to excellence, FZLED follows a strict TQC for the entire manufacturing process, and conducts R&D projects continuously in an effort to create LED lighting solutions that offer light-weight, high-quality, environmentally-friendly, innovative, and thermally-optimized products to consumers. For more information visit FZLED online at http://www.fzled.com.tw.

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Omnidirectional LED Bulbs feature 270 degree beam angle.

Plants dont like freezing temperatures any more than we do. But many will be perfectly happy to grow indoors, encouraged by fluorescent lights. Under lights, you can grow plants, including vegetables, up to 10 inches tall. Success depends on choosing the right setup. Many systems are on the market, but not all are of equal quality. Beware of those made entirely of chrome-plated steel. They are susceptible to rusting from the fertilizers used for growing. Chrome-plated shelves and trays are especially vulnerable. Stainless steel or plastic-coated shelves and trays will outlast all others. Nearly all the lighting fixtures are designed to hold Grow-lux fluorescent bulbs. Grow-lux lights emit both the blue and red rays of light, and both are necessary for photosynthesis and flower production. For maximum effectiveness, the uppermost foliage of the plants must be placed within inches of the light source. Grow-lux lights are recognized for their light quality and not for their light intensity. To improve the light intensity of your growing chamber, consider including a warm white fluorescent bulb for every two Grow-Lux lights in the light bank. Adding warm white bulbs is especially important when growing tall plants or plants with varying heights. Only warm white fluorescent bulbs emit the red light essential for photosynthesis with sufficient intensity to penetrate the foliage to a depth of eight to 10 inches. Cool white fluorescent bulbs emit only low levels of blue light, which is not as essential for photosynthesis as red light. High intensity lighting fixtures can be built using a combination of power-groove fluorescent tubes and 60-watt incandescent bulbs. This sort of setup is used to supply lighting in commercial growth chambers. However, these power-groove fluorescent tubes generate so much heat that fans must be used to circulate the air. Meeting the irrigation needs of plants growing under artificial lights can be challenging. Plants growing under Glor-lux lights require less water than plants growing under warm white fluorescent lights due to cooler rooting media temperatures. Because the red waves from warm white fluorescent bulbs penetrate deeper, rooting media are warmer and dry out faster. Avoid overcrowding plants under artificial lights. As the plants increase in size, provide additional space for them. A good rule of thumb is to never allow the foliage of one plant to touch that of an adjoining plant. Allowing the plants to grow under crowded conditions will give you tall spindly plants with weak stems and yellowing leaves at the bottom.

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Indoor Winter Gardening

Rasmi Outdoor LED lighting Company, modern lighting, exterior lighting, led spotlight
Rasmi - http://www.rasmi-india.com LED Lighting Company specialized in a whole range of domestic and commercial lighting solutions for indoor, outdoor and un...

By: Rasmi Lighting Energy India Pvt. Ltd

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Rasmi Outdoor LED lighting Company, modern lighting, exterior lighting, led spotlight - Video

A Few More Of My Favourite(ish) Things...
Solar activity has now stopped so back to indoor lighting! Particularly hang around for the last item in this video as it really is something everybody shoul...

By: CraigyD

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A Few More Of My Favourite(ish) Things... - Video

The HAL-RSLED-240W Wall Pack Light from Larson Electronics is a Class 1 Division 2, Class 2 Division 1 & 2 hazardous location light fixture that provides 21,300 lumen of high quality light while drawing only 240 watts. The copper free die-cast aluminum alloy body is powder coated for added durability and an attractive aesthetic appearance. Light weight and a low profile make this unit an attractive alternative to larger and heavier older fixtures and require less hardware to install. This robust luminaire can outperform a 400 watt metal halide fixture in brightness while consuming half the power.

This light is multi-voltage capable and can be operated with 90-277 VAC, 127-300 VDC, or 347-477 VAC. The aluminum body and LED lamp give this light excellent durability and resistance to vibration and impacts. The housing is specially designed to dissipate heat which increases the efficiency and lifespan of the LED luminaires. A special heat dissipating design in conjunction with LED technology helps this fixture to achieve an excellent 100,000 hour rated lifespan with 80% lumen retention. This fixture has multiple mounting options including direct conduit, pole mounting, surface mounting with a wall bracket and cable mounting.

This LED Wall Pack can be configured in a flood or spot beam making it a versatile option for any application, Rob Bresnahan with Larsonelectronics.com said.

Larson Electronics carries an extensive line of explosion proof LED lights, LED work lights, light towers, intrinsically safe LED lights, portable work lights and industrial grade LED area lights. You can view Larson Electronics entire line of industrial grade lighting by visiting them on the web at http://www.larsonelectronics.com. You can also call 1-800-369-6671 to learn more about all of Larson Electronics lighting products or call 1-903-498-3363 for international inquires.

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LED Wall Pack Light features explosion proof design.

Jason Takes Manhattan Costume Life-sized Indoor Lighting
Indoor dark lighting teaser. http://www.michael-myers.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=5 t=95477 sid=2fc0538f2a4a00e56f02046e09c4cd35 start=15.

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Jason Takes Manhattan Costume Life-sized Indoor Lighting - Video

Kemp, Texas (PRWEB) January 14, 2014

The HAL-RSLED-240W Wall Pack Light from Larson Electronics is a Class 1 Division 2, Class 2 Division 1 and 2 hazardous location light fixture that provides 21,300 lumen of high quality light while drawing only 240 watts. The copper free die-cast aluminum alloy body is powder coated for added durability and an attractive aesthetic appearance. Light weight and a low profile make this unit an attractive alternative to larger and heavier older fixtures and require less hardware to install. This robust luminaire can outperform a 400 watt metal halide fixture in brightness while consuming half the power.

This light is multi-voltage capable and can be operated with 90-277 VAC, 127-300 VDC, or 347-477 VAC. The aluminum body and LED lamp give this light excellent durability and resistance to vibration and impacts. The housing is specially designed to dissipate heat which increases the efficiency and lifespan of the LED luminaires. A special heat dissipating design in conjunction with LED technology helps this fixture to achieve an excellent 100,000 hour rated lifespan with 80% lumen retention. This fixture has multiple mounting options including direct conduit, pole mounting, surface mounting with a wall bracket and cable mounting.

This LED Wall Pack can be configured in a flood or spot beam making it a versatile option for any application, Rob Bresnahan with Larsonelectronics.com said.

Larson Electronics carries an extensive line of explosion proof LED lights, LED work lights, light towers, intrinsically safe LED lights, portable work lights and industrial grade LED area lights. You can view Larson Electronics entire line of industrial grade lighting by visiting them on the web at http://www.larsonelectronics.com. You can also call 1-800-369-6671 to learn more about all of Larson Electronics lighting products or call 1-903-498-3363 for international inquires.

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Larson Electronics Announces the Addition of a 240 Watt Wall Pack Light to Their Line of Explosion Proof Lighting