"A liter of light"

[Ynot]

Now, this isn't strictly speaking a theatre lighting topic BUT is one that fascinated me when I picked up the link from a FB friend.

 

But quite simply the 'technology' couldn't be simpler, and in this age of CFL and LED alternative light sources, the 'Liter of Light' project in the Phillipines is quite honestly a breathtaking example of low-tech winning out over the higher brand!

 

Basically, a bottle of water (with bleach to stop the growth of bacteria to cloud the water) is poked through the corrugated steel roofs of the Fillipino households, and the top collects the sun's rays and refracts them inside the house, giving the effect of a 50 to 60W domestic lightbulb inside!

 

Not that it'll catch on here in the UK, but for the impoverished communities out in the wider world, the recycling of 1 litre plastic Coke bottles HAS to be a winner!!

[pumphouse]

Very similar concept to these although much cheaper and undoubtedly more environmentally friendly.

 

I think I saw the expensive version used in 'Grand Designs' once.

 

The concept may catch on here, but probably not with the coke bottle method.

 

I agree it's a great example of low-tech innovation though. Where do I send my empty coke bottles to help relieve the philippinos of their darkness?!

 

Jason

[kerry davies]

I think they may well have sufficient plastic rubbish there already, Pumphouse.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch

[willdoweuk]

Where do I send my empty coke bottles to help relieve the philippinos of their darkness?!

 

 

I wonder what they do at night?

[bigclive]

I wonder what they do at night?

 

They shag apparently.

[Ynot]

I wonder what they do at night?

If you watch the embedded video, these aren't lighting to the exclusion of electric lighting - just something to illuminate the rooms (didn't see many windows) in the daytime.

[bigclive]

I saw this technique some time back. It's similar to a commercially produced light pipe system where the pipes were filled with liquid to act as a form of fibre optic.

 

You can buy light pipe systems in the UK. They are a good idea for bringing light into areas of a building with no windows, where the surprisingly bright levels of light outdoors will give significant illumination indoors. Actual purchase and installation costs are so astronomically high for the commercial versions that you'd save yourself a load of time and hassle using a ceiling pendant with a compact fluorescent lamp in it.

 

If our roofs were as simple as a bit of corrugated iron then we too could have Coke bottle lights.

[pritch]

The in-laws have the non-coke bottle version that Clive mentions. They had it fitted as part of a loft conversion project, that involved the roof being made higher, in order to give some extra light to what would have otherwise been a completely dark landing.

 

Had it not been done as an integral part of some fairly hefty roofing works, then I doubt they'd have gone for it. But as something that could be fitted as original spec, it's great.