LED Lighting
The Lumina Project
Scaling Up the Market for Off-Grid Lighting Solutions
An estimated 1.6 billion people in the developing world have no access to an electric grid. Most get their lighting from inefficient, ineffective, and unhealthful flame-based lighting, such as that from kerosene lamps. Fuel-based lighting is responsible for $38 billion in wasteful expenditures each year by the world's poor. Compounding the societal costs are nearly 200 megatons of carbon-dioxide emitted by fuel-based lighting, as well as the range of hardships and compromised indoor air quality associated with obtaining the basic need of nighttime lighting through the burning of solid and liquid fuels.
Left-to-right: a Pressure lamp, hurricane lamp, and LED lamp illuminate night market businesses.Supported by the Blum Center, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Humboldt State University are focusing on the replacement of fuel-based lighting sources with affordable, high quality off-grid lighting based on LED technology. Many companies-some inspired by the efforts of the Lumina Project-are entering this market. However, at present there are no commercially available off-grid lighting products that achieve a satisfactory balance between end-user cost and lighting product performance. Consequently, Lumina project researchers are developing and implementing an international framework for quality assurance. In addition, the Lumina team is working closely to ensure that there are at least five high-quality, affordable off-grid lighting products available in Kenya and other African markets with the hope that this will accelerate development of viable off-grid lighting products. Among the projects are other activities analyzing and documenting the health benefits of switching from kerosene lighting to LED-based off-grid lighting.
Principal Investigators: Evan Mills, Energy Analysis Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Arne Jacobsen, Co-Director, Schatz Energy Research Center, Humboldt State University
Field Location: Kenya
Partners: The Rosenfeld Fund For Global Sustainable Development; Lighting Africa Project, The Earth Institute at Columbia University
“I stay open longer now than before. I’ve noticed more customers are attracted to my business in the evening compared to before, and they can see my goods more clearly. More customers means more sales and more money for me. Some people come from far [out of their way] to see the lamp, [due to the novelty of the lamp.]”
— “M.J.”, Maai Mahiu, Kenya, 1/2009
