It’s hard to believe that in this day and age, there are still large areas of the Earth without access to electricity, and many people living without even the most basic technology, such as a way to light up living and working areas. One solution, the solar bottle bulb, is designed to bring daylight into buildings by repurposing plastic water bottles, without the need for any power supply, but this next design, which also uses plastic water bottles, takes a different approach.
The Infinite Light concept, from Turkish design firm Designnobis, starts with a used plastic water bottle, but instead of just using sunlight directly, it incorporates flexible solar power panels and batteries, which would allow it to collect and store solar energy during the day for use after dark.
http://youtu.be/JKCSpuI3PCE
“Flexible solar panel which is rolled in the bottle collects sunlight and with the batteries it is stored and converted into energy. The part which gives the light out is attached at the bottom to the metal parts that also functions as the cover and supporter of the bottle. The metal wire at the top acts as handle, so the light can be moved around and hanged from the roof as well. Lighting unit does not require any infrastructure and it is a ready-to-use package that can be placed in a discarded plastic bottle. Durable and long-lasting, product aims to enlighten homes through a sustainable, inexpensive design.” – Designnobis
The Infinite Light concept took home a first prize finish in the 2013 Green Dot Awards, along with several other of the designs from Designnobis. To find out more about the project, or about Designnobis and their work, see their website.