Comments on: $5 Gravity Energy Storage System Provides Free LED Lightning

By: Ronald Brak

Ronald Brak — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 12:07:00 +0000

Good points there, it’s not just a matter of cost. There are hand cranked ones I saw which were again $2 in Australia (and no, not everything costs $2 in Australia) which eliminates the need to put it in sunlight to charge it, but they also rely on a battery which will eventually die.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 00:44:00 +0000

I saw an article about someone who had created a job for himself as a solar lantern tender. He collected the neighborhood lamps in the morning and watched over them while they charged.

The world needs a good storage battery solution. Solar lights and gravity lights can be an excellent ‘first rung’ on the clean energy ladder but we should make it possible for people to move up at an affordable price.

By: James Van Damme

James Van Damme — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 00:24:00 +0000

I guess I’ve never thought of this before, but solar lights have to sit out in the sun. How do you do that if you don’t have a window, and keep it from being stolen? Or it’s raining or cloudy? Also, solar lights need battery replacement occasionally, and the batteries tend to be cheap NiCd. The gravity light should work until it breaks.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 01:32:00 +0000

I’d like to see some comparison of lumins and lifespan.

I’m certainly open to better solutions.

By: Ronald Brak

Ronald Brak — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 01:12:00 +0000

I hope this does a lot of people a lot of good. But it will have to be cheap to beat the competition from solar lights. I’ve seen solar lights on sale in Australia for $2. While I’m sure this is considerably better than those solar lights, they will still be tough to beat on price.

By: dynamo.joe

dynamo.joe — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Too bad they didn’t have these in time for Christmas delivery.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 23:39:00 +0000

Here’s their web site. Show them a little Christmas love.

They’re well over their funding goal, but getting a lot of more names on their list of supporters can be a good thing.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/282006/x/1904167

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 23:27:00 +0000

This is a big deal.

Currently millions of people light their homes with candles and kerosene They spend a large portion of their very limited income on stuff they can burn for light.

For a month’s kerosene cost they can purchase an LED light that should give them a few years of light with no further costs. Over a few months they can purchase enough of these lights to light up their rooms.

Easy and cheap to ship. Easy to set up. We can get clean, cheap light to a lot of people in a hurry.

Then, when they have stopped the cash drain of burning stuff, they will be able to accumulate enough money to buy a minimal sized solar setup and bootstrap themselves into a cheaper, healthier life.