The solar energy technologies firm Greenlight Planet recently revealed a new rechargeable lamp + solar panel that provides both lighting and mobile charging to off-grid users, the company’s most affordable such offering to date.
The name? The Sun King Charge. A fittingly bombastic name for the firm’s most affordable, and arguably most compelling, product to date.
The Sun King Charge allows users to use the solar lamp and the solar photovoltaic panel independently from one another, for up to hours or days at a time. That means that owners can “light their homes or workplace and charge their USB devices simultaneously during the day, offering them more efficiency in their everyday tasks.”
“In many off-grid communities, families either have to pay to charge their mobile devices or purchase low-quality solar devices which may not be safe for mobile phones,” stated Patrick Walsh, CEO of Greenlight Planet. “We developed the Sun King Charge to offer a safe, reliable and high-quality solar lamp and charging device, at a price point within the rural consumer’s reach.”
A notable feature is that in addition to charging with the solar panel, the lamp can be charged using a wall charger wherever electricity is available.
As far as specifics, the “Sun King Charge’s bright 50 lumen white LED lamp yields up to 72 hours of light from a single sunny day, with a long lasting Lithium Ferro-Phosphate battery. It comes complete with Greenlight Planet’s industry-leading two-year warranty.”
The product has apparently already launched in India, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda (in September); and in Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria (in October).
The pricing seems fairly good considering what’s being offered — $19.99 (US), INR 1199 (India), or KSH 1900 (Kenya).
For a little more background on Greenlight Planet, here’s an interview CleanTechnica director Zach Shahan conducted with Greenlight Planet CEO and cofounder Anish Thakkar earlier this year:
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