GravityLight

GravityLight is a gravity-powered lamp designed by the company Deciwatt for use in developing or third-world nations, as a replacement for kerosene lamps. It uses a bag filled with rocks or earth, attached to a cord, which slowly descends similar to the weight drive in a cuckoo clock. This action powers the light for up to twenty minutes.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

History

An early Gravity Light concept was developed concurrently by Clay Moulton and also by Mike Wofsey as part of his Ph.D. in applied physics from the University of Alabama in 2006.[7] While Moulton did not reportedly develop a prototype, Wofsey did develop a rudimentary prototype that used a custom-machined rare earth magnet motor with minimal gearing. Wofsey secured the www.gravitylight.com domain to disseminate the findings, however he did not pursue the gravity light as he decided the efficiency was too low to be commercially viable. The theoretical efficiency of the device is limited by the simple potential energy in raising a mass to a specified height, and then dividing by the time that the lamp is desired to stay lit. So even a relatively large mass of 10 kg, raised to 1 meter, produces a maximum available energy of about 98 joules. When divided by just 5 minutes of light, this returns a usable power of 0.32 watts at an unrealistic 100% efficiency, and only 0.16 watts at 50% total conversion efficiency, which was close to the efficiency of the University of Alabama prototype. At 5.5 operating voltage of an LED, that left only 20 milliamperes for the LED. This is sufficient to light an LED, but the available light from the LED would not likely be useful for reading or night activities. A modification to this approach was suggested where the power draw can be adjusted by the user to trade illumination brightness for illumination time.

Funding and development

The first IndieGoGo campaign of GravityLight was ended on January 18, 2013 with $399,590 funded by 6219 funders.[8]

The second IndieGoGo campaign, GravityLight 2: Made in Africa ended on July 18, 2015.[9] It featured an improved design and the goal of manufacturing them in Kenya.

Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves worked on GravityLight as a side project for four years.[7]

Operation

There are no operating costs after the initial purchase of the appliance. A standard GravityLight kit comes with an adjustable lamp and a ballast bag. The light can be turned on by filling the bag with approximately 20 pounds weight[10] (10 kg) and lifting it up to the base of the device; the weight falls over a period of 25 minutes, pulling a cord/strap that spins gears and drives an electric generator, which continuously powers an LED.[11] This creates enough energy to last 25 minutes whenever it is needed.[7]

The second model, GL02, also includes two SatLights and connecting cables. These are separate lights that are wired in series from the main GravityLight unit. Each SatLight can be turned on or off separately. When used with SatLights, the light on the main unit can be turned on or off. Up to 4 SatLights can be connected, giving extra light to different locations in the house. The rate of the bag drop is almost not affected by the number of SatLights attached.

The original GravityLight used a strap for pulling up the weight. The improved GL02 used a plastic-bead chain on a pulley system. The pulley system requires less strength to pull up.

In the media

GravityLight was called one of The 25 Best Inventions of the Year 2013 by Time Magazine.[12]

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "How does it work?". Gravity Light Foundation. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  2. ↑ "GravityLight: gravity lighting without battery". Ghacks.net. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  3. ↑ Divulgação. "Nova lâmpada é movida a gravidade - EXAME.com". Exame.abril.com.br. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  4. ↑ "Soon, lamps powered by gravity - The Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  5. ↑ "Schwerkraft-Lampe Gravity Light, Android-Konsole Esfere - SPIEGEL ONLINE". Spiegel.de. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  6. ↑ Warr, Philippa (2012-12-18). "Innovative £3 light powered by sand and gravity". Wired.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
  7. 1 2 3 http://hoaxes.org/weblog/comments/gravity_lamp. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ "GravityLight: lighting for developing countries". Indiegogo. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  9. ↑ "GravityLight 2: Made in Africa". Indiegogo. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  10. ↑ "A $5 Lamp Can Change The World - GravityLight". Forbes. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  11. ↑ "Deciwatt GravityLight". PopSci. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  12. ↑ "The 25 Best Inventions of the Year 2013". Time Magazine. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
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