Let there be light, cheap and safe!

Very interesting bit of thinking represented in this Daily Mail article, "The GRAVITY-powered lamp that could bring 1.5billion people out of the darkness":

'The World Bank estimates that, as a result, 780 million women and children inhale smoke which is equivalent to smoking 2 packets of cigarettes every day,' the page says.

'Sixty per cent of adult, female lung-cancer victims in developing nations are non-smokers.

'The fumes also cause eye infections and cataracts, but burning kerosene is also more immediately dangerous: 2.5 million people a year, in India alone, suffer severe burns from overturned kerosene lamps.

'Burning Kerosene also comes with a financial burden: kerosene for lighting ALONE can consume 10 to 20% of a household's income.

'This burden traps people in a permanent state of subsistence living, buying cupfuls of fuel for their daily needs, as and when they can.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2250424/The-GRAVITY-powered-lamp-bring-1-5billion-people-darkness.html#ixzz2MmohtwzC

The website of the inventors can be found here.

The inventors and "improvers" of the LED need to be thanked,too.

Speaking of which, Cree has introduced a new "homeowner" friendly set of "bulbs" to replace the current incandescent bulbsand the mercury load CFL thingies,as announced here:

The innovative bulb is illuminated by Cree LED Filament Tower™ Technology and provides a compact optically balanced light source within a real glass bulb to deliver consumers the warm light they love and want. Boasting a shape that looks like a traditional light bulb, Cree LED bulbs can be placed in most lighting fixtures in the home. The new Cree LED bulb is designed to last 25,000 hours or 25 times longer than typical incandescent light bulbs – reducing the need to replace bulbs for years to come.

With a retail price of $9.97 for the warm white 40-watt replacement, $12.97 for the 60-watt warm white replacement and $13.97 for the 60-watt day light, the Cree LED bulbs save 84 percent of the energy compared to traditional incandescents. Cree LED bulbs can pay for themselves quickly and then pay consumers year after year. By replacing the incandescent bulbs with Cree LED bulbs in a home’s five most frequently used light fixtures, consumers can save $61 per year on electric bills.*

Cree LED bulbs are the ideal replacement for energy-wasting 60-watt and 40-watt incandescents and compromise-laden CFL lighting. The new LED bulbs turn on instantly and are free of the mercury that is found in CFL bulbs. Unlike many low-priced LED bulbs, Cree LED bulbs are easily dimmable with most standard incandescent dimmers.

The Cree LED light bulb (60-watt incandescent replacement) delivers 800 lumens and consumes only 9.5 watts and is available in warm white (2700K) and day light (5000K) color temperatures. The Cree LED light bulb (40-watt incandescent replacement) delivers 450 lumens and consumes only 6 watts and is available in 2700K color temperature.

Long lived and safe - let there be light!