LED lighting for world’s poorest communities

A non-profit organisation has joined forces with a US LED technology firm in order to provide some of the lest developed nations on the planet with the means to light their homes and businesses.

According to the charity One Million Lights (OML) a quarter of the Earth’s population does not have access to basic electric lighting. That is a total of more than 1.6 billion human beings suffering in the darkness or relying on fuel burning alternatives, but OML hopes that with LED systems provided by Lumera Lighting it will be able to change this.

Lumera Lighting’s CEO said that his staff would be donating an hour of their time each month to helping OML achieve its goals. This provides the organisation with the workforce and resources to cut its costs and make more of an impact.

The LED systems that OML installs do not require mains electricity, but use solar power cells to draw energy from the abundant sunlight in third world countries. These LED lights are being sent to homes and places of education to make sure that families have enough light by which to read.

Illiteracy is a huge problem in developing nations and in the absence of adequate illumination, those who attempt to improve their comprehension and education could end up straining their eyes and ultimately damaging their sight in the longer term. LED lighting provides bright illumination without requiring a high level of energy and is thus perfect for use in isolated areas with no mains electricity on offer.

The LED systems that OML distributes are built with applications in difficult environments in mind. Durability and long life are required in areas with little public funding for development.