Surya Bijlee - LEDS the way to light

By 2008, GSBF aim to install 7500 LED based solar lighting systems per month and 15,000 per month by 2009. The program also aims to cover countries of South Asia and Africa

Light and darkness are not only associated with day and night but in the modern world also symbolizes growth, prosperity, a sign of coming out of ages and moving forward. Nowadays our lives don't stop when evening arrives. Life moves at the same pace brightly illuminated under the man made light and power. But then that’s picture perfect for a small part of people in cities. Life comes to a grueling halt for millions of people as the evening arrives. We have been able to expand our power production and our network was never bigger than this, but still many parts of the world still rely on kerosene or oil lamps to scarcely light their houses.

This time in ‘Inspiration’ we feature Grameen Surya Bijlee Foundation (GSBF) who is instrumental in setting up solar lighting system in India, Nepal and now Bangladesh , Philippines and South Africa.

Surya Bijlee leading the way
Grameen Surya Bijlee Foundation (GSBF) is a Non-Profit Trust set-up to provide lighting and other amenities to the village segment. GSBF in this mission aims to harness renewable energy primarily focusing on LED Lamps powered by Solar Panels. The primary goal under this objective is to provide extremely low cost, durable and efficient lighting systems to the village home and the community. In the wake of climate change and global warming, we are constantly looking out for efficient utilization and implementation of renewable energy, and GSBF comes across as one that stands out to make a difference.

Using fuel for lighting – GSBF changing the tradition
There are estimated 70 million rural homes which still uses kerosene or fossil fuels to light their houses consuming 60 liters per year. 2.6kgs/liter CO2 is emitted by burning kerosene as fuel. This makes 10.92 million tons of CO2 only by kerosene lamps in India. Kerosene lamps inherently are not efficient as the light produced is poor and volatility of the fuel makes it more hazardous.

LED lamps, or more specifically white LEDS, are believed to produce nearly 200 times more useful light than a kerosene lamp and almost 50 times the amount of useful light of a conventional bulb. This digital lighting is non-polluting and eliminates the carbon dioxide being emitted from rural homes. Solar Energy powered Digital LED lighting systems are clear winners in terms of luminosity, life span, power required, and costs, when compared to other lighting products.

Some of the benefits of LEDS over other conventional sources
1. Longer Life Span - LED bulbs last 10 times as long as compact fluorescents and 50-100 times longer than typical incandescent in normal everyday use situations.
2. Durability - Since LEDs do not have a filament, they are not damaged under circumstances when a regular incandescent bulb or CFL would be broken. Because they are solid, LED bulbs hold up well to jarring and bumping. With CFLs, there is the added problem of mercury toxins spreading on breakage.
3. Cooler Light - these bulbs do not cause heat build-up. LEDs produce 3.4 btus/hour, compared to 85 btus/hour for incandescent bulbs.
4. Saves Energy - LEDs use a fraction of the wattage of incandescent bulbs. These bulbs last for years, therefore energy is saved in maintenance and replacement costs. This also makes LEDs the best choice for use with alternative energy sources.

Changing Lives of many – Socio Economic Impact
GSBF aims to bring in the technical advancements of the new world and tries to pass it on to the villages and backward areas of the society.
Lamps provided by GSBF can light a house for four hours, which is convenient enough for people to get their daily chores done. It is more reliable than taking power off the grid and requires lesser maintenance, has a longer life and above all no electricity or oil bills.

The impact of GSBF cannot be just limited to the technical part of their work, but is much more far reaching and has altered the life style of people benefitted from it. Families can now spend more time together and can plan their day knowing that they don’t have to wrap up things by evening. Students can enjoy longer study hours and the result can be seen in lower dropout rate.

Elimination of kerosene lamps also means cleaner air in the hours which has positive effect on the health and well being of the family.
GSBF also trains and educate villagers how to benefit most from their solar batteries.
The mission brings in a ray of hope for the people whose lives are directly benefited from the initiative. Light has always been a symbol of coming out of darkness a feeling of enlightment and this may be one that truly justifies the meaning of it.

GSBF Accomplishments
GSBF in the past have installed solar powered street lights in villages of Maharashtra and home lights in a village in Tamil Nadu.
As of May 2007, GSBF has already installed 6500 stand alone solar powered Home Lighting systems across India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
By 2008, they aim to install 7500 systems per month and 15,000 units per month by 2009. The program also aims to cover countries of Africa and Philippines.

If you want to be part of the GSBF mission and want to know more about the activities then please visit Surya Bijlee or mail us on yourstory@carbonfreezone.com

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