Self-Contained LED Lighting System for Use in the Developing World

Challenge Definition Although citizens of developed nations have come to take electricity and clean lighting for granted, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), nearly two billion people lack access to electricity. As of the year 2000, the IEA estimates that 14% of urban households and 49% of rural households in developing nations are without electricity [1]. In addition, many of the clinics, schools, workplaces, and markets in these parts of the world are completely without light. In most developing regions of the world, the population is growing significantly faster than the ability to provide electricity to those regions. In those areas without electricity, lighting is currently provided by fuel-based lamps which are inefficient, costly to operate, and produce large amounts of potentially harmful byproducts and green house gas emissions [2]. Fuel-based lighting accounts for 33% of all residential lighting and 12% of all lighting [3]. These fuels include kerosene, diesel, propane, biomass, candles, and yak butter [2, 4]. In addition to the aforementioned portions of the population, there are 35 million people in the world living in refugee camps, most of whom are without any lighting at all [1].