Design Type:  World Changing

Designer:  Robin Chilton

Product: Kiran ('Ray of Light' in Hindi) is a Solar lantern designed to provide a cheap and clean replacement for the use of kerosene lighting in rural India and Africa. Kiran combines deceptive ruggedness with innovative design features to make solar power accessible, affordable and understandable. Kerosene lamps are a poor source of light reliant on a costly source of fuel that can take up to a third of a family’s monthly income. These lamps produce a dim yellow light that is ineffective for tasks such as reading and writing. Most lamps cannot be operated when there is strong wind or rain, and have resulted in fires when left alone. Incomplete combustion produces billowing black soot that is inhaled by our customers and their children, causing long term health difficulties. Every year, kerosene lamps are responsible for over 100 million tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Kiran offers a cheap, clean solar-powered replacement that empowers our customers to pursue opportunities in education and income-generating activities without endangering their health. Our team drew upon months of rural field research to ensure that Kiran is innovatively matched to the needs of our rural customers: • The use of a 'lantern' form factor resonates with our customers' ideas of what a light should be - encouraging them to trust in a new technology. The blue colour plays on trends for rural villagers to buy vibrantly coloured products. • A frosted polycarbonate cup makes Kiran the first lantern to light the area underneath it - adding functionality while reducing cost. • Kiran's two brightness settings provide up to 8 hours of bright light on a single day's charge. An optional AC charge port allows users to mains charge their Kirans if required. • An inbuilt solar panel is angled for efficient and hassle-free charging in tropical latitudes. • Kiran's deceptively rugged casing is designed to resist all that hot and dusty environments can throw at it: vents keep batteries cool while a fine mesh keeps out insects, dust and light water sprays. The whole product has been successfully drop-tested from 15m. • A unique 'locking' handle design enables multiple hanging/lighting options. • A red charge-intensity LED shines when Kiran is charging - helping users orient their panel and vendors explain the product. • Each Kiran replaces 2 kerosene lamps and is 2-3 times brighter than each. • Each Kiran costs only Rs. 499 (£6) and has no recurring costs - it takes our customers only 4 months to recoup this investment. Team: Robin Chilton, Kiran Gaikwad, Parmita Dalal, Shashank Yadav, Ashish Krishna, Mehek Sharma and Jack Godfrey Wood D.light: D.light Design is a fast-growing international consumer products company serving people without access to reliable electricity. Our mission is to enable households without reliable electricity to attain the same quality of life as those with electricity. We will begin by replacing every kerosene lantern with clean, safe and bright light. Our products bring relevant developments in design and technology to markets at the base of the pyramid and offer the highest quality that our customers can afford. By 2010, we will have provided light for 10 million people. By 2015, we will have provided light for 50 million people. By 2020, we aim to have provided light for 100 million people. By then, we will have significantly contributed to completely replacing kerosene with clean, safe, and bright light.