Greenlight Planet launches a cheap solar-powered light

Greenlight Planet Inc., a global provider of affordable solar-energy devices for off-the-grid homes, launches a US$8 solar-powered light, the Sun King Pico.

The solar-powered lantern provides six hours of constant bright white light, three times brighter than that of a kerosene lamp. When the battery runs low after six hours, the built-in digital microchip switches the lamp to its “low-power mode,” providing additional hours of backup light through the night.

Since kerosene fuel is a disproportionate contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, replacing kerosene lanterns with affordable solar-powered lights like the Sun King Pico benefits not only off-grid families, but the entire world at-large. The Sun King Pico launches during renewed world attention on the hazards of climate change, as the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP21, prepares to gather world leaders in Paris.

“For off-grid families, a solar light is a major household investment,” explained Greenlight Planet’s founder and CTO, Patrick Walsh. “With the Sun King Pico, we’ve introduced the world’s first and only fully digital, highly durable solar home light at this incredibly low price point. It is immediately affordable to hundreds of millions of off-grid families. For years after they buy this lamp, it spares the family from the cost and health risks of kerosene.”

Unlike low quality alternatives that use cheap, epoxy-based solar panels, the Pico is constructed using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) technology, designed to withstand heat, rain, and UV exposure. The Pico’s digital microprocessor actively controls battery charging and LED driving, delivering constant output, as compared to low cost, analog alternatives, which yield irregular output, and lack Pico’s power-saving low-power modes. On its low-power setting, Pico provides over 72 hours of light after a single day of solar charging.

“With its long-lasting lithium-ferro-phosphate (LFP) battery technology, drop-proof single-body design and global two year warranty, we believe the Sun King Pico is the best, most accessible energy investment for off-grid families in search of a brighter future,” says Walsh.