Water + Chlorine + Salt = Electricity

Screen shot courtesy: youtube.com

This technology is so simple, so cheap and so effective; it takes my breath away. These are the kinds of solutions the world needs to see us through the environmental maze we are in now.

If you live in a home without electricity and few or no windows, it's always incredibly dark inside, even at high noon. Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light) is a sustainable lighting project that is trying to help people overcome that problem with extremely simple technology: a plastic bottle, water, and a few drops of chlorine and salt is all they need to light up the inside of homes that have no electricity. Designed and developed by MIT students, the Solar Bottle Bulb is now being distributed throughout the Philippines, and the MyShelter Foundation plans to light up a million homes by 2012.

Check out the video below to see how simple the technology is, and what a difference it makes in people's lives instantly.



The water refracts light, the salt slows down evaporation and the bleach prevents mold from growing in the bottle, allowing the mixture to last about two years. Check out Isang Litrong Liwanag to learn more.