Electricty free light bulbs - Not a joke!

caribmike

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Jul 9, 2009
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Thats about the... what? 50th time this gets posted here... :)

Not that link but the idea behind...
 

perlaabreu

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Aug 8, 2013
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Thats about the... what? 50th time this gets posted here... :)

Not that link but the idea behind...

I think you are very disrespectful
if she or he would have known it had been published I think it would settle it.

For my part, thank you very much for the contribution because there are many like me who are new and have not seen the last 50 posts
 

ctrob

Silver
Nov 9, 2006
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I prefer windows in a vertical wall. A couple of windows provide enough light to see whatever you need to see.
And these fail for a number of reasons.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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yahoomail.com
Could NEVER work here in the DR.
By Law, all dominicans MUST throw there trash in the street!
And that includes all 2L plastic bottles.
Most tin roofs here, like "Perla's,already have 2 or 3 huge holes to allow daylight to enter anyway.
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Now if I only knew someplace to get my teeth fixed????
 
May 29, 2006
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Oh sorry. Well, has anyone tried it?

They work, but they tend to get leaks. Only really suitable for the poorest communities. Clear roofing would be better, but it's expensive. Both bottles and clear roofing eventually break down under the strong UV light of the tropics.

Structural glass blocks are another option.
 

Criss Colon

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We are ALL used to "Leaky Roofs" here in the DR!
I actually was in a house here years ago, that had "Glass Blocks" in the hall way ceilings.
Looked great, worked great.
Had some in the closets that lit up the clothes as well.
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MJP35

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Feb 5, 2013
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For those that read the whole article this is more than just letting light through a window or glass block the bottles are filled with water (and bleach) and with the curved shape of the the bottle the light is concentrated and refracted essentially amplifying the suns light. The article says that they were measured as having the same light a a 40 to 60 watt light bulb with a major reduction in thermal transfer that typically comes through a window.
 
May 29, 2006
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Glass windows barely exist where you've got cinder block walls and tin roofs.

An LED can run off of a car battery for a a very long time. And unlike these, they works at night.
 

MJP35

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Feb 5, 2013
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An LED can run off of a car battery for a a very long time. And unlike these, they works at night.

True, but the application of theses "bottle lights" is meant to be low to no cost in a building that requires lighting during the day. i.e Schools, Orphanages, offices. An LED light will have a high purchase price along with the battery and some ongoing operational costs. These cost theoretically nothing with no ongoing operational cost. Proper installation would prevent leaks as stated in the article.
 

Castle

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Sep 1, 2012
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Proper installation would prevent leaks as stated in the article.

Yet proper installation could prove to be expensive in this case. It would need to be leak-free, as you point out, but it should also allow easy replacement of the bottle (a plastic bottle under the sun is not going to last without deteriorating), which could be a problem if you need to access a tin roof without proper equipment. Furthermore, it of course depends on the sun shinning directly into the bottle, so cloudy days will be a problem and nights would be out of the question, so for schools, orphanages and offices you would need to have a backup lighting system, with all the costs associated. In general, I think it creates more problems than it solves.
It's clever, but not very practical, IMO.
 
May 29, 2006
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You can't read with these lights. It's a good idea and can work in some situations, but it's not a miracle.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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yahoomail.com
WHY WOULD A POOR DOMINICAN, WHO IS GETTING FREE ELECTRICITY, WANT TO PUNCH A HOLE IN HIS TIN ROOF IN THE FIRST PLACE???
AND, have you ever seen a BOOK in a Dominican house?
"Flat Screen" is more like it.
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