#greenlight planet

[businesswireindia]

Greenlight Planet, a global leader in solar home energy products (Sun King™) launched their brand association with Batti Gul Meter Chalu starring Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyendu Sharma and Yami Gautam.

[businesswireindia]

Greenlight Planet has been recognised by Economic Times as the “Most Promising brand 2018” at a ceremony held on Friday, the 23rd of March 2018. The Promising Brands platform was an endeavour by the Economic Times to recognize brands, which have stood firm in the winds of globalization and have truly become a part of popular culture and day to day lives.

[businesswireindia]

Greenlight Planet Inc., a recognized global leader in solar home energy products across rural Africa and Asia, announced the launch of a new line of solar lanterns today: the Sun King Pro 400, Sun King Pro 300, and the Sun King Pico Plus

[ajiranakazi]

Senior Associate, Operations (Tanzania)

Senior Associate, Operations (Tanzania)

Job Vacancy: Senior Associate, Operations (Tanzania)

Greenlight Planet is a US-based global leader dedicated to delivering safe, affordable solar energy products to more than 2 billion people who live off the electric grid around the world.

  Our Sun King solar- powered lights and phone chargers are used in more than 5 million homes in South Asia, East Africa and West Africa today. Our…

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[catalyzechicago]

Greenlight Planet's Sun King featured in National Geographic

Catalyze member company Greenlight Planet was recently featured in an article by National Geographic, discussing the benefits that solar-powered LED lanterns provide in Africa and India. One of their products, the Sun King Pro (shown above), appears prominently in the article's beautiful photography.

Clean-energy alternatives such as these lanterns are leading the way to positive change in these environments. In many cases, solar energy is replacing hazardous energy sources such as Kerosene, acid based batteries, and coal. This reduces the concentration of fumes in populous areas and helps businesses stay open in the cooler evenings and provides illumination to read and study at night. 

A big congratulations goes out to Patrick and his team for earning a spot in such a prestigious publication. We'll definitely snag the printed issue when it hits presses in early November! 

[sunfunder]

How many SunFunder employees does it take to install a solar system?

By Irene Mayallah (Operations and Outreach Lead, SunFunder East Africa)

On a sunny Wednesday the SunFunder Arusha team enjoyed the view of Mt Meru on their way up the Ilboru rough road to Yohanes’ house to install a Greenlight Planet Sun King Home solar system. Yohanes is a farmer by day and a security guard by night. He has 5 children and wanted to light his home so that they could study in a bright room.

The Sun King home system is manufactured by one of our borrowers, Greenlight Planet, and distributed by another one of our borrowers, Global Cycle Solutions. Today, it was Baraka, the Financial Analyst-turned-Fundi (Fundi is the Swahili word for “technician”) that delivered the complete solar powered light system to Yohanes’ home. It is is fully equipped with three hanging lamps and wall mounts for light switches. It has a 6W solar panel and 2 USB ports for easy charging capabilities.

To set up the home system, Baraka the “Fundi” started by finding a sunny spot to place the solar panel. Elisha and Joshua held the ladder to make sure our Fundi doesn’t fall.

On the inside, Lais installed the Control Panel (with a Battery Meter) by the front door.

(Control panel)

After placement of the solar panel, it was then connected into the main control panel. Joshua went ahead to find the best spot for the first light outside, then connecting it to the control panel.

(Audrey reading the instruction manual carefully making sure the installation goes perfectly!)

The second light was placed in the sitting room; right in the middle of the room. Quite useful for the children to use when doing their homework and studying at night.

(Still counting? I’ve got four so far…..)

We went on plugging in the third light and the light switches. Each light comes equipped with a daisy chain adaptor and two wires; one that you can connect to the control panel and one leading to the light switch. Another amazing thing is that each light has three brightness modes. The battery management technology automatically switches three lamps to low-power mode when the battery is running low, yielding additional hours of light.

(Lais saying, “This switch is good to go! Who wants to light up the room?”)

(Yohanes’ eldest son doing the honor of lighting the sitting room being cheered on by Baraka. Joshua is in the next room doing his magic behind the curtains!)

(The room was not only lit up by the new solar lights, the smiles were even brighter! Audrey and Yohanes’ daughter pictured here. The Sun King home system also comes with a free Sun King Eco, the green portable light- helpful for traveling at night.)

(Well, it was my turn to see how the three brightness modes works…)

You may notice that a light switch and wires already exist on the walls. Yohannes had installed these years ago, waiting for the day that he could access (and afford) connection to the grid. He got tired of waiting and opted for a solar system instead.

[The team pausing for a photo after a hard hour’s work installing the Sun King home system…… From  Left to right top row: Yohanes’ eldest, Alycia (Head of Debt Funds), Yohanes’ 2nd son, Yohanes himself, Yohanes’ daughter, Audrey (COO), Joshua (Portfolio Manager), Elisha (Portfolio Analyst). From left to right bottom row: 2 neighbour kids, Baraka (Financial Analyst) and myself Irene (Operations & Outreach Lead) with Yohanes’ last born. Photograph by Lais (Business Development Associate).]

It took 7 solar finance nerds and one hour to install the system (not counting the hike to Yohanes’ home). However, this was a team building exercise and we can confidently say that the Sun King Home System really only needs 1 literate person and a solid ladder to be installed. The Sun King Home System retails for less than $100 in Arusha.

[fattedgoose]

Solar Lamps Aim To Save Lives In Rural Communities

In rural communities and refugee camps with no access to grid power in Asia, Africa and South America, solar lamps have become a source of light and security. The solar lamps also work as a source of income for people in the community. Some companies use locals as sales associates, that allows community members to make extra money by selling the solar lamps.

Solar Lamps Impact

The main problem solar lamps have tried to solve is the uses of kerosene lamps in rural areas for light at night. Kerosene lamps give off toxic fumes and can easily be the cause of home fires. They are also do not give off much light and are not conducive to working or studying at night. Nevertheless, consumers still spend upwards of $30 billion per year on kerosene fuels. Greenlight Planet, a Chicago Startup set out to tackle the problem through the use of solar lamps and chargers. The company has enlisted independent sales agents they call saathis, allowing people in the community to make extra income. Greenlight Planet says that its saathis report an average increase in income of 34%, while children can get 75% more study time in at night and the air quality of households have improved as well.

Solar lamp entrepreneurs have also tried to tackle the problem of gender and child abuse in conflict areas and refugee camps. Sunlite, another seller of solar products has focused its efforts on refugee camps and rural communities. Sunlite sells portable solar lanterns with built in photovoltaic panels. Its mission is to protect women and children; some of the  most vulnerable members of the refugee and rural communities. Most attacks happen after dark, so the Sunlite lanterns provide light in order to protect against those attacks.

Mobile phones are increasingly used in rural communities, however grid access is either spotty or non-existent. The solar chargers provide a solution to those that have no electricity. Sunlite’s lanterns can charge a cellphone through a 40 minute conversation. Greenlight Planet’s Sunking can charge a mobile phone fully and still have enough juice to provide light.

#SolarLamps Aim To Save Lives In Rural Communities In rural communities and refugee camps with no access to grid power in Asia, Africa and South America, solar lamps have become a source of light and security.

[sunfunder]

Solar vs. Kerosene: Solar Wins Every Time

Initially, we wanted to write a long, descriptive explanation about the disadvantages of kerosene lanterns and advantages of solar lights with revealing numbers and fancy graphs to tell you why solar is a winner. But why do that when Brave Mhonie from SunnyMoney can tell it much more convincingly in this short video:

What he said is so good, we’re going to reiterate some of Brave’s key points:

Healthier. Solar lights don’t emit toxic smoke like kerosene lanterns.

Brighter. Solar lights give off enough light, better light, and for a long time.

Safer. Solar lights don’t break, and they don’t explode and start fires at home like kerosene lanterns can.

Cost effective. Sunshine is free! And with the money saved from not having to buy kerosene, people can make their money back on a solar light within 1-2 months.

And Brave was not exaggerating when he said the solar lights don’t break. Check out the same solar light he was holding--the d.light S1 which we distributed in Zambia with SunnyMoney--being run over by a car, not once, but four times:

Solar lighting isn’t hype. It’s not a trend. It’s a simple, cost-effective solution for helping the one out of every five people in this world who lack electricity have light to brighten up their lives. Take Therasea’s and Ann’s word for it:

And in certain cases, it also helps people like these New York University students, who recently dealt with the power outage from Hurricane Sandy and experienced first hand the tremendous benefit of a Greenlight Planet Sun King Pro solar light--another light we also distributed with SunnyMoney in Zambia.

If you still want the fancy numbers and graphs to help convince you about solar lights, let us know and we’ll get them over to you!