Plastic accounts for 85% of marine litter and warns that by 2040, volumes of plastic pollution flowing into marine areas will nearly triple, adding 23-37 million metric tons of plastic waste into the ocean per year. This means about 50kg of plastic per meter of coastline worldwide.

The consequences of the above problem are:

1. Plastic pollution threatens food safety and quality, human health, and coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change.

2. Marine species ingest or are entangled in plastic debris, which causes severe injuries and death.

The main goal of this project is to reuse the tons of plastic bottles that are thrown into the garbage.

The core concept of the DIY Solar Bottle Lamp has two missions:

1. To prevent waste by repurposing and upcycling water and soft drink plastic bottles that are discarded and further contaminate the planet.

2. To make free solar-powered lights available to everyone.

I have designed this lamp by inspired from Moser bottle which was invented by Brazilian mechanic Alfredo Moser. The concept is that clear plastic beverage bottles filled with water and bleach can be fixed into the roof of an unlit building to refract sunlight around a room.

In 2011, Illac Diaz used Moser’s technology to start the Liter Of Light ( MyShelter Foundation), which used a grassroots model to provide lighting on a large scale. The program uses partners around the world to keep costs down, using recycled plastic bottles and locally sourced materials. The program also promotes local entrepreneurs, by providing financial incentives to locals who assemble and install the lights.

The Moser bottle lamp is simple and inexpensive but has a limitation. It only works during the daytime. So I have designed a solar bottle cap that can provide light during the night. By combining the Moser Bottle concept and my Solar Bottle Cap, a powerful lamp can be made.

Benefits:

1. Reusing plastic bottles can significantly reduce pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy usage.
2. The use of solar lamp will decrease the amount of local air pollution and saves energy.
3. It can provide access to solar lamps at an affordable price to a wide range of people living in remote villages that are deprived of clean energy access.
4. It also came out as an alternative business model with the potential to strengthen the overall rural economy by generating technology-based livelihood opportunities.

How the Solar Lamp Works:

The solar panel receives sunlight from the sun and converts it into electrical energy. The controller board charges the battery during the daytime and drives the LED during the nighttime.

The solar lamp can be considered as a standalone Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) system and contains four basic components:

1. Solar Panel: Convert Solar Energy to Electrical Energy

2. Controller: Charge the Battery ( Charger ) and drive the Load ( Driver )

3. Battery: Store the Electrical Energy

4. Load (LED): Provide the desired light output

Schematic Diagram:

The entire circuit is broadly dived into 3 parts:

1. Charger Circuit

2. Battery Protection Circuit

3. LED Driver Circuit

The power generated by the Solar Panel is extracted by the charger circuit and charges the battery. The protection circuit is responsible for providing various protections to the Li-Ion Battery. The LED driver circuit is responsible for driving the LED.

3D Printed Enclosure:

Download the STL files from Thingiverse