Four Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) students have been harnessing the sun’s power to provide light to people in developing countries who do not have access to electricity.

Inspired by Light Up the World, an organization that has brought LED (light-emitting diode) lighting to countries across the globe, Chris McDiarmid, Christine Nickel, Trevor Schwartzenberger and Marc Tardioli started the SAIT Global Lighting Initiative to design and build their own lighting unit.

“There are billions of people in the world who use kerosene lamps as their only source of light after dark,” says Nickel. “Unfortunately, kerosene lamps produce very little light, are expensive to run and fill homes with dangerous smoke.”

“As our course project, we decided to see how we could also help bring practical, economic and environmentally safe lighting to those who need it,” says McDiarmid.

Their working prototype has a solar-charged battery that, in turn, powers a LED light source.

“This is just the start of what we hope will be an ongoing project involving EET students at SAIT,” says Schwartzenberger. “While we have created the basic design of the unit, there is scope to increase the efficiency of the prototype.”

Tardioli adds: “It’s exciting knowing how much potential this project has to help improve the quality of so many peoples’ lives.”

According to the team’s instructor, Darko Stelkic from the MacPhail School of Energy, providing light to communities without access to the power grid can enhance education, communications and health while reducing expenses and dependence on fossil fuels.

“In the remote Ecuadorian Amazon, providing renewable energy systems has promoted family-community ownership and resulted in local people being trained to ensure long-term sustainability of the equipment. And in Sierra Leone, schools that have installed LED light units have benefited the entire community by providing much needed light in the evening to village groups, as well as students,” says Stelkic.

At the EET Second Year Project Showcase in April, the SAIT Global Lighting Initiative was marked highest overall by EET instructors among 20 projects. Darko anticipates that by this time next year, EET students will reach their goal of lighting up lives by installing a LED system in a community in a developing country.

SAIT Polytechnic is one of Canada’s most exciting destinations for post-secondary education, offering more than 100 career programs that position people for success in technology, trades and business. A leader in innovation, SAIT also collaborates with industry on applied research and delivers corporate training worldwide. SAIT is a member of Polytechnics Canada and one of Alberta’s Top 50 Employers for 2011.

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