Lemnis Lighting Brings Light and Power to Zambia With Pharox Solar Kits

                          

 

 

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Lemnis Lighting, a leader in sustainable LED lighting technology, is brightening the holiday season in Zambia by offering a "buy one, give one" promotion to Pharox Solar Kit buyers. Through the month of December 2011, Lemnis' U.S. customers will be able to bring light to areas of a country where people are currently dependent on kerosene lanterns. Every Pharox Solar Kit bought through this special offer will be matched by a donation from Lemnis Lighting to Empowered by Light, a new nonprofit foundation that is delivering renewable energy light to schools in rural communities in Africa that currently have no electric power.

The Pharox Solar Kit normally has a suggested retail price of $39.95 for one, but this holiday season it will be available for $49.95 for two through this special offer. Lemnis will ship the second Pharox directly to Empowered By Light for use in the organization's Solar: Zambia program.

According to a recent United Nations report*: "A rural family in Africa burns around 60 liters of kerosene a year to light their home. The average kerosene lamp in Africa spews a ton of CO2 in less than 10 years. Solar lighting can replace kerosene and wood, and improve the health of the people and the environment."

"Since it was founded, Lemnis Lighting has been committed to making creatively designed sustainable lighting solutions for all," said Warner Philips, Lemnis Lighting Co-Founder. "With this 'buy one, give one' gift from our customers through our partnership with Empowered by Light, we are able to extend our solutions to communities that can benefit most from them. It is truly an honor to be able to put our products to their best and highest use where they save money, save energy, reduce toxic emissions and offer more safety and get it to those who need it most."

In the past year, Lemnis has been the supplier of more than a thousand Pharox Solar Kits to schools in villages in Zambia through the Empowered by Light program. Through its Solar: Zambia project, Empowered by Light hopes to donate a total of 5,000 solar-powered lights to communities in rural Zambia. Providing inexpensive electric lighting encourages nighttime activities such as studying and reading and can displace open-flame kerosene lamps and candles, saving money and eliminating the hazards of fire, burn and respiratory disease.

"Our hope is that the educational benefits of our project will ultimately gain the attention of elected officials and encourage them to provide the same service to their own people," said Marco Krapels, Co-Founder of Empowered by Light.

The Empowered By Light Foundation was founded by Rabobank Executive Vice President Marco Krapels, Moira Hanes, and Gianluca Signorelli, Rabobank's Vice President for Renewable Energy Finance. They were inspired by a New York Times article by Elisabeth Rosenthal describing how children in rural Africa improved their grades when given access to solar-powered light. When Warner Philips from LED leader Lemnis Lighting shared their Pharox Solar kit, the foundation launched its first project, Solar: Zambia.

For recipients of the Kit, instead of spending 20 percent of their income on toxic kerosene lighting, a known cause of lung cancer, students are now able to gather around the clean light from the Pharox Kits and study and read into the night. 

The Pharox Solar Kit includes a solar panel and a stylish spherical LED lamp with a built-in USB port and charger. Using the easily repositioned solar panel, users can fully charge the Pharox Solar Kit battery within eight hours. This enables the LED lamp to deliver eight to 45 hours of light depending on which of three light levels the lamp is set on. Using the highest level of illumination, the lamp can light up a 30-square-foot area.

More than just a lamp, the Pharox Solar Kit includes a USB port useful for recharging a cell phone, mp3 player or tablet. It also includes a 5.5mm DC input for external power. Other features include a charge indicator, an easily replaceable battery and reusable packaging. The Kit allows users to enjoy clean energy, beautiful light and the ability to recharge portable electronics anywhere – even a remote village in Zambia.

For more information about Empowered by Light, visit: http://empoweredbylight.org/

For more information about the Pharox Solar Kit visit: http://www.pharox-led.com/cms/us/products/pharox-solar-kit

About Lemnis Lighting

Lemnis Lighting is at the forefront of global LED lighting industry. Lemnis has been recognised as a leader in the field of LED lighting since 2006 and the introduction of its first Pharox LED light, more than five million of which have been sold worldwide . In addition to its large scale roll-out program of consumer, street and greenhouse lighting in the Netherlands, Lemnis is also active in the areas of development, production and sales, with offices in the Netherlands, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Singapore and Johannesburg. Lemnis Lighting is an independent, privately held company and was initiated by cleantech incubator Tendris (http://www.tendris.com).

About Empowered By Light:

Empowered By Light's mission is to improve lives and the environment with renewable energy technologies. They are currently delivering 5,000 solar-powered LED light/cell phone charge kits to schools in rural Zambia that do not have electricity and who presently use relatively expensive and heavily-polluting kerosene. 100% of on-line donations go towards purchasing the solar LED kits, and Empowered By Light's staff is comprised of volunteers and professionals who donate their time. For more information, please visit http://www.empoweredbylight.org

* United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, February 2011

SOURCE Lemnis Lighting