Little Sun Solar Lamp

Little Sun, designed by Olafur Eliasson, is a solar LED light that puts the power of the sun in the palm of your hand – creating safe, convenient, sustainable light you can take with you wherever you go.

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Overview

Designed by artist Olafur Eliasson (announced as UN Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Action in 2019), Little Sun is a practical light source as well as a work of art. The lamp’s unique design was inspired by the Ethiopian meskel flower, a national symbol of positivity and beauty.

Featuring the worlds most efficient solar cell, this light packs a lot of punch - it will last a long time, is extremely durable, and boasts an attractive design. But that's not all! Buying a lamp makes a global impact too: with every Little Sun you help ensure affordable solar light gets to people who need it the most, the 1.6 billion people in the world without electricity.

Features & Benefits:

• Developed by artist Olafur Eliasson and engineer Frederik Ottesen
• High-quality portable solar lamp featuring a dimmer
• 5 hours of charging in the sun produces more than 50 hours of light at the dimmest setting or 4 hours at the brightest setting
• Battery lifespan of 5 years when used daily
• Extremely robust and durable – perfect for outdoor activities and playtime!
• ROHS and ISO-certified certified for quality and consistency in production standards
• Received official certification in 2012 from Lighting Africa, a joint IFC and World Bank program
• Introduced into Centre Pompidou’s permanent design collection
• Comes with a lanyard and story booklet in a beautifully designed box

Applications & Uses

Little Sun is perfect for camping, at the beach, festivals, BBQs, or hiking – and it makes a great gift. Light your garden or balcony, or use it indoors to brighten your home. It’s a fun, accessible introduction to the benefits of solar power and sustainable energy. Featuring two light levels, it’s easy to use!

Little Sun comes with a detachable strap, allowing it to be hung from your neck, hooks, backpack, or a tree – or you can remove the strap and use it as an attractive table lamp. Little Sun puts the power of the sun in the palm of your hand – creating safe, convenient, sustainable light you can take with you wherever you go. Includes 3 AAA batteries.

To charge, place the Little Sun lamp in the sun with its solar panel facing upwards. Press once for bright light and twice to turn off. Hold button down to activate dimmer function. When it is overcast, Little Sun will take longer to reach full charge.

Technical Specifications

• Battery: AA LiFePO4, 3,2V rechargeable battery with 500 mAh
• Weight: 96g
• Dimensions: Diameter 12 cm, depth 2,9 cm
• Main Body: Manufactured in recyclable ABS, highly weather and UV resistant
• Solar Panel: 60 x 60 mm monocrystalline solar panel made from highly efficient SunPower solar cells
• Switch: Knitter-switch TSS 61 R LF with fluorescent silicone boot; advanced energy-saving dimming technology
• LED: Samsung. Colour: 4500K, slightly yellow
• Charging Little Sun Original for a minimum of 5 hours in the sun gives you 4 hours bright light (30 lm) or use dimmer to get up to 50 hours or more at lowest level (2 lm)

Every Purchase Makes an Impact

When you buy a Little Sun, you receive a high-quality solar-powered lamp – but that’s not all. A portion of every purchase goes towards bringing light to some of the 1.6 billion people in the world living 'off grid.' By delivering business starter kits and micro-entrepreneurial training to local off-grid entrepreneurs, Little Sun builds up sustainable structures which not only deliver affordable solar lamps to people with no electricity, but also generates local profits, creates local jobs, and reduces the substantial environmental impact and costs associated with using kerosene lamps.

Currently Little Suns are being distributed in 8 African countries, including Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Senegal, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Exhibition and Projects

A global project connecting the world through sharing light, Little Sun engages with partners such as art institutions, international agencies, NGOs, and private sector to raise global awareness of energy access and solar power. Working with its partners, Little Sun has so far for example put energy access on the agenda at: Tate Modern, London; COP 18 Climate Change Conference, Doha, Qatar; World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Cape Town, South Africa; the UN General Assembly, US; Art Basel Miami Beach, US; Roskilde Festival, Denmark; and Coachella Festival, US.

Millennium Development Goals

Access to safe, clean and sustainable light is essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goals as outlined by the United Nations, specifically falling under these categories:

Poverty Eradication

Little Sun provides light so businesses can remain open later, which increases their income. Using Little Sun also saves people 90% of lighting costs over a 2-year period compared to Kerosene.

Education

Little Sun provides light for children to study or read in the evenings, which leads to children performing better in school and staying in school.

Gender Equality

As they spend more hours in the home, women and children suffer disproportionally from the indoor air pollution, breathing related problems, burns, and fires caused by kerosene lanterns and candles. Little Sun light provides a safe alternative that emits no smoke and is non-toxic.

Health

With solar powered light, medical care that must be performed at night becomes safer to provide than under kerosene lamps. Little Sun lamps are safe, clean and eliminate indoor air pollution, breathing related problems, burns and fires caused by kerosene lanterns and candles, while supplying light that is 10 times brighter.

Environmental Sustainability

While polluting homes at the local level, using kerosene for lighting impacts the environment on a global scale, releasing 190 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. Little Sun is an environmentally sustainable solution.

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