50 Ways to End Kerosene Lighting

This guide aims to show many different technologies that can be used to eliminate kerosene lighting from households in developing countries. 1.6 billion people in approximately 300 million households still use kerosene lighting, spending around $10-30 billion/year, or an average of about $1/week.

There are many technologies available to replace kerosene lighting and some simple measures can be taken to determine if they might be acceptable in the local context. This guide does not seek to give a definitive answer, but just an indication of how an assessment can be made, and what are the options available. Lighting options include white LEDs for 0.14W and fluorescent lighting for 4W or more. Power generation options include recharging batteries from the power grid, small diesel or gasoline generators, solar panels, biomass gasifiers, vegetable oil in 'diesel' generators, hand-cranking power and other options.

Power may be used directly in household use, or stored in batteries for later use. Energy may need to be transported from the point of generation to the house - this may be done directly, with poles and wires or underground wires, or it may be done by transporting batteries from a battery charging station to the house.