What is the Solar Bottle Bulb?
The Solar Bottle Bulb is made out of a used plastic soda bottle or the water bottle, which is filled with the water and liquid bleach. The bottle is then fixed into a hole in the roof. While light streaming through just the hole would come in through a single, straight, narrow light beam, the water in the Solar Bottle Bulb refracts light so that it can illuminate a larger space, 360 degrees around. The bleach keeps the water clean by preventing algae from forming.
Materials
- Galvanized Iron (GI) sheet
- Epoxy/Rubber sealant
- PET soda bottle
- Filtered Water
- Bleach
How to build a Solar Bottle Bulb?
- Cut around 9 x 10 inches of GI sheet (wavy or flat, depending on the roof where Solar Bottle Bulb will be fixed).
- At the center of the GI sheet, draw 2 circles (outer: similar to the perimeter of the soda bottle; inner: 1 cm smaller). Cut only the internal, smaller circle.
- Cut the 1 cm difference carefully, making it into strips and bending it upwards, vertical to the GI sheet.
- Using sandpaper, scratch the outside around the upper third portion of the bottle where the GI sheet will be placed. This allows the epoxy or rubber sealant to stick better.
- Insert the bottle into the GI sheet until the upper third portion of the bottle. Apply the rubber sealant on the strips above and around the area below. Wait till dry.
- Fill the bottle with filtered water and around 10 ml (2 capfuls) of bleach. Turn cap back onto the bottle.
Fix Solar Bottle Bulb in to the roof
- Cut a hole on the roof, similar to the bottle’s circumference.
- Apply rubber sealant about the hole. Place the solar bottle bulb into the hole. Make sure it is tightly in place.
- Drill 3-4 holes on each side of the solar bottle bulb and put it in the bolts.
- Apply rubber sealant on all sides of the GI sheet of the solar bottle bulb to avoid leakage. Make sure to cover the bolts.
- Place carefully plastic tube on the bottle cap and apply rubber sealant.
The Solar Bottle Bulb gives off 55 to 60 watts of clear light, and lasts up to 10 months.