How Sol rethinks portable solar lighting for humanitarian response
Years of research, circular design, and principled engineering have shaped Sol – BRIGHT’s next-generation portable solar lamp. Built for humanitarian procurement, Sol reduces replacement cycles, logistics cost, and long-term operational risk.
With over a decade of experience in humanitarian energy, BRIGHT views solar lamps as more than light, we believe they are essential for safety, learning, and connection in crisis.
Sol is BRIGHT’s next‑generation solar lamp for humanitarian response, designed for settlements, shelters, and off‑grid homes, where reliable light can determine whether families move safely, students learn, and communities stay secure after dark. That purpose guided every choice, from materials to mechanics to its simplified design.
Sol at glance
Sol at glance
- Available in Sol Basic Capacity, Sol Mid Capacity, and Sol High Capacity variants with 5.12 Wh, 11.52 Wh, and 23.04 Wh battery capacity, respectively.
- Durable battery chemistry: LiFePO₄ rated for 2,000 charge cycles (typical 5-7 years daily use).
- Verified sustainability profile: Independently calculated footprint (5.32kg CO₂e for Sol Mid Capacity), LCA/EPD data available.
- Weatherproof: IP64-rated water and dust ingress protection
- Designed for repair: Intuitive access and fast battery replacement without specialist tools.
- Up to 12,960 units per 20-foot general purpose (20GP) container.
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Get details on pricing structure and logistics data. Contact our team: partnerships@bright-products.com
Why Sol exists: breaking the "replace and repeat" cycle
In an industry where solar lamps are still built around cost first, and context second, the result is predictable: short lifespans, poor user experience and repeated procurement cycles. Sol was designed to challenge that pattern by rethinking what a solar lamp for humanitarian aid should deliver over its full lifecycle. BRIGHT did that by focusing on durability, repairability, recyclability and logistics efficiency.
How it began: A brief for real needs
Sol started with a 2019 design brief that was simple in intent and demanding in execution: build a true lantern with 360° light distribution, fewer components, better repairability, a more efficient solar panel, and a cost structure suited to humanitarian procurement.
The target user was a refugee family; people from many cultural backgrounds, often with limited experience of solar products, using a lamp in rough environments – sand, water, mud – shared by everyone from children to older adults.
The lamp had to:
- Illuminate paths at night and light a main room
- Support children studying
- Charge both smartphones and feature phones
- Work immediately, reliably, and without instructions – the brief called it a “no-training needed” lamp
Refined by years of user feedback
Line Iren Andersen, Head of R&D and Manufacturing at BRIGHT and the designer behind Sol, explains that Sol is the result of continuous product evolution informed by a decade of user feedback across Africa and Asia.
Insights from SunBell’s compact PCB design and multi-part construction informed a new approach focused on greater component flexibility, simplified assembly, and more scalable battery integration.
User feedback also clarified where failures, which were later fixed through product updates, had occurred. Earlier SunBell versions were vulnerable at the power button, which wore down and exposed electronics to moisture and dust. Flip-lid port covers made from thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), became brittle under ultraviolet (UV) exposure and could crack or break off. Multiple plastic types also made repair and end-of-life recycling harder.
From five prototypes to the final form
Sol went through multiple iterations. Early prototypes retained the iconic gooseneck architecture of the SunBell. A departure from this concept simplified the design into two main structural parts, comprising a larger PCB, and space for modular battery options across Sol Basic Capacity, Sol Mid Capacity and Sol High Capacity variants, without new tooling for each.
Line drove Sol’s design with a simple philosophy: every feature must serve a clear purpose or add genuine value, with form and function also grounded in assembly and manufacturing constraints.
BRIGHT partnered with the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) and materials institute SINTEF to validate material choices and manufacturing approaches, reflecting the company’s belief that design rigour and sustainability function together.
The result: A compact, simple-looking lamp that has a low environmental footprint, fewer failure points, and is easier to diagnose and repair.
Line explains Sol is designed to be usable by anyone, anywhere, from children to older adults, across different contexts and literacy levels. The lamp’s single-button, language-independent interface and tactile indentation communicates function without text. As Line puts it: “There is no doubt that this is a lamp.”
Engineered for reliability
The ETFE solar panel
Sol Mid Capacity and Sol High Capacity models feature durable, lightweight 4-watt ETFE monocrystalline solar panels, while the Sol Basic Capacity model uses a rugged 2-watt polycrystalline panel, built for reliable performance in demanding conditions.
The ETFE solar panel
Sol Mid Capacity and Sol High Capacity models feature an ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) monocrystalline solar panel, a technology more commonly found in large-scale industrial installations than in portable lamps.
ETFE panels are lighter, more flexible, and more efficient than conventional glass panels of equivalent dimensions. The panels are sized precisely to maximise the charging surface relative to Sol’s footprint. Furthermore, the ETFE panel requires no additional plastic frame: its integrated structure absorbs drops without shattering, and the open surface texture maximises light capture. The result is a 4 Watt-peak (Wp) output capable of fully charging Sol Mid Capacity in a single day of good sunlight and leaving sufficient capacity to charge a mobile phone.
The integrated button (designed to outlast heavy use)
Sol is designed to withstand rain, dust, and harsh environments. Its integrated waterproof power button ensures reliable operation in wet weather.
The integrated button (designed to outlast heavy use)
Sol’s power button is moulded integrally from the same polypropylene (PP) as the housing with no additional material and no separate component to degrade. It uses the inherent flexibility of PP as a mechanical spring. During stress testing, Line recalls, a machine replicated the button pressing action for over 50,000 presses. The machine failed first, but Sol's button did not, she adds.
Living hinge port covers (no loose parts to lose)
Sol’s robust, weatherproof design, including waterproof port covers, offers peace of mind by guarding against dust and water ingress.
Living hinge port covers (no loose parts to lose)
Sol’s flip-lid port covers are moulded as living hinges in polypropylene, continuous with the housing, rather than separate pieces. This reduces breakage risk and prevents parts from being lost, while improving durability under UV exposure.
The swivel handle (protection and usability)
Sol can be easily mounted on a wall using its swivel handle, providing reliable indoor lighting
The swivel handle (protection and usability)
Sol’s handle was among the most iterated elements across the development process. The handle was designed to protect the diffuser, provide a wall-mounting point, and support placement in different orientations. Its curved geometry is structural, not just decorative, it wraps around the diffuser shade helping distribute drop-impact stress more effectively than a flat one.
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Sustainable by design: durability, repairability and recyclability
BRIGHT's sustainability principles are built on three pillars: durability, repairability, and recyclability. Sol relfects these in its design.
100% recycled post-consumer plastic housing
Sol’s housing is made from 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) polypropylene supporting mono-material recyclability and simpler end-of-life processing in markets with limited recycling infrastructure.
Achieving 100% recycled PP required supplier collaboration and precision tooling. Recycled PP behaves differently to virgin material: shrink rates vary, tolerances are harder to predict and achieving IP64-rated ingress protection without glue or seals demands precision engineering. BRIGHT resolved this by working directly with the material’s properties. Line highlights Sol’s weather resistance, the flexibility of PP was crucial, enabling a sealed enclosure based on geometry rather than adhesive.
“We decided not to use recycled plastic until we could do so at 100%,” says Line. The reasoning, she explains, was also grounded in end-of-life logic. A blended multi-material product is harder to recycle cleanly than a mono-material one. True recyclability requires material consistency throughout.
Mono-material construction also carries a durability dividend. A single plastic type throughout the housing means no mismatched coefficients of thermal expansion, no delamination risk, and no incompatible recycling streams. This makes for a more structurally coherent product, proving simplicity and sustainability reinforce each other.
Research into the recyclability of the lamp involved partnerships with industrial polymer R&D centre Norner, Stena Recycling, and sustainability advisors at AHO. Sol also uses Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, plastic-free packaging to reduce environmental impact across the supply chain.
Tested for durability
A lamp that fails after 18 months is not a sustainable product, regardless of what it is made from. Sol’s durability credentials reflect this understanding. The LiFePO₄ (lithium iron phosphate) battery at Sol’s core is rated for 2,000 charge cycles, corresponding to a lifespan of five to seven years of typical daily use. Unlike NMC chemistry, LiFePO₄ does not degrade rapidly with heat, critical for a lamp used outdoors in tropical climates.
Sol’s internal architecture provides sufficient thermal clearance around the battery to maintain safe operating temperatures during solar charging in direct sun. Testing was conducted beyond standard laboratory requirements. Prototypes were left outdoors in Norwegian conditions for 18 months to observe material behaviour over time. Additionally, UV chamber and salt-water exposure testing simulated long-term deployment in environments such as Syria and Uganda.
Drop testing verified structural integrity across the handle geometry. Sol is fully weatherproof, with an IP64 rating attained without using glue or seals.
Designed to be repaired
When a battery eventually needs replacing, the process takes minutes and requires no specialist tools. With a simplified structure, parts can be identified and replaced intuitively, supporting maintenance anywhere in the world and reducing replacement volume over time.
Environmental impact
Sol’s product carbon footprint has been independently calculated via a full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) carried out by One Click LCA and verified by EPD Hub. Sol Mid Capacity's carbon footprint is 5.32 kg CO₂e (cradle-to-grave), this is roughly equivalent to the carbon footprint of 13.3 cups of coffee. Complete LCA and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) documentation is publicly available to support environmental evaluations.
Optimised for logistics
From its early design stages, Sol was designed to reduce volume and improve packing efficiency allowing more units per carton and container, lowering transport cost per unit, and supporting scalability in large deployments. Approximately 12,960 units of Sol fit into a 20-foot general purpose (20GP) container when shipping unpalletized, while the same container accommodates approximately 10,080 units when palletized.
Sol is avaliable now (for procurement enquiries)
Sol is available in Sol Basic Capacity, Sol Mid Capacity, and Sol High Capacity configurations. Full technical specifications and pricing are available upon request. BRIGHT works directly with humanitarian NGOs, procurement consortia, and emergency preparedness programme leads worldwide.
Request pricing and procurement details
Speak to our team about pricing, lead times and deployment fit by contacting partnerships@bright-products.com or explore partnership opportunities.