Hot Solar DIY: Make LED Lamps from Used Water Bottles
Making a DIY solar lamp is a lot easier than it sounds – and you can even reclaim a ubiquitous waste material to do it.
This ingenious design idea takes a typical plastic bottle – probably the single most common item recycled daily in households around the world – and makes into a host for do-it-yourself outdoor LED lights that simply screw on in place of their old plastic cap. These lights are surprisingly bright, illuminating your campsite, backyard or even your home in the case of a power outage.
The bottles themselves can be filled with water to weigh them down and change the filtration of light projected from the solar unit at their top. In turn, the solar cells in the added gadget are adjustable and can be aligned to receive as much sunlight as possible.
The stored daylight is converted to power the bulb at the top of the bottle at night, automatically activated by a built-in light sensor. Resistant to weather and water damage, these can be left out at all times and during all seasons to add an eco-friendly glow to a porch, patio or entryway. Designed by Miniwiz, though not yet available on the open market, these will come in a variety of colors and with long-lasting replaceable LED bulbs.
The Miniwiz solar-powered LED lamp is cool, but it’s not your only option. Since water helps to diffuse and transmit light, you can even make a version of this DIY recycled eco-friendly lamp without having to order a specialized gadget. Just strap any camping-style headlamp to the outside of a gallon-sized water jug with the light facing inward, and you’ll be surprised at just how much light it produces. Or, check out another tutorial for DIY eco-friendly sun jars made with a glass jar, a solar power cell, an energy-efficient LED bulb and a waterproof seal.
