Solar plastic bottle and battery-powered 

LED light as an emergency light

An undergraduate thesis
Presented to 
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Student
Arellano University

In Partial Fulfilment
of the Requirements for
Senior High School

by
Jeremiah A. Ildefonso
Ranier S. Avellano
Elizandro Dominic I. Dailo
Jay C. Joseph
Ferdinand Blaire C. Animas
Emmanuel Hernandez
Jascha Jaiannah Eischelle P. Santos
Johnrick T. Tuazon
Marion Claudette A. Abayon
John Oliver Gersalia
Presented to

Mr. John Mark Furiscal

May 2022
 Chapter I
The Problem and It’s background
Introduction
We know light is used for us to have vision, but have you ever noticed how does

light affects us? According to De Kort, light affects our quality of life, and light is very

important to our life, because it is used to set up the mood or emotion of people, also

light affects our alertness, activeness, and performance. According to Christoffersen,

light is an essential factor to keep up our natural daily living, we should be in an extreme

light light in daytime and low exposure in light in night time, exposure in a low light in

day time has bad effects in our mental health, and everytime we sleep in dark places,

we produce melatonin and exposure on light during night time hinders the production of

melatonin

According to an article made by Xinhua (2017) there are approximately 2.36

million households in the Philippines are still without electricity as of the year 2017. It

also states that a study on the Philippines, "says" the level of household electrification in

the country stood at 89.6 percent, leaving 2.36 million households without electricity and

many other areas with a limited service of only four to six hours per day." And as stated

by PopulationPyramid.net, the Philippines on 2017 have a total population of

105,172,921 Filipinos. If both articles are to be merged, on 2017 there were around

10.4% or 11,569,021(2.36 households) of Filipinos without electricity in their household.

Like numerous nations in South East Asia, the Philippines faces challenges of

population growth and rising of energy demand. Frequent tropical storms, meanwhile,

adversely impacting its energy infrastructure and thus resulting to power crisis on some

areas in the country according to Energypedia (2018). All stated issues like population
growth, natural disasters, lack of energy makes the light source a necessity and

necessary emergency source of light.

This product will contribute to all, given that people need a light source to their

everyday lives. The main goal of our product is to create a reliable lamp that will serve

as a light source in times of emergency and when people don't have any light source,

especially the people who lives in the slumps so the product can help them gain access

to a light source, this solar light bulb will help people to have a cheap lamp that is

reliable in the long run and potentially save a lot of money. The readers can benefit from

this also because the knowledge and information that we might give to people through

this paper can help them create the solar battery-powered light bulb step by step. The

product can give new ideas and concepts that inspire new studies that could help them

develop another project and improve the quality of living.

This study will contribute meaningfully not only in the field of sustainability but

also in long term solution for alternative ways to get light. The study will give a new and

fresh look on water bottle recycling giving it another useful purpose. Creating a recycled

product will give us one step closer towards saving mother earth and preserving

different kinds of life so that the future generations can see with their own eyes what

had we seen. Making this product will give rural places with energy and electricity

shortage an alternative source of light that will not affect their daily budget due to it is

recycled and most materials are right at the comfort of their own home. Sustainability is

one of the key ingredients for long-term solutions.

 The importance of this research is to know how bleach water and recycle bottles

can be used as an alternative light source. Knowing how effective it will be could give us

the hints on what improve and how it should be used in order to maximize its full

potential. Knowing its limits and full potential can be the basis on how effective it could

be and how it will affect your daily living. Having another way of obtaining light source

can help not only to decrease energy consumption but it also helps to practice

sustainability in the long run. This research could lead to new perspectives and ideas

that can help improve or daily living.

Therefore, the researchers have come to an idea to have an alternative

emergency light because of the possibility of having an incident or catastrophe

anywhere in the world, the emergency light can immensely help people to have vision

during day or nighttime.

Background of the Study

The researchers have arrived to this study to know the possibility of plastic bottle

and mixture of water and bleach as an effective alternative component for producing

light and with help of a light bulb as an alternative emergency light that expands our

study to help during emergencies.

It aims to provide light source since it is an essential needs of every people. But

during this time of year, it is now common in some areas to have a shortage of power.

The researchers create an alternative way to provide a light bulb. This research aims to

spread knowledge to people about this product. It helps people in terms of not needing

to spend a lot of money in this product. It is also safe to say that this product will provide
help when a catastrophe happens. According to Domingo (2021) the DOE report

showed that there were now 23.2 million households with access to electricity services,

more than the 22.98 million counted in the census that the Philippine Statistics Authority

conducted in 2015. We want to at least help people to have a light source and to lessen

the population in the Philippines that has no access to electricity during an incident.

Statement of the problem

This study generally aims to introduce alternative ways of generating light

sources during day or time, it depends when the emergency light is needed.

Specifically, this study is focused on presenting other solutions in producing light,

it also seeks answers to the following questions:

1. What are the characteristics/specifications of solar plastic bottle and battery-powered

LED:

1.1 bulb shape

1.2 life

1.3 brightness

1.4 color rendering

1.5 connections

1.6 components

1.7 natural light

1.8 base
2. How effective is the solar plastic bottles and battery powered LED as an alternative

emergency light bulb in terms of:

2.1 color temperature

2.2 watts/lumens

2.3 refraction of light rays

3. What are the potentials of solar bottle and battery-powered as an alternative light

bulb?

Research Hypothesis

The hypothesis of this SIP according to the researchers, is there is a significant of

using the solar plastic bottle as an alternative light bulb on people's emergency use. The

researchers believe that the people will benefit this project as an essential emergency

use, Such as using the emergency light bulb as a source of light when a disaster

happens. Although there are some negative sides in creating this emergency light bulb

like it will need money to create this product, Though the researchers still thinks that it

will still be effective and significant because the people does not need to spend a lot of

money to create this product.

As nullifying the current hypothesis will accept the alternative hypothesis as

shown below:

H0: There are many solutions on producing light such as solar plastic bottles and

battery powered LED.

H1: There are no other solutions even solar plastic bottles and battery powered LED are

not effective in producing a light.

Scopes and Delimitation

The scope of this study is limited to examine the use of solar plastic bottles and

battery-powered LED as an alternative light bulb. This study also discusses its

potentials and significance to people, the environment, society, and other study

beneficiaries. The researchers will use a battery-powered LED and sunlight, refracting it

in a water-bleach mixture, to illuminate an entire room. Furthermore, the focus of this

study was primarily to discover the effectiveness of using a battery-powered LED

instead of a solar-powered bulb.

This study will be completed with restricted amount of time and with limited

resources; thus, the researchers will only be able to provide one product. The study was

conducted at Arellano University – Andres Bonifacio Campus during the first semester

of school year 2021-2022.

Significance of the Study

This study will be of benefit to the following:

The residents - will be able to save and conserve energy when they use the solar

plastic bottle bulb in the daytime because it spreads and refracts light from the sun.

They will also be able to reduce the costs of electricity. In times of emergency, the

plastic bottle will strengthen the battery-powered LED lightbulb's brightness, giving light

to an area when power is out.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources - will be able to use this

study to reduce light pollution during the day.

The future researchers - can continue to innovate and improve the prototype with

more information and new technologies that may be available in the course of time.

Definition of terms

The following terms are defined using an operational approach to provide further

understanding.

Adversely - It refers to the negative, harmful or unfavorable effect of a stated or

identified cause.

Battery powered LED - It is a small bulb that produces light powered by the battery.

Electrification - It refers to the ability to power a machine or something by the use of

electricity.

Nullifying - It means invalidity or incompetence.

Numerous - It refers to the large number or broad numbers.

Prototype - The first, original or preliminary model of something

Solar plastic bottle - It is an alternative bulb that produces light through sunlight

Chapter II
Review of Related Literatures and Studies
Local Studies
 According to the experiment and proven by liter of light (2013), The solar bottle

bulb is a simple device consisting of a 1.5–2 litre plastic bottle filled with water plus a

little bleach to inhibit algal growth and fitted into a hole in a roof to refract sunlight. The

device functions like a deck prism: during daytime the water inside the bottle refracts

sunlight, delivering about as much light as a 40–60 watt incandescent bulb to the inside

of the house. One solar bottle bulb helps prevent carbon emissions of up to 200 kilos

and can keep working for as long as five years.

Synthesis

The researchers have raised and gained knowledge to the Liter of light (2013)

that the sunlight that the bleach, water, and plastic bottle refracts inside the house

produces as much as a 40-60 watts and the duration of the solar plastic bottle is 5 years

and during nighttime they have solar panel to solve the problem, therefore the

researchers are looking for another way to give light during nighttime using batteries.

Local Literature

The liter of light started (2013) which is a company now and started providing

solar powered light for the people around the world but it was initially started at the

Philippines. Their way is mix the bleach and water when daytime it is valid but in

nighttime they’ve came up with a solution of a solar panel to light the plastic bottle

during nighttime.

Synthesis
 The liter of light (2013) has come up of a solution of full time use of the solar

powered light therefore the researchers expanding their product to an emergency light

with the use of LED light that is battery-powered to be used during emergencies.

Foreign Studies

According to the experiment conducted by Pabari (2016), the loss in illuminance

when coordinate daylight passes through a glass plate or a LOL bottle is exceptionally

tall, such that less than 0.7% of occurrence illuminance comes to the box floor after

passing through the LOL bottle and less than 1.2% after passing through the glass

plate. However, the LOL bottle still gives superior brightening than fair a glass plate, by

diffusing the daylight over a bigger region. The precise mechanism of this scrambling

isn't yet clear, in spite of the fact that Add up to Inside Reflection may well be playing a

major part, since LOL bottle shifts the position of crest illuminance regions to oppositely

inverse corners of the room from where the glass plate was creating the regions of crest

illuminance. For points of Sun’s rays less than 63o with the flat, in a cubical room, the

LOL bottle encompasses a clear advantage over the glass plate and begins to beat the

glass plate in terms of % region of floor which has clear illuminance (more noteworthy

than 10 lux) and indeed in terms of normal illuminance.

Foreign Literature

Carroll claims to have a FIPEL in his office that has been operational for a

decade. The fact that FIPEL produces almost no heat and converts almost all of the

electrical energy into light is most likely the explanation for its extraordinary immutability.

The polymer will most likely remain stable for years without heat as a constant stressor.
 The plastic bulbs, according to Carroll, are inexpensive to produce and contain no

mercury or other toxic ingredients. As we previously stated, the light quality produced by

Carroll's FIPEL bulb is likewise highly desirable, perfectly matching the solar spectrum

(i.e. not too yellow or blue). C already has a "corporate partner" on board

According to Bansod et al, Liter of light lasts up to 10 months. It is very long

lasting and very efficient in the long run.

According to energizer, AAA batteries lasts up to 2years on devices such as

flashlights.

According to Diode Dynamics, altering the voltage lower or higher will alter the

brightness, but because it also changes the current-higher voltage means the current

will increase in an LED. And after guaranteeing that you have the right or proper voltage

available to the LED, the next step is to determine the current.

According to Science Buddies (2021), when the current increases that goes

through the LED, the brightness will also increase. Ordinarily, the prescribed current for

an LED is 20 milliamperes (mA) or less. Above the value, the lifetime of the LED will

highly decrease. Far above this value, the LED will fail catastrophically. Catastrophic

failure can be defined as when the LED no longer emits light

According to GreenCoast, solar energy is a natural, unlimited, and renewable

energy source that emits no gases or by-products that contaminate the environment or

the air. It is sunlight converted to energy for use, just like regular electricity. People all

over the globe install solar panels to help cut down on electricity costs. The use of solar

energy does not only save you money, but the environment benefits too. Regular
electricity is produced by the use of tons of water and the burning of fossil fuels, which

have harsh effects on the environment

It is the measurement of how light will affect the subject’s appearance of colour.

The higher the CRI is the closer you will get to the “true color” of the subject. A well-

lighted room can present a natural colour of the subject while a dim-lighted room could

lower the quality of the colour.

According to HowStuffWorks (2011), electrons flow out of the negative terminal of

the battery, through the bulb and back into the positive side of the battery to make the

bulb light up. The wires connect to the battery and serve as the path for the energy to

travel through to power up the light source. According to American Chemical Society

(2008), electricity will only flow through a complete circuit. It will require a source like the

battery and be connected to a conductor, which are the wires. Once the electricity has

travelled into the device, it will flow back out through another wire and back to the

battery.

According to Diaz (2013), chlorine bleach plays the role of destroying the

microorganisms that could proliferate inside the bottles, reducing the clarity of the water.

As for maintenance, water and bleach must be replaced, but only every five years. It is

not clear how long the beverage bottles hold up in this role but replacing them should

not be too great a hurdle. Solar bottle bulbs are a wonderfully safe, cheap, energy-

efficient lighting technology being supplied to those who need it most.

According to Fielder (2017) for impoverished nations around the world, electricity

is a luxury. In 2014, 1.2 billion people in the world lived without it. Many households
used kerosene lamps as a source of light, but these were dangerous because of the risk

of fire and number of fumes that the lamps emit. Bleach bottle lights may be a viable

solution.

According to the MyShelter Foundation (2012) in order to make the water bottles

"light up," holes are cut in the metal roofs of homes and a bottle is placed and sealed

into each hole so that its lower half emerges from the ceiling. The clear water disperses

the light in all directions through refraction, which can provide a luminosity that is

equivalent to a 55-watt electric light bulb, according to the MyShelter Foundation. The

bleach prevents mold growth so that the bulbs can last for up to five years.

According to Kuruvilla (2013) the overall goal for the Liter of Light project is to

provide poor countries with a sustainable alternative to electricity in homes with the

bleach bottle light. This is crucial because they cannot afford to pay for expensive

repairs when the country is struggling financially. Bleach and water are much more

accessible in the communities than electrical materials.

According to Strickland (2019), using natural light in a room reduces the need for

additional lighting during the day. It is an excellent way to save money on electricity bills

as well as to reduce energy consumption and minimizing the negative impact of artificial

light in the environment. Natural light is also good for the mind and body as it can

increase productivity and improves concentration. The overall warmth of natural light

contributes to an alluring atmosphere in every corner of a room.

According to the Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii

(B.E.A.C.H.).Plastic bottle caps are one of the top 10 objects collected during marine
debris beach clean-ups and are the second most littered item after cigarette butts. So it

is would be helpful to recycle the caps of a plastic bottle to help the environment. The

Ocean Conservancy's international cleanup (2013) found bottle caps ranked 4th in the

top 10 items collected.

According to ThouthCo. (n.d) https://www.thoughtco.com/social-sciences-

4133522. Today's world, plastic products are very common. Every year, we utilize about

1.6 billion gallons of water, according to estimates. Just to make plastic bottled water, a

million barrels of oil are used. Plastic garbage is one of several sorts of waste that takes

up too much space in landfills. It takes a long time to decompose in landfills, plastic

goods might take up to 1000 years to disintegrate. However, we utilize plastic bags in

Plastic bottles take 450 years to degrade, whereas our daily lives take 10-20 years.

Effectiveness

During the day, the solar plastic bottle bulb uses sunlight as its source to spread

and refract light inside a room. As stated in Full Spectrum Solutions, sunlight,

depending on the time of the day and cloudiness, has kelvin ranging from 5000K-

6000K.

Meanwhile, the light used in the solar plastic bottle for times of emergency is a

LED light with the color "daylight white light." According to Ledified and Energy Focus,

the color temperature of it ranges from 5000K-6000K which gives a crisp, clear, and

bright quality and imitates natural light.

According to Karat (2021) the Watts/Lumens of the solar bulb has 1 watt with 160

lumens, however the solar bulb without LED light had no watts/lumens.
 According to Alfredo Moser, a Brazilian mechanic, devised a means to light his

home during the day without using electricity in 2002. Moser's remedy consisted of a

plastic container filled with water and demonstrate how sunlight refract. The

phenomenon of refraction has now spread around the world, with over one million

houses projected to be illuminated this year.

Potentials

According to Bansod and Wandile (2015), when the sunrays fall on water, they

slightly change direction, which is known as refraction. It functions similarly to a prism

deck. Installing a solar water bottle on the roof acts as a spotlight. Light passing through

the hole would produce a single, straight, narrow light beam. The water in the solar

bottle bulb refracts the light, allowing it to illuminate a larger area, 360 degrees around.

The intensity of light is determined by the intensity of the sunrays. Furthermore,

because good sunlight refraction and reflection require a clear water medium, adding

bleach to water will be beneficial since it prevents the formation of algae and bacteria.

While standard windows can easily fracture or leak during typhoon season or

other extreme weather, the Solar Bottle Bulb brings even more light in while also saving

money and energy. The bulbs not only improve the lives of people, but they also benefit

the environment's future and health by drastically reducing plastic waste

According to Jakariya et al. 2018 the aggravating rise in around the world

warming and rapidly depleting non-renewable characteristic resources have made

swells of uneasiness which are reflected inside the wide ask approximately being

carried out on elective, clean, and viable imperativeness sources. This article highlights
the fundamental headway of sun-powered bottle lights (SBLs) which can be made,

presented, and utilized at grassroots levels as a source of light insides gloomy

settlements, an elective to electric light bulbs in the midst of the daytime. They are

especially compelling in moo- and middle-income countries where the spread of cutting-

edge advancement has been compelled. They have tested it and dropped significant of

amount of energy consumed during the time they used it.

According to Zenergy (2020) Solar bottle and battery powered had large potential

in making light and also it was helpful in reducing the use of water consumption,

reducing thd household’s carbon footprint, can reduce the air pollution, and reduce our

reliance on fossil fuels.

Chapter III
Methodology

This chapter contains the methods and processes of how the research study

would go through. The researchers were able to exhibit their efficiency, and

resourcefulness in conducting this research study. This research is quantitative

research required here to make experiment. The researchers did it if the solar plastic

bottle can be an alternative light bulb. Aimed to manufacture a solar plastic bottle light

bulb as an emergency light. It contains the research design, source of data,

instrumentation, data gathering procedures and procedures in making the product.

Research Design
 The purpose of this study is to provide light to households in case of emergencies

especially when there’s no source of light.

The researchers used experimental research design, to know the effectiveness of

Liter of Light as an emergency light, in terms of its specifications and classifications

Thomas B. Barker, Andrew Milivojevich (2016) states that the application of

Experimental Research Design uses experimental designs to troubleshoot a problem by

interchanging element and pieces. In this way, we can understand and find the source

of this failure. It emphasizes the studying of the results by making purposeful changes in

the way the process is operated or the way results (or responses) of the process

change. Researchers don't wait for changes to take place but makes the changes and

watches the results happen.

Research Paradigm

FIGURE 1. Input- Process- Output for the creation of the solar plastic bottle light

bulb as an alternative emergency light.

 The paradigm entails the independent variables together with the dependent

and intervening variables of the problem in the study.

The independent variable are the water and bleach that is the root of solar light

being possible and then the LED light bulb. The dependent variable is the alternative

solar plastic bottle battery-powered light bulb that serve as the inference of the

independent variable, the researchers’ are curios if the battery-powered is a good

alternative for the solar panel. Intervening variable connects the both independent and

dependent variable which is the experimentation of the mixtures and battery-powered

LED light as an alternative emergency light.

Conceptual Framework
Research Instruments

The researchers utilized the materials;

Plastic Bottle (Coke 1.5L) – serves as the main body and the container of liquids.

Led Button Light – source of light during nighttime.

9v battery – power source for the battery-powered LED

Switch – used to power on and off the battery-powered LED during nighttime.

Wires – serves as a conductor and connectors of electricity for the battery-powered

LED to light up.

Thick Plastic Straw (Transparent) - used to keep the wires and LED from getting wet

inside the bottle.

Adhesive – serves as a glue to hold the materials in place.

Pliers – a hand tool for holding objects firmly, twisting and cutting wires.

Cutter – a tool for cutting, shaping, and deforming an object.

Scissors – a cutting tool that has blades with cutting edges that slide past each other.

The additive ingredients are the;

Water - serves as a refractor of sunlight and the battery-powered LED.

Bleach - mixed with water to kill off bacteria and algae.

Data Gathering Procedure(Takes time)