This Technical Brief discusses the lighting product design process from an energy and efficiency perspective. It is intended to help manufacturers design efficient, high performance products and avoid the false choice between good performance and low product cost.Efficiency is a critically important subject for off grid lighting products.

Light output, run times, and solar charging rates are directly dependent on the efficiency of the energy collection and energy use of these systems. High efficiency will enable more light output, for longer periods of time, with lower energy input. Energy efficient design can benefit the manufacturer by reducing product costs, and also benefit the end user by enabling higher quality products.

Download Briefing Note Issue 4/April 2011: Lighting Efficiency and Product Design Optimization