No Power? No Problem: This Cooking Oil-Powered Lamp Shines 100 Times Brighter Than a Candle

Lumir K
Lumir K / Lumir K
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When there's no electricity, it's pretty difficult to do … anything. Whether you're camping or trying to get through a power outage, you don't want to have to worry about dead batteries in your flashlight or struggling to see by dim candlelight. The Lumir K lamp, now raising money on Indiegogo, provides bright LED light using only a tiny bit of cooking oil.

The Lumir K works with a wick, like a candle, but provides the brightness of an electric lamp, burning 100 times brighter than a traditional candle. To turn it on, users just need to pour cooking oil in the container, light the wick, and place the lamp cover on top of it. To turn it off, users can simply blow out the candle.

Lumir K

The Lumir K lamp would be a useful addition to your emergency kit or even to your camping supplies, giving you the benefits of a table lamp whether you have access to electricity or not.

The lamp also has broader benefits. Lumir K aims to help the 1.2 billion people worldwide who do not have access to electricity. Cooking oil is a relatively affordable resource for most, and the lamp works with any type of cooking oil, whether that's sunflower oil, olive oil, or something else. The lamp is brighter and more efficient than its kerosene counterparts, and requires very little fuel to work: Roughly 1 teaspoon of oil can provide an hour of light. Unlike solar lamps, Lumir K can provide year-round light even in very rainy environments. It does not require any batteries and is made with heat-resistant materials, reducing the risk of fire, and the hardware is designed to last at least 10 years.

You can buy your own cooking oil-powered LED lamp on Indiegogo for $39. Shipping is scheduled for September.

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