PayGo solar expert Azuri Technologies has introduced a new generation of LED lamps designed specifically for African off-grid rural markets. The new lamps feature in Azuri’s fully digital Quad solar home system, to be released in March.

For more than 600 million off-grid consumers in sub Saharan Africa, clean home lighting is crucial in improving quality of life and optimising productivity. Incorporating top quality, European-designed LED based lighting modules, the Azuri Quad system provides a lighting quality which is more akin to that of on-grid products in developed markets.

Available in two variants, standard (60 lumen minimum) and high brightness (120 lumen minimum) variants, the new lamps produce a 4000K white/yellow light which is warmer on the colour spectrum compared to earlier, white-blue light products, providing a more natural illumination.

Combining a typical efficiency of about 10 times a standard tungsten bulb and low voltage operation, the lamps have been specifically designed for battery powered off-grid systems, where power management is a key consideration. When coupled with Azuri’s fully digitally-controlled solar home systems, the lights deliver a precisely controlled shine for the duration of use.

Part of the innovation of Azuri’s home solar system is its pay-as-you-go model, where weekly top-up credits allow cost to be spread over a period of 12 to 18 months. Accordingly, the lamps have been designed to be robust and durable, providing optimal output for at least 2,500 days based on 6 hours of use each night, to ensure that free, clean light is available to the consumer long after they have completed payment.

Simon Bransfield-Garth, CEO of Azuri, commented:

“In bringing together Azuri’s expertise in solar for rural markets and the best in European LED light technology, rural African consumers can benefit from a top quality product, whose performance and efficiency exceeds that found in most typical homes and businesses in developed markets.”

“Off-grid lighting is a substantial, developing industry, where system innovation and reductions in cost have allowed the market to grow well beyond its initial philanthropic context. Long term success will hinge on best-in-class solutions designed specifically for today’s rural consumer.”

Azuri’s award-winning solar home system combines mobile and solar technology to provide pay-as-you-go access to lighting and phone charging, at a weekly cost as little as half of the kerosene and phone charging fees it replaces. Azuri is lighting rural homes in 10 countries across sub Saharan Africa and was recently named by FastCompany as one of 2015’s top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Energy.