Kerosene is the most common form of lighting in off-grid areas. It is burned in wick-type kerosene lamps or hurricane lanterns. In terms of energy usage, kerosene is extremely inefficient, making it a very expensive solution for its users. Its main advantage is that it can be bought in small portions, thus allowing for small and irregular incomes. OSRAM Off-Grid Lighting is new because it takes into account exactly these issues. The key points of the system are:

• Efficient lamps or lighting systems using energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps and LEDs are powered by rechargeable batteries.
• Customers return the standardized system to the O-HUB and get a freshly charged system in exchange. The customer pays only for the energy, echoing a great advantage of kerosene - light can be bought in small portions according to available income.
• The 'deposit' for the system is taken care of with microfinancing.

For the customer, the price for an hour of light is considerably below that of kerosene – while the light is brighter, safer and better than with a kerosene lantern.

The concept offers a true triple win situation:

• It improves the social situation of the customers by leaving them with more of their income and reducing hazards to their health
• It is a benefit for the environment, because it replaces CO₂ emissions from kerosene with clean solar energy
• It is an exciting business opportunity for OSRAM and its partners.