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There were numerous considerations while choosing components for the prototype, namely:
Cost
Availability
Durability
Flexibility
Ease of assembly of a complete system so that anyone can assemble it with the items mentioned
Keeping in mind the same, most of my material has been sourced from local shops. I have also included, at the bottom of this page, links to similar components used (if the exact type as the one I used is not available in other areas). The cost of materials seems to tend to be on the costlier side, but it is important to consider that costs could be cut down further by 10-20% when these components are bought in bulk.
Solar Panel: INR 1000
Battery : INR 500
LED Lamp: Coin type LED strip @ INR 100
Total Cost of Assembly: Rs. 1970 (23 USD). Thus the cost of SuryaDeep is around 23 USD per unit. This cost is much cheaper than similar lamp competitors available in the market, which you can find here. Moreover, the scope to decrease cost further is tremendous such as by buying components in bulk or developing and using your own charge controller! Furthermore, as seen, the solar panel used is the most expensive among the 4 components, which was chosen due to the heavy-duty usage of my lamp outdoors, and thus a more efficient solar panel was chosen. If one makes a similar lamp for indoor use, the cost of the panel and even the battery can be further cut down.
Cost optimization can be achieved through mass-scale production and integration of components. For example, suppose we design a solar panel, assembled with the controller integrated at the back, connecting to the battery and lamp using only four wires. In that case, we can significantly reduce costs and create a more elegant and neat solution. In smaller versions, all four components (solar panel, controller, battery, and lamp) can be combined into a single unit, similar to low-wattage commercial solutions.
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