Monday, November 03, 2014: Recently Solar Lighting Laboratory or SLL was set up in New Delhi by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and now the lab is getting accredited by National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL) for IEC 62257-9-5 standards. It’s the first laboratory to receive this accreditation in India which applies for lighting and electrification in rural areas.
The laboratory has met standards of International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) in testing solar lighting systems or SLS. International Finance Corporation (IFC) also acknowledged the laboratory under the Lighting Global Programme and the lab is supported by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India. TERI University’s VC, Leena Srivastava and TERI’s executive director has told that they are feeling proud to receive this accreditation and opined that awareness on lighting solutions needs to be enhanced in poor regions.
Solar Lighting laboratory;s chief executive Amit Kumar said solar lighting has several dedicated projects now but still they lack proper applications. This laboratory, according to Kumar, is trying to improve product quality meeting international standards. The lab has already tested over 170 models of solar lanterns, solar home lighting solutions and multi-purpose solar lights. The lab caters to both rural and urban lighting needs and ensures strong quality of their products. The lab is planning to extend their programmes for countries in SouthEast Asia too.
