Vancouver, BC, Canada – (February 20, 2003) – Carmanah Technologies Corporation (TSX VE: CMH; Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Enchanges: QCX), is pleased to announce that a U.S. patent application (#09/824,994) for its proprietary Automatic Light Control (ALC) technology has been approved.
“ALC distinguishes our products from any other solar-powered lighting products in the world today”, states Art Aylesworth, Carmanah’s CEO. “This technology allows our lighting products to automatically adapt to the solar environment where they are installed, thereby greatly extending our product’s capabilities and reliability while reducing component size and associated cost. We are proud that ALC has been recognized as unique and we are pleased to add this technology to our portfolio of intellectual property.”
Carmanah has developed significant intellectual property around the core concept of solar-powered LED lighting and illumination. This latest patent in the company’s IP portfolio represents one of five technologies that have been patented or have patents pending in various countries around the world.
About Carmanah’s Automatic Light Control
The Historical Problem
The single greatest inefficiency of outdoor solar-powered lighting products is that they must be optimized for the worst solar conditions that they are likely to encounter. In practical terms, this means that each unit must be designed to operate reliably during the worst of the winter months, when the availability of ambient light for recharging is at its lowest. The result is that during summer months the unit is “overbuilt” and operating inefficiently, as it is unable to use much of the energy available for capture by its solar panels.
Similarly, unless each unit is customized individually, there is no means of adjusting the performance level of a unit to correlate with the solar energy available at the installation location. For example, a unit installed in Egypt, where there are six hours of sunlight on average every day, will have to be set to the same performance level as a unit installed in Norway, where there is only one hour of sunlight available on average. The unit in Egypt therefore operates very inefficiently, as most of its incoming solar energy is wasted.
An Ingenious Solution
Using advanced electronics and software developed by Carmanah Technologies Inc., Automatic Light Control (ALC) enables Carmanah’s products to automatically adjust their light output in response to prevailing solar conditions.
ALC uses a control scheme to monitor the charge received by its batteries over the course of the day via the solar panel(s). Through a sophisticated algorithm, ALC recognizes any trend in its battery voltage levels to develop an approximate understanding of its installation location and / or prevailing weather conditions. It then determines if solar conditions are suitable to maintain its current light output, or if it should dynamically adjust its output level to ensure its battery levels will remain optimal for continuous, reliable operation. This self-configuring capability enables Carmanah’s products to operate reliably at nearly any location on earth. Carmanah currently has more than 50,000 units operating in 110 countries with some units operating year round as far as 70°N latitude (Norway).
The resulting benefits of ALC are significant for Carmanah’s customers:
- Major improvements in reliability;
- Better performance; and
- Reduced product size and cost.
About Carmanah Technologies Inc.
Carmanah is an award winning alternative energy manufacturer specializing in patented solar-powered LED lighting solutions for the marine, transit, roadway and railway markets. The shares of Carmanah Technologies Corporation (parent company) are publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “CMH” and on the Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges under the symbol “QCX”. For more
information, please visit www.carmanah.com/investors.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Carmanah Technologies Corporation
Praveen Varshney, Director
For further information, please contact.
Media Contact:
Mr. David Davies
Harbourwerks Communications
Telephone: (250) 382-4332
E-mail:
href=”mailto:ddavies@harbourwerks.com”>ddavies@harbourwerks.com
Corporate and Investor Contact:
Mr. Praveen Varshney, Director
Telephone: (604) 629-0264
Toll-Free: 1-866-629-0264
E-mail:
href=”mailto:investors@carmanah.com”>investors@carmanah.com
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described under the caption “Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements” and “Key Information – Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and which are incorporated herein by reference. These risks and uncertainties are also described under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Information Form dated December 31, 2002, as filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission and which are incorporated herein by reference. We do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.