What if you could design your own lighting fixture in the time that it takes to unscrew a light bulb? That’s the premise behind Daniel Becker’s Spark system, a series of energy-efficient LED bulbs that can be linked together to form beautiful light sculptures.
One of the most exciting new products we found at West Coast Green this past weekend is the latest innovation by Lemnis Lighting, the Pharox 60 LED Dimmable Lightbulb, that uses just 6 Watts and has the equivalent luminescence of the traditional 60 Watt incandescent bulb. The Pharox 60 fits a standard sized household light fixture, is made of recyclable material, and is the most energy efficient bulb of comparable light quality on the market today with a light output of 300 lumens and a warm white light of 3000K. A patented heat sink keeps the bulb temperature low (we think it’s the aluminum housing surround) and it is the most environmentally safe option on the market as well, containing NO lead, mercury, or wolfram, unlike it’s compact fluorescent competitors.
Shortly after Al Gore debuted An Inconvenient Truth the general public started giving a damn about climate change — at least superficially. And in a massive wave of effort to show off our new enviro-consciousness, every apartment, townhouse and megamansion from Norway to New Zealand swapped their incandescent light bulbs for more energy efficient CFLs, or compact fluorescent lamps. Watt for watt, there’s no question whether or not CFLs save energy as compared to their predecessors. But with the concerns of toxic mercury and the recent developments in LED technology, CFLs may not be the smartest choice for long-term sustainability. Read on for our in-depth report!
Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) recently announced a breakthrough in OLED technology that shatters all prior efficiency standards, reducing the ultra-thin lights’ energy consumption by 75%! That’s no small number – the development stands to raise the bar for energy efficient lighting by leaps and bounds. Literally (and figuratively) a cool technology, we are already enamored by the skinny profile of organic light emitting diodes, and we can’t wait to see their further integration into our everyday appliances.
The Firewinder is an innovative outdoor light solution, powered entirely by the wind! Inspired and developed by young British inventor Tom Lawton, the Firewinder spins as the wind blows, turning into an eco-friendly night light. Lawton developed the light with a wish to highlight the invisible beauty and endless resource of alternative energies, and what a great job he did! Find …
This weekend team Inhabitat took the International Contemporary Furniture Fair by storm, seeking out the freshest green designs amid this year’s crop of over 2,500 exhibitors. From sleek and chic chaises to eco-efficient products to the patently bizarre, we were wowed by the wealth of designs on display. Read on for our favorite finds from the show, stay tuned for more coverage, and don’t forget to check out our photo album for more eco-friendly furnishings, lighting solutions, and products!
It’s hard to capture all of the excitement of this year’s BKLYN Designs in words and photos alone – which is why we’re thrilled to bring you a video tour of our favorite green design picks from the show! Follow Inhabitat founder Jill Fehrenbacher and crew as they scout out hot new products and get exclusive interviews with the designers that created them. For more coverage of the stellar show, be …
DRUMROLL PLEASE…
We are excited to announce the Inhabitat Editor’s Choice Awards for BKLYN Designs 2009! As we walked through the BKLYN Designs show this year we were thrilled to see fresh new faces and established designers alike unveiling an inspired assortment of locally-sourced designs made from recycled materials, elegant energy-efficient lighting solutions, and beautifully crafted furniture of every fit and form. Read on for our picks for the finest trends in future-forward furniture design!
MOST INNOVATIVE USE OF MATERIALS: FUNATURE BY HUGH HAYDEN
Hugh Hayden’s fresh new line of FUNature repurposes plastic balls into a bright bunch of furnishing solutions. We were particularly impressed with his tennis ball chair, which is composed entirely of recycled tennis balls that have lost their bounce.
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN: PAPER LAMPS BY LEVENT & ROMME
Levent & Romme’s elegant lamps consist of a single sheet of paper that has been laser-cut to let light shine through in beautiful patterns.
We saw quite a few environmentally-conscious trends at the Milan Furniture Fair’s bi-annual showcase of lighting products, Euroluce. With energy use in mind, LEDs showed up from almost every company. As an extremely efficient and small bulb, the LED allows its surrounding fixtures to morph into innovative forms that highlight the beauty of light. Also in hot demand at Euroluce this year are shades made from natural or recycled fibers, whether strung, woven, or draped — or some combination of the above. The shades help to create soft, glowing light — thanks to their translucent material — but they are also nice to look at when the light is off. Euroluce is showing a variety of lighting options that differ in aesthetics and innovation, and we are happy to report that many of the designs are evidence that environmental responsibility is an important agenda item.
As part of the Euroluce exhibition at the Milan Furniture Fair, Royal Philips Electronics showcased a wide range of cutting edge LED lighting products. Our favorite designs on display were part of their newly debuted Ledino collection, an extensive range of stylish indoor and outdoor fixtures that provide 80% energy savings over standard incandescent bubs. The lights have a very low wattage and minimal CO2 emissions, but it is much more than their energy efficiency that makes these lights notable.
Your favorite furniture fair is about to begin! Starting next week on Earth Day, the Salone Internazionale del Mobile will be in full swing from April 22nd through the 27th. We have a team of European design experts headed there now to bring you full coverage of the great green designs on display – from new chairs and eco-friendly furniture …
This year’s CES is showcasing some great green products, and we were particularly impressed by this new solar powered outdoor lamp by miniWIZ, who brought us the Hymini Portable Wind Charger. The Solarbulb is a brilliant solution that provides light while making use of old plastic bottles. Simply attach it to any ordinary bottle and the 0.18 W solar cells will provide up to 6 hours of continuous night lighting.
Over the past year we’ve been thoroughly impressed with New York’s ever-lengthening list of green credentials. The Big Apple already has a plastic bag tax, an amazing mass transit system, LEED certified skyscrapers, and car free zones, and we’re excited to announce that NYC will soon be installing a new breed of super-efficient LED street lamps. The new units will be tested this coming year in a select area, and if successful, one day all of New York’s 300,000 lights will be replaced with new LED versions.
Recently the OLED research team over at General Electric unveiled the world’s first OLED Christmas Tree! Forging ahead of the usual end-of-the-year slowdown, GE’s Global Research Center headquarters in Niskayuna, NY rang in the holidays with a 6-inch-by-15-ft. OLED system all rolled-up into the form of a tree. The radiant source of holiday cheer provides a glimpse of how OLEDs can transform the future of the lighting industry.
Bruce Munro’s gorgeous fiber optic ‘Field of Light‘ installation is inspired by the beautiful displays of flowers that burst forth from Australia’s desert landscape. The UK based lighting designer conceived of the installation 15 years ago while driving across Stuart Highway on a road trip through Australia. Every night he would stop to rest at roadside campsite, where green grass and surreal sculptures struck a stark contrast to the surrounding red desert. Munro was fascinated by these oases, and how dormant desert seeds would burst into beautiful flowers when it rained. The idea followed Munro for years all the way back to the UK until he could finally bring it to life in a brilliant installation at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
What do you get when you take an average vertical blind (the kind found in practically any rental apartment across the United States), outfit it with special mini photovoltaics and LED pixels, then add a healthy dose of creative inspiration? The surprisingly chic and witty Solar Vertical Lamp designed by Yoon-Hui Kim and Eun-Kyung Kim. By creatively applying existing technology, Kim and Kim transform the lowly blind into a sustainable, sexy, and dramatic lighting system. Finally, a blind that has truly seen the light.
What if we could light our homes with glowing wallpaper rather than having to rely on electric lights? Swedish designer Camilla Diedrich has asked this exact question, and in response, created a stunning line of luminescent wallpaper that is lit by fiber optics. Her Nature Ray Charles Wallpaper features a delicate assortment of floral motifs that shine through in lucid lines, adding a touch of energy-efficient ambiance to any room.
WEmake’s beautiful Beryl and Friends lamps are composed from cast-off bases and lampshades that have fallen out of favor. The designers carefully refinish each component and then recombine them to eclectic effect, re-wiring and re-stocking them with low energy bulbs. Beryl and Friends were included in (re)design’s ‘Lighten up‘ exhibition at 100% Design at this year’s London Design Festival.
Many of our readers have already switched out their incandescent light bulbs in favor of energy-efficient CFLs, and for this we applaud you! However for those out there who have not made the switch, it may be due to concerns over the bright glare that these bulbs emit. Enter the Bright Idea Shade, a beautiful open-source bulb shade composed of interlocking polygonal pieces. It was created at the Eyebeam OpenLab, an art and technology center in New York that encourages creative thinking and open-source designs.
Designed by Tom Raffield, co-founder of Sixixis, these beautiful Ash Pendant lamps are formed from 80 meters worth of locally-sourced FSC-certified English ash. Their delicate interwoven shades are steam-bent, and each is illuminated by a giant low-energy bulb. The design was recently featured in [re]design’s Lighten Up exhibition.
The world’s very first Sustainable Dance Club recently let partygoers loose on its energy-generating dance floor to the sound of Iggy Pop & The Stooges! Originally rumored to be opened by Amy Winehouse, club Watt, features a LED-laden dance floor that is lit up solely by the kinetic energy generated by dancers. The new nightclub will also feature a variety of efficiency standards established by the Sustainable Dance Club group that allow it to save 30% on energy consumption, 50% on water use, cut CO2 emissions by 30%, and reduce waste by 50%.
![London Design Festival: LIGHTEN UP by [re]design](http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/plugins/autothumb/image.php?src=/wp-content/uploads/lightenup211.jpg&w=140&h=120&zc=1&hash=2ee5d197d3286b53800a7ef35a5763d1)
One of the highlights from this year’s London Design Festival was LIGHTEN UP, an illuminated exhibition that featured 64 innovative lighting solutions from UK designers. Presented by [re]design at this year’s 100% Design, the event focused upon “Looking beyond the bulb” and showcased a variety of ways that “sustainability is driving the evolution of new technologies, aesthetics, materials, and interactions”. Read on for a selection of our favorite designs!
We are excited to announce that one of our favorite contemporary furniture design teams, Molo, just launched a brand new fold-up paper lantern called ‘Urchin’. Molo’s Urchin Softlights are a series of gorgeous expandable lamps composed of flexible-yet-durable honeycomb craft paper. Urchin embodies Molo’s versatile design philosophy and is as adaptable as their paper walls or stacking blocks, allowing the user to lift or push the softlight into any desired position. Watch designer Stefanie Forsythe styling her Urchin softlights in a flash intro here.
Although not as aesthetically pleasing as those bio-mimicking Leaf lamps, these solar streetlights not only provide ample nighttime lighting, but also offer assistance in the event of a major earthquake. Sharp’s streetlamps charge during the day and light up the night with their powerful and energy-efficient high-intensity LED spotlights. In the event of an earthquake measuring 5.0 or greater, these streetlights will turn on full brightness all night long to light streets and sidewalks, aiding in emergency relief efforts.
Working during the day, using old-fashioned sunlight, is no doubt the best option for eco-saavy individuals looking to save energy. But as life sometimes requires working into the wee hours of the night, the Chain Desk Lamp, designed by Ilaria Marelli, offers a bright working environment while making use of LED technology.
It’s an exciting time for OLED technology as it finally begins to integrate into the home and designers start to realize its potential for efficient and inexpensive lighting solutions in a variety of stunning new applications. Resembling a tiny tree blossoming with lucent leaves, Ingo Maurer’s Early Future lamp is the world’s first to pack energy efficient OLED lighting into a tabletop form factor.
Luxim labs recently unveiled an incredibly energy efficient light bulb that packs more luminosity than a street lamp into a pill-sized form factor. Each bulb is filled with argon gas, which turns to plasma when electricity is focused through it. The energy is driven to the bulb without electrodes. The resulting light is intensely bright and mirrors the quality of light radiated by the sun, yet is produced by one of the smallest, most energy efficient light sources we’ve seen.
In a bold and laudable move, Ireland has just announced plans to ban the sale of incandescent light-bulbs by the year 2009. This makes it the first European nation to outlaw the old energy hogging bulbs.
The UK’s first fully dimmable energy efficient light bulb was launched today, as part of a Greenpeace initiative at 100% Design London. Greenpeace commissioned top designer Jason Bruges to create an interactive garden of light, which responds to human movement through “touch pads” dotted around the installation. This is the first lighting project of its kind in the world to use fully dimmable, compact fluorescent bulbs.
Our friends at Popular Mechanics have recently run a lab test on an array of the increasingly popular and oh-so-efficient compact fluorescent bulb. We’ve highlighted the advantages of these bulbs before, and have heard some critics’ aversion to their spiral form, light quality, price, and other factors. But according to the study, the CFLs currently on the market not only proved to be light years (pun intended) ahead of their incandescent counterparts in terms of efficiency, but all seven of the tested bulbs proved to produce better quality, clearer, more pleasingly-colored light. This should conclusively prove that CFLs aren’t just great for your wallet, but for your newly decorated living room as well. Read the whole article from Popular Mechanics here.
Neues Licht means “new light” in German, and we can’t think of a more appropriate name for this innovative lighting design company which creates futuristic lamps with fiber optics. Neues Licht wowed visitors at last week’s Cologne Furniture Fair with this fabulous UFO Chandelier made with fiberoptic cables arranged in a floating, glowing ring. Designer Simon Bruenner describes his celestial chandelier as “simplicity from another planet.”
Lighting is one of the most critical – and most visceral – qualities of an indoor space. The difference between good and bad lighting can make or break comfort, mood and overall happiness in your home. Exposure to natural light
LOTS MORE GREAT GREEN DESIGN STORIES HERE... KEEP READING!
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