Scientists, artists and designers from all over the globe are coming together to create energy efficient and environment friendly alternatives for daily use products. What follows is a list of ten unique and highly effective lighting alternatives that would prove to be advantageous, both for your home and the ecosystem.
1. Solar Lamp by Samuel Li
Samuel Li, known for his out of the box thinking when it comes to designing beautiful lamps, has come up with the new Leaf Lantern. It is primarily a solar energy powered multi-disc lantern. Major components of this lamp are discs that look like leaves and are embedded with photovoltaic cells. The only way to charge these cells is to expose them to sunlight. Furthermore, each disc has its own battery. The leaves of this lamp can be used en mass or for different purposes separately.
This particular Solar Lamp is cordless and is used to illuminate big, wide spaces both outdoors and indoors. The leaves also act as flashlights when used in small and dark areas. Apart from lighting purposes, these Solar Lamps can also be used as candles for decorative purposes. Chic and stylish looks apart, this one also comes in handy as inductive charging units for some low power consuming devices.
2. Poketo Solar Lamp
If you are looking for something that saves energy, is environment friendly, light on your pockets and also happens to be colorful and picturesque, then the Poketo solar lamp is your answer. Available in 4 colors – clear, orange, green and pink, these lamps powered with LED solar batteries can light up your home for hours.
Poketo Solar lamp uses an AAA battery which comes with the lamp. Each lamp has a standard size of 2.7×11.8×5.7 (145x300x145mm) and is available at an economical cost of USD 35 per lamp. These lamps are portable, safe and also water proof. What makes them so popular among the masses is that it is both environment friendly and brightens up the whole place.
3. Bamboo Floor Lamp
Next on the list is Sarah Kim’s creation, first entity in the Bamboo Lighting Series, the Bamboo Floor Lamp. It is an absolute treat for the eyes and is a result of Sarah’s unyielding desire to create something that would not only satisfy the senses but also exemplify and popularize green lighting. The pre requisites for a Bamboo Floor Lamp are hare glue, bamboo and raw hide. The light emitted from the lamp’s tubular structure accentuates the unparalleled profile and elegant curves of the lamp.
What makes Bamboo a wonderful raw material is that it is readily available, recyclable, and highly durable and is endowed with anti bacterial properties. It is a widely known fact that Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants, with reported growth rates of 1 meter in a day. The hardest part is describing a Bamboo Floor Lamp’s shape, simply because they come in myriad shapes and designs, keeping in mind the client’s requirements.
4. Table Lamp by Ciclus
This extraordinary and yet simple design by Ciclus (a design studio in Spain), effortlessly converts a sleek, polished wine glass into a fascinating table lamp. The packaging of this lamp is made from recycled cardboard and local wood sourced from managed forests. This outer packaging then encompasses an ecologically and locally produced bottle of Cava (Spanish wine). A compact fluorescent lamp is then fitted at the bottom of this pack.
These lamps come with detailed guidelines printed on the back of the box. They are easy to pack, move and store and would make wonderful gifts. More than 70 percent of the Cava package, in Spain, is converted into table lamps. It certainly does not get more eco friendly and stylish than this.
5. Tupperware Lamps
Here comes something tailor made to jazz up your kitchen interiors – the Tupperware lamps. I am sure you must have been hit by a wave of nostalgia, looking at those colorful, designer Tupperware containers. Even though these lamps come with energy efficient bulbs, the risk of the plastic melting is always there.
6. Lightexture Lamps
Think mood lighting and you will think of Lightexture Lamps, which are made from easily available household objects like strainers, cheese graters and other lighting components. These lamps create textured light that is more perceptible than pervasive or an invisible light.
Lightexture, the brainchild of the Israeli duo Yael Erel (an architect) and Avner Ben Natan (a lighting designer) tries to restore CFL’s popularity by designing beautiful lamps in which they coruscate and shine, instead of emitting a blinding white light. The motto of Lightexture is: “to explore light through the construction of unique designer lamps which adjust through time, and draw light and texture in space.”
Lightexture in collaboration with Sharan Elran (a ceramic artist), has come up with Claylight and Earthlight series. Both these series focus on sustainable light that is atmospheric and eco friendly. Only natural materials like the ceramic Totem lamp or rice paper are used to create lamps for the Claylight and Earthlight series respectively.
7. Coroplast Pendant Lamps
When innovation, art and science meet the result is an eye catching Coroplast Pendant Lamp. Each lamp is put together by hand and makes use of energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps. These Coroplast Pendant Lamps are essentially made by inserting laser cut shapes into discs of CNC-cut polycarbonate. These lamps are manufactured by BBIITT and are carefully designed in a way that would ensure minimum waste and maximize stock material. The best part is that all the byproducts at the end of production are recycled and reused.
8. Moso Lamp
Another beautiful bamboo feature that would assuredly light up your drawing room is the Moso Lamp. These lamps use compact energy efficient fluorescent bulb and would never fail to enlighten and bring warmth to your home. These lamps employ shades made of double sided bamboo plywood, which enhance the charm and grace of the material.
The innovative design of the lamp allows it to be shipped flat, thereby reducing packaging and shipping hassles considerably. These lamps are available in two sizes along with two wiring alternatives. First is the hardwire model, which includes a ceiling canopy, 5 inch in diameter, a 6 inch clean white power cord and an installation hardware. The plug- in model includes an inline switch, molded plug, ceiling mount hardware and a 15 inch white power cord line.
9. The Arbol Lamps
The Arbol Lamps are no ordinary lamps. Emiliani Godoy along with Alejandro Castro and Alejandro Machorro won the 2007 National Design Biennial in Mexico City for these exquisite lamps. These lamps employ modular light emitting diode boards. These lamps resemble tree trunks and branches, and the distribution of work among these so called branches is what gives this design its strength.
There are eight branches joined to the main trunk. And these trunks are arranged in a radial fashion which balances the whole structure. This unique structure allows a three dimensional distribution of light from the light emitting diodes.
10. Bio Light
You might think that bacteria are good for nothing, but here is something that would make you change your mind. The world renowned electronics company, Phillips, has come out with an ingenious idea. The basic premise is that millions of bacteria, when brought under effective conditions can generate enough light to illuminate your home.
Phillips employs bioluminescent bacteria that emit green light and feed on methane gas from residual waste to power the lamps. These lamps have been christened Bio Lamps and are a part of Phillips’ attempt at finding new natural sources of light. This noteworthy technology proves that micro organisms bottled together in glass jars can generate enough light to illuminate a room or hallways. This technology will serve the dual purpose of saving power and managing waste in a very effective manner.
