Green Light

If you’ve ever been told you needed live plants in your home but just felt like you didn’t have the space, this may be the solution you need.

Designed by Toronto-based multidisciplinary design studio O/I (Object Interface Inc.), Babylon is a plantable light fixture inspired by the legends of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The suspended light is made of powder coated aluminum with a removable ABS plastic liner. You can choose between the single light or a three light cluster. Pricing starts around $500.00

If you prefer a more enclosed option – especially if hanging over your kitchen table – this next light from Greenworks may be what you need. Also called Babylon, this light designed by Alexis Tricoire is a suspended terrarium of sorts.

The suspended light fixture is about 19.5″ wide with 5 openings for stems to grow through. The bottom of the globe is covered with pumice that contains minerals and micro nutrients that feed the plants. Due to the high water holding capacity of the pumice, plants need watering and maintenance only every third week.

I love this photo with the orchids. I will admit I’m not the best when it comes to keeping orchids but If I had this fixture, I’d try to improve my skills.

The last option I found for Green Lights is from the Bocci 38 Collection. This collection is an extension of the 28 series by Omer Arbel that features a series of distorted spheres filled with cavities that double as planters.

“This chandelier object, in production, uses a technique Mr. Arbel had previously used to create 28. It takes an hour for three people to make one; 10% to 15% of them break in the process, says Mr. Arbel. This piece, 38, has cavities deep enough to contain earth and succulent and cacti plantings.”

Within the spheres there are 4-6 cavities, 2 or 3 of which house either a 10 watt xenon or a 1.5 watt LED light source. Electricity and suspension are achieved with stiff copper tubing, which is allowed to tangle and skew, seemingly without regard for gravity.

Due to the hand crafted nature of the 38 series, the pendant size as well as the number and location of interior satellites, pendant diameter, and sometimes shape may vary.

Based in Vancouver with a satellite company in Berlin, Bocci is a contemporary design and manufacturing house that follows sustainable practices. Bocci’s 38 Collection is made from recycled glass, lit by energy-efficient LED lights, and shipped in recyclable packaging.

February 19, 2014

LEDs and Carpet

LED integration into surfaces is growing by leaps and bounds and stands to add an exciting dimension to interior design. Let’s look at what is making news.

The Cell+LED Carpet from Lama Concept

It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 years since this carpet made it’s debut at the Paris Airshow fitted into the isles of the Airbus A350. Since then it’s been used in various commercial applications and even in the Land Rover LRX Concept.

The carpets and rugs are made from 100% wool felt strips that are formed around eye-like forms – like knots in wood. Some of these knots are replaced with LED lights and oriented with the direction of the strips. The carpets can be created to form a directional path with the LEDs, or the lights can just be placed randomly for a glittering array.

Although this carpet might not work with every decor, it’s an innovate approach to flooring that opens the door to endless design possibilities.

Phillips and Desso

Two Dutch-based companies, Phillips Lighting and carpet maker Desso, recently announced a partnership to create light-transmitting carpet–smart flooring capable of displaying all kinds of information.

Desso envisions the new light emitting LED carpet as serving several purposes. One would be to quickly and intuitively guide people through buildings including to designated safety routes and exits. Another would be to add to the ambiance and atmosphere of public spaces. The carpet would add “lighting, design and color” as the joint statement from both companies explains.

For now, the partnership is limited to the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and the official product is slated for sometime in 2014. Who knows, one day we may be able to turn an average living room into a disco lounge with the touch of our phones or tablets and use the same system with our fire alarms enabling it to send a signal to specifically light the best way out of our homes.

July 6, 2012May 1, 2025

How to Shop for a 60 Watt Bulb

Do you remember the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007? Provisions began taking effect the first part of this year, with many popular incandescent reflector lamps being outlawed.

If you used to buy 100 watt bulbs, look for a bulb with 1600 lumens
If you used to buy 75 watt bulbs, look for a bulb with 1100 lumens
If you used to buy 60 watt bulbs, look for a bulb with 800 lumens
If you used to buy 40 watt bulbs, look for a bulb with 450 lumens

Watts are a better predictor of how hot a light bulb will be than how bright it is. Lumens tell you how much light a bulb will provide.

To make it easier to compare light bulbs, the Federal Trade Commission has designed a new label which you have probably already seen. It was required to be on all packages starting this year.

It is important to look for the ENERGY STAR on light bulb packaging, which means that they meet strict criteria set by EPA for both energy efficiency and quality. Other bulbs may be cheaper, but the tests that ENERGY STAR requires are important, and necessary for consumers to get the performance they expect.

Update: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ended the ENERGY STAR specifications for lamps and luminaires December 31, 2024.

In absence of the ENERGY STAR mark, the Federal Trade Commission’s Lighting Facts labels will continue to communicate lamp performance to consumers, including brightness, estimated yearly energy cost, life, light appearance as the expression of the correlated color temperature,
and energy used.

June 4, 2008

ReLED Replaces Your Flourescent Lamps

ReLEDSystems, from Huntington Beach, CA offers an LED replacement for fluorescent T5, T8 and T12 lamps.

The extruded aluminum linear lamp conforms to the dimensions of a typical fluorescent lamp. It provides an efficient heat sink and uses bright Lumiled K2 diodes. The fluorescent ballast is replaced with the Re Driver. It’s skinny profile helps to make retrofitting the ballast easier.

In addition to the energy savings, the benefits of utilization of LED lighting technology include a 10 year service life (more than half a billion fluorescent tubes are disposed of int he US each year), no infrared or UV light emissions, no mercury or PCBs, high quality light and wide operating temperature range.

This is great news for people who have fluorescent fixtures in place and want and to utilize LED lighting.

Check out this Video