Lighting Trends

Before I launch right into todays blog post, I wanted to share some exciting news! The New York Times "green blog," Green Inc. gave Lighting Trends a nice little shout out yesterday. In "Green Gadgets: People-Powered Playthings," Green Inc. talks about cool eco-friendly gadgets, including the Krank Light I found on Yanko Design! What a nice little plug! I definitely recommend checking out Green Inc., there's some good stuff on there.

This little plug inspired me to do an eco-friendly post. At the end of last month, Tree Hugger (another fantastic "green" blog, I've referenced before) spotlighting these cool, new environmentally-friendly street lights from Philips. The Light Blossom is a conceptual solar and wind-powered street light that utilizes state-of-the-art technology to simulate a flower, harnessing the power of the sun during the day to create light in the evening. Like an actual flower, Light Blossom's "petals" follow the direction of the sun as it moves from East to West, soaking up the energy. On a windy day, Light Blossom makes the most of the blustery situation by moving its petals to an upward half-open position, catching the wind and converting it immediately into energy, in turn powering the street light.


At night, just like a flower, Light Blossom closes up and LED lights illuminate the area around it. Light Blossom makes sure that no unnecessary is wasted, glowing at a minimum when there are no people around. As soon as someone walks by, motion sensors are triggered and Light Blossom illuminates brighter. Given that no power infrastructure is necessary to run Light Blossom, and that it's "LEDs use half of the energy of a traditional street light for the same light output," Light Blossom is an ideal outdoor lighting option for both urban and rural applications. Additionally, Light Blossom can give back energy that it doesn't use, in essence generating power that can be used in other applications on the same grid. This idea could do a lot of good if it caught on. Not only is Light Blossom a functional street light, but it's also a moving sculpture! Add to that, the potential environmental benefits, this light has it all. Check out the full press release from Philips for more details. No details yet on when this could become available. Lights out until next time! - Via TreeHugger and Philips