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holy said: "IT IS VERY GOOD; church can be an opinion leader. in Germany some churches have big roofs for solar..." [read]

SteveC said: "While one might think this is a waste of time, money and resources, so is a Bugatti Veyron. But both have been designed specifically to show that t..." [read]

Duane said: "As to the question in the title "Will the Greenies Take Fireworks Away From Us?", the bad news answer is yes. Yes they will. The good news is tha..." [read]

LT said: "I again repeat my comment from previous posts about poorly designed objects that design students should have some real world practical experience b..." [read]

Harrison Wills said: "This is a beautiful quote by Mother Teresa that expresses the need to Do Good and Make Progress even when it's not appreciated. Love and Creat anyw..." [read]

Jesse said: "I also agree for most families out there the recipies have to have a convertable property. I myself eat limited meat, aka fish, for some additional..." [read]

New LED Bulbs by Sharp Can be Remotely Tuned Between 7 Shades of White

by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 06.18.09
Design & Architecture

led lightbulb tunable color japan photo
Photo: Sharp

Honey, I Feel More Like Cool White Today...
Sharp's introducing 9 new models of LED lightbulbs to Japan in mid-July, but the most innovative of those is the one pictured above (the others are below). What's that thing on the right? It's actually a remote control that allows you to tune the color of the DL-L60AV LED Lamp (Sharp calls it "Adjustable Color Function"), or of a series of those plugged into the same circuit. Why is that a good thing? More details on how it works and its performance below.

Article continues: New LED Bulbs by Sharp Can be Remotely Tuned Between 7 Shades of White

Breakthrough: Regular Light Bulb Made Super-Efficient with Laser (!)

by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 06. 2.09
Design & Architecture

super efficient bulb laser photo
Professor of optics Chunlei Guo. Photo: University of Rochester

Everything is Better with Lasers
What if you could take a regular incandescent lightbulb, zap it with a powerful laser for a small fraction of a second, and make it about twice as efficient as a regular lightbulb? That seems to be what researchers at the University of Rochester did. What does the laser do? It creates an "array of nano- and micro-scale structures on the surface of [the] regular tungsten filament—the tiny wire inside a light bulb—and these structures make the tungsten become far more effective at radiating light." Read on for more details.

Article continues: Breakthrough: Regular Light Bulb Made Super-Efficient with Laser (!)

Smart Light Sydney: Seeing the Light Whilst Reducing the Energy

by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05.28.09
Design & Architecture

Smart Light Sydney Opera House photo

Sydney, Australia was the city that pioneered Earth Hour, turning off its lights to highlight the energy issues inherent in the climate change dilemma. Now, and for the next three weeks they are turning the lights on for the same cause. Smart Light Sydney is about celebrating “sustainable innovations and the future of low-energy lighting design.”

An element of the larger Vivid Sydney festival, Smart Light Sydney is also running a eco lighting symposia looking at how “new technologies such as LEDs, nano-materials and advanced software design programs are revolutionising the design of light fittings and their usage in the city.” All the while asking the question, “How can architects design [...] the after dark usage and enjoyment of the city’s public spaces and buildings without wasting energy?”

Article continues: Smart Light Sydney: Seeing the Light Whilst Reducing the Energy

Dumpster Divers Turn Cardboard into Lighting (Video)

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.22.09
Design & Architecture

icff2009-header.jpg
graypants-inhabitat.jpg
photo credit: Inhabitat, who did a much better job

It doesn't get much more TreeHugger than dumpster diving for used cardboard and turning it into very lovely pendant lamps, does it? Well, maybe they might not have incandescent bulbs in them, but Seth Grizzle isn't happy with the quality of the light from the alternatives. Seattle's Graypants laser cuts cardboard and glues the circles into cardboard for their Scrap Lights. We interviewed Seth at ICFF.

Article continues: Dumpster Divers Turn Cardboard into Lighting (Video)

Stamen Lamps Made From Hundreds of Toothpicks (Video)

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.20.09
Design & Architecture

icff2009-header.jpg
daisuke.jpg
Mike Chino at Inhabitat

Daisuke Hiraiwa created the Stamen lamp by gluing toothpicks to a flexible backing. The results are quite beautiful; my pictures didn't do it justice so I have borrowed from one of many at Inhabitat. Diasuke explains the process in a video:

Article continues: Stamen Lamps Made From Hundreds of Toothpicks (Video)

Quantum Dots Make LED Lightbulbs Emit More Pleasant Light

by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.20.09
Design & Architecture

led light quantum dots photo
Photo: Mark Lennihan

Improving the Light Quality of LED Lightbulbs
LED lights have been working on overcoming two challenges: Generating pleasing light, and being low-cost. QD Vision and Nexxus Lighting have been working together on the first of these. Nexxus made LED lamps with white LEDs, and QD Vision is providing a cover with a coating of specially tuned quantum dots that help make the light-color more pleasing to the eye (mostly by adding some red into the mix, making the final result closer to what people are used to).

Article continues: Quantum Dots Make LED Lightbulbs Emit More Pleasant Light

Bird-Friendly Building Certification

by Neil Chambers, New York City on 05. 8.09
Design & Architecture

birds flying.jpg
Photo from New York City Audubon

Buildings are a leading cause for bird-fatalities in the United States every year. Few green buildings exist where bird-safety is included. Architects and designers just don’t understand the connection between birds and the architecture. They don’t see glass. Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez has a big idea. She wants to create the first-ever nationally recognized Bird-Friendly Building Certification.

Article continues: Bird-Friendly Building Certification

Last Incandescent Bulb Slips out of Grand Central Terminal

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 04.30.09
Design & Architecture

changing-bulbs.jpg
New York Times

The last of four thousand incandescent bulbs were changed to compact fluorescents at Grand Central Terminal in New York yesterday, which will save an estimated US$ 200,000 per year in electricity charges and reduce the amount of CO2 and mercury released into the atmosphere from coal burning electrical plants.

Passengers immediately started complaining of headaches, pallid skin tones and declared Grand Central a superfund site because of the 8,000 milligrams of mercury in all of the bulbs.

Article continues: Last Incandescent Bulb Slips out of Grand Central Terminal
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