Green at WIRED NextFest: Planilum Light by SAAZS
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 09.30.08
Planilum Lights by SAAZS
Designed by Tomas Erel of SAAZS, these Planilum Lights not only look beautiful, but they are long-lasting (about 20 years, or 500,000 hours), efficient (more than incandescent, though we couldn't get exact info on how they compare to CFLs and LEDs), and they use non-toxic gases and materials.
Technology
Co-developped over 6 years by SAAZS and Saint-Gobain Innovations, Planilum Lights are composed of 4 layers of glass, about 20mm thick (0.8 inch), and phosphorescent compounds. They are RoHS certified, and 90% recyclable.
Lights that last that long (20 years!) are probably good candidates to be incorporated directly into buildings by architects. I haven't seen a Planilum light off, so I'm not sure if they are totally transparent (they probably are), but that could make them good for use in skylights and windows (especially if you can put a kind of one-way mirror on the outside, so that sunlight can come in during the day, and the Planilum light goes only inside the house when its turned on).
WIRED NextFest 2008
WIRED NextFest is taking place in Chicago's Millenium Park between Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, October 12. It is free and open to the public. Just look for the big blue tent.
You can order a catalogue from the SAAZS website if you're interested.
Via SAAZS
Lighting Technology
Anchorage, Alaska, to Install 16,000 LED Streetlights. Will Save $360,000 per Year.
Luxim Plasma Light Bulb Kicks Some Serious LED Butt
OLED Breakthrough at U. of Michigan and Princeton: 70 Lumens/Watt!
WIRED NextFest Coverage Index
Green at WIRED NextFest: Human-Electric Hybrid Vehicle by Humancar
|
530 Gigawatts of Geothermal Power Waits to be Tapped: US Geological Survey
|
...and you don't want to tell us how they work? I'm interested, but...
"I haven't seen a Planilum light off"
That's because they can't be turned off.
I could be wrong, but these look like newer versions of old fashioned radioactive-Tritium-based light sources.
Instead of the green light Tritium gives off naturally, they use a phosphorescent compound that converts the green into white. Just like how White LEDs are UV lights that via a phosphorus produce visible white.
At least they give off light for 20 years and don't need electricity...
You can see on the photo that these are plugged in, and the website talks about a 100W model. Probably a different thing.
Nah, they're not tritium, they use power and they're made out of glass, metal & gas. Think flat panel fluorescent.
If you want real cool, check out LEC (Light Emitting Capacitors). Some emitter elements exceed 99% efficiency - not counting the HV driver circuit. For example the limelite nightlights are listed at $0.03 worth of power a year. The Indiglo & Illuminator watches use a version of this tech. The greenish colour is not required but it's what the average human eye is most sensitive to. Avoid blue for nightlights though as it interferes with night vision.
little ones you can afford
http://www.limelite.com/
big ones you can't
http://ceelite.com/products/panels.asp
Manufacturing tolerances are similar to LCDs so large sheets are disproportionately more expensive. A single short keeps a sheet from working but they can cut it up into smaller ones and still used whereas a bad incandescent (very easy to break), fluorescent (very easy to break & contains mercury) or LED has to be seperated and recycled.
looks great.. but how does it work?? I can't find out how they work except that they are made af 4 sheets of glass and a rare gas. NOTHING else about it. dozens of websites, and they all say the same thing as Treehugger.
Swarovski and co. are being tighlipped about it I guess....
the big problem with LEC is :
lifetime
efficiency
and you cannot have also pattern lighting design is it ?
but LEC are great, it 's just not the same thing I think