The World of Street Lighting

Street lighting is a funny old world really...


No one chooses it...


No one understands it...


Yet every one comments when it changes!


Couldn't help thinking this week why this is? Why does nobody understand where these mystical lights in the sky come from?


I guess the answer is because they do not need to... The general public do not need to understand the amount of time, effort and (their!) money is spent on working within this world.


Many people tell of stories where a local road has be deemed suitable for an eventual upgrade to a modern light source and luminaire but when completed the locals hate the result. People can no longer see to put their keys in the front door or have a front garden plunged into darkness as a result of a more energy efficient product.


People are in uproar when the idea of turning off 'their' street lights is proposed but are the same people who would never consider venturing out during the times they are proposed to be off.

The image above comes from an article available here regarding the pollution from lighting. 


Just want to straighten one thing out... lighting is not a pollutant, it's a nuisance! It may have adverse effects on its surroundings but, like sound, it is just annoying. Dumping millions of tons of oil off the coast of America is pollutions, not lighting. Yes, a waste of money, no wont kill me!


So, have we become a society that is never happy? We don't want the sky pollution so we can look at the stars but we do also need to see our front gardens!


We are annoyed by the amount of money spent every year on electricity bills but get up in arms when something is done to make a difference?


My solution... Leave 'em all on all night and make all of the general public (me included) swap to solar powered heating or something! It would pay for it's self in a matter of years and we will still feel safe about seeing people lurking in our gardens!


If you have any thoughts on this topic, please leave a comment below and we can collectively put the world to rights!


Scott.

ARC Show Review

So last week was the annual ARC show, this year moving back to its original home at the Business Design Centre in Islington.


The hype created for this show started a good six months ago with regular emails to subscribed members, tweets by the hour and a number of competitions and prize draws in the week leading up to the event.


All this promised lots from the event, which i can truly say was well worth the time out of work. Some fantastic looking products on show with a great snap shot of where the industry is heading.


I also managed to take in the SLL young lighter of the year presentations. Always a great event with some really interesting topics covered. This year the range of speakers was vast, which I think really helps to give the even the breadth and depth it requires, with finalists coming from Greece, Turkey and Ireland.


Congratulations to Christopher Knowlton who managed to win the coveted prize for his presentation on the subject of user controlled environment. Head on over to YouTube to check out his video blog (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VGCByx6q04) 


Lastly, via the power of twitter, I also managed to win my self one of these bad boys...







.. Thanks to the guys over a Vista Lighting. Not bad for a quick retweet I think!


Have a fun weekend,


Scott.

Handrail Lighting – The way forward?

So here at DW Windsor we have recently launched a brand new illuminated handrail and balustrade product, named Garda.

http://www.dww-garda.com/

This fantastic method of lighting will help to revolutionise the way that difficult to light areas which need a decent amount of light will be lit.

Why? Well, rather than just creating a product which fits into a handrail section and put a whole load of LEDs inside, we have used our lighting knowhow to ensure that the output of the product is what lighting designers are used to. An asymmetric version of the module ensures that the light emitted goes to where it is required, the area adjacent to the handrail and not directly below it.

Imagine if you will a foot bridge or ramp in an open area needs to be lit to the appropriate lighting levels. Now, there is no way of being able to install traditional lighting fixtures due to access, maintenance or space restrictions. A footbridge or ramped are will normally require some level of hand railing to ensure it is up to speed with current building regulations.

Garda is the perfect way to overcome this issue. But dont take my word for it, check out the images and information we have on our dedicated website http://www.dww-garda.com/


Scott.

Solar Powered Lighting...

So, we all know that everyone is now looking into greener technologies including solar, wind, tidal etc etc... But are there any feasible ways of doing this both commercially and aesthetically?

Are there designers out there who look at solar panels as means of design rather than nuisance products which just so happen to win over MPs and greenies.


In this blog I want to touch on a couple of things an thy rant shall be done!


1. Can solar panels deliver what we need?
2. Can they look good whilst doing it?


So firstly we need to understand what we may want to use solar panels for... We know we want to make free electricity, but what is the best way to harness this power? Do we use standalone systems with batteries charging throughout the day to power the lighting at night or do we use feed-in tariffs to make some money to offset that electricity used during the night?


Let us not forget that the lowly lighting engineer gets a good deal on his electricity at the moment (well, compared with a standard household anyway!) due to the fact the electricity is used at night. The same reasons that some people use timers on electrical equipment to do their washing a 3am, because the electricity is cheaper! 


So to produce it in the day and sell it back to the energy companies when demand is high seems great... we get some money, they get some energy when they need it. We can then use the electricity at night for our lights and know that they will be ok for the whole night as they have been designed.


If we take the charging up batteries idea, we have to consider two things, how much can the batteries actually power and what are they made up of. If we are looking at going green, then is putting a few kilos of lead acid into a box underground may actually not be that green. If we want to power a decent light for say, a foot path, will this run properly from the battery back up?


Lastly, the cost of laying electrical cables to some difficult locations means a standalone product is the only choice. This type of product could illuminate a dark and dodgy looking walkway or footpath with out the massive cost of laying cables and connecting to the grid.


Now, I am not suggesting one over the other at this time, because I don't know best myself truth be told... I do find it interesting that we have two clear options to investigate with pros and cons to each method.


SOLAR PANELS
So can solar panels be well designed?


Below are two options for either a standalone system or a feed in scheme, both of which appear well designed whilst still doing the job correctly.


Lets look at what is available for each of these options..


Standalone system


This picture shows a solar powered standalone system specifically designed to make the solar panels a design feature.

http://inhabitat.com/ross-lovegrove-solar-trees-take-to-the-streets-of-vienna/

They look fantastic but are they achieving much? In the picture you can also pick out some overhead lighting products to fill in the darker areas I guess.


Feed in vertical panels


Using the same technology as standard solar panels, mounting them vertically along the lighting column allows them to have a smaller footprint on the overall product. These feed electricity back in the day so do not need to provide enough power for a larger lamp as required in this picture below...

http://ecoperiodicals.com/2010/11/17/solar-street-lighting-to-help-uk-councils-generate-own-power/

A trial scheme currently in place on the M25 where all columns have an array of vertical feed-in solar panels which are not effecting the daytime look of the lighting.


SUMMARY
So, to summarise, we all need to be looking more closely at our energy consumption especially when we are designing schemes.


Are there ways of practically incorporating solar power into a lighting scheme without having an effect on the desired aesthetics of the area? Probably...


Can we use solar panels to create some kind of pay back for green energy? Yes!


Is standalone or pay back the best way of doing it? Depends! What are you trying to do?!?


Lastly, can they look sexy? Of course they can... But it might cost!


Happy energy saving,


Scott.

5 Fantastic Lights...

Firstly... Happy 2011 to all, lets hope it goes a bit better than last year!


So, on a recent trawl of the Internet, I stumbled across the following lighting products which I thought were too nice not to talk about...


Sometimes the most random of objects or ideas for products turn into the best finished items, which is certainly true for these.


All thanks must go to Trendhunter.com for these, a great website with so much on it you must check it out for yourself.


Anyway, on with the great lights...


1. The Teabag Light







A solar powered feature light which looks fantastic anywhere, included beach scenes apparantly!


2. The Rock 'n' Roll Light







An awesome take on the floor lamp which creates a scene reminiscent of the greatest festival moments.


3. The Alcoholics Choice







Recycling of used beer cans has really never looked better.


4. The Flying Bird







A modern style of lamp which takes one the form of a bird in flight.


And finally...


5. The Brown Paper Bag


An awesomely cool looking lamp based on such a simple idea.


So there we have it, a few little tit-bits for the new year to intrigue and inspire.


Scott.