Alternative Energies The future of streetlights 6 brilliant new concepts
Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, UniversitĂ di Siena
The seagull streetlamp st
Tokyo
Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, UniversitĂ di Siena
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The seagull streetlamp DESCRIZIONE: Like the Light Blossom, the Seagull is designed to be the self-powering device. The main difference is that this one already exists. Installed in Tokyo near the Panasonic Center, this device is entirely off the grid.
MOTIVAZIONE: It has a solar panel and a rotating, vertical-axis wind turbine. Energy gathered from the these renewable sources is stored in batteries that power the lamp at night. Unfortunately, solar and wind power have to be large-scale and placed very carefully to be profitable, and lamp posts are intrinsically small and must be placed where they're needed, not where the light is best, but that doesn't mean that this isn't awesome. It does, however, mean that no one is getting a return on their investment. But sometimes things must be done purely because they are beautiful, simple, and convey a powerful message.
RIFERIMENTI: http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1328/ (look the video of the streetlamp functioning)
Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, UniversitĂ di Siena
The NYC led lamp nd
New York
Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, UniversitĂ di Siena
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The NYC led lamp DESCRIZIONE: Last year, New York City’s Department of Transportation contracted with a company called Office of Visual Interaction to produce new LED-based street lighting radically different in form and function from existing lamps. The new light poles are sleeker and allow beams of light to be directed in different directions — meaning one lamp can illuminate both the sidewalk and the roadway.
MOTIVAZIONE: Though still currently under review, the program could eventually result in the replacement of the city’s entire stock of 300,000 lamps and reduce their overall power usage by 25-30 percent. With their small size, low wattage, intensity, and extremely long life of over 50,000 hours, LEDs are preeminent as an energy efficient, minimalmaintenance source.
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RIFERIMENTI: Office for Visual Interaction http://oviinc.com/profile/index.asp
Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, Università di Siena
The River-Powered Streetlight th
Ballybofay
Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, UniversitĂ di Siena
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The River-Powered Streetlight DESCRIZIONE: In a city called Ballybofey in northwestern Ireland, city engineers have installed a € 3000 water-powered light system.
MOTIVAZIONE: A 110 watt micro hydro-turbine will be placed under the bridge after winter water levels drop a bit to make the installation easier. As water moves through turbine, the energy generated will charge batteries, which will then power the 30 watt LED mounted above the bridge. The turbine will actually power three such lights but the cautious Ballybofians are just going with the one for now. The water light will be flanked by two solar powered lights (already installed, also by LH Ecotech), and there'll be a solar panel on the water light itself as a backup for summer (when there's actually sun from time to time) and for when water levels drop. €3000 for a single light? It sounds rather expensive but the cost to run it after installation won't be much. After all, it's powered by water, something Ireland will likely always have a fair amount of. We can imagine hydro lights someday lighting many of the bridges of the world.
RIFERIMENTI: http://www.supereco.com/news/2009/02/13/ireland-installswater-powered-street-light/ Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, Università di Siena
Dimming adaptive streetlights th
San JosĂŠ (CA)
Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, UniversitĂ di Siena
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Dimming adaptive streetlights DESCRIZIONE: It’s not sexy-looking, but in San Jose, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, a municipal demonstration program is outfitting 125 street lamps with LED bulbs that can be dimmed based on established need. The idea challenges one of the basic tenets of how street lighting: that lamps should burn at the same brightness all night long. For instance, if properly programmed, lights could be increased in luminosity in areas with known high pedestrian use but decreased in places that see little pedestrian activity; some lights will even include sensors to detect activity and activate only when needed.
MOTIVAZIONE: These improvements are likely to allow the city to save 10 to 60% on street light energy use, so even though the bulbs, at $600 apiece, are more expensive than those they replace, at $200 each, the city will eventually save money on the program as LEDs have much longer life spans . Now cities, faced with tighter budgets, are looking for ways to cut street-lighting costs and to reduce emissions from power plants.
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RIFERIMENTI: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124035903357241327.html
Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, UniversitĂ di Siena
The Lunar-Resonant streetlamp th
Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, UniversitĂ di Siena
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The Lunar-Resonant streetlamp DESCRIZIONE: A design firm called Civil Twilight has developed a concept called the “lunar resonant street light,” which is designed to measure the strength of the moonlight and adjust its brightness correspondingly. The concept would “fill in” only the light necessary, since on some nights the moon is so bright that literally no street lights are necessary to navigate sidewalks and roadways. On cloudy or stormy nights, the lights would burn at full capacity.
MOTIVAZIONE: Overall, the program could vastly reduce the amount of “on” time for street lights, and therefore reduce a city’s electricity bill.
RIFERIMENTI: Civil Twilight http://www.civiltwilightcollective.com/lunar1.htm Save Energy
Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, Università di Siena
The Light Blossom th
Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, UniversitĂ di Siena
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The Light Blossom DESCRIZIONE: Dutch electronics giant Philips may have the most ambitious scheme when it comes to street lighting. During the day, the concept lamp’s petals “open” to reveal solar panels, while the head can rotate to follow the sun. During gusty conditions, the petals contract to a half-open position and turn into a rotating wind turbine. Then, at night, the “flower” evolves into a bud ready to light the surrounding streets. Unfortunately, Philips announced that ideas from the concept won’t be put into production for another 3 to 5 years - at the minimum.
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MOTIVAZIONE: Its “Light Blossom” is designed to harness the sun and wind with a moving lamp post that, like a flower, adapts to changing environmental conditions. At night, its efficient LEDs beam light only where needed – and only when needed – through proximity sensing.
RIFERIMENTI: VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPDhx6m7XP0 Article: http://www.newscenter.philips.com/main/standard/ab out/news/press/20081015_simplicity_event_light_blos som.wpd Simona Conti, Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design di Ambienti per la Comunicazione, A.A. 2009/10, Università di Siena
Simona Conti simofloyd@gmail.com Industrial Design for Digital Technologies, Design for Communication Environments A.A. 2009/10 UniversitĂ di Siena
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