Alternative Energies

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, Università di Siena
The seagull streetlamp
st
Tokyo
1 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)
The NYC led lamp
nd
New York
2 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, minimal-
maintenance source. Save
Energy
RIFERIMENTI:
Office for Visual Interaction
http://oviinc.com/profile/index.asp
The River-Powered Streetlight
th
Ballybofay
3 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-installs-
water-powered-street-light/
Dimming adaptive streetlights
th
San José (CA)
4 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 . Save
Now cities, faced with tighter budgets, are looking for ways Energy
to cut street-lighting costs and to reduce emissions from
power plants.
RIFERIMENTI:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124035903357241327.html
The Lunar-Resonant
streetlamp
th
5 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
The Light Blossom
th
6 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 Save
concept won’t be put into production for another 3 to 5 Energy
years - at the minimum.
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
simofloyd@gmail.com th
Industrial Design for Digital
Technologies,
Design for Communication

Environments
A.A. 2009/10
Università di Siena

Alternative Energies - The Future of Streetlights (6 Brillan New Concepts)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Alternative Energies - The Future of Streetlights (6 Brillan New Concepts)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The future of streetlights

San José (CA)

Design for Communication

You might also like