LED lights are everywhere in the news these days. It seems the world is finally getting comfortable with the idea that LEDs are here to stay, and that they are in fact the best lighting option on the market. More and more consumers are buying LEDs, and more and more government bodies are making the switch to LEDs for civic applications across the country and the world. All of this change means that the lighting design community will have to keep up, and it is! In fact, I’ve noticed more and more lighting designers beginning to create fixtures and lighting housing options intended for LEDs. It’s good to see the focus of lighting design switching to incorporate LEDs, because that means more and more consumers will be able to find aesthetically pleasing lighting fixtures that work with their LEDs. Seeing as how LED lighting fixtures can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, it’s easy to see how they are beginning to provide the design world with a whole new array of possibilities. One of my favorite LED designs that I’ve come across are these adorable LED pendant lights by Croatian designer Zoran Sunjic, which he calls “Ginkgo decorative lighting.” The tiny, lightweight yet ultra-bright LEDs make fun, modern lighting like this possible, and effective. Look how bright they are! I think they’d be so cute in a kitchen or a bathroom! If you think about all of the LED lighting solutions available these days, including LED strip lighting, flexible LED lighting, full color LED products, waterproof LEDs, LED light bulbs and more, it’s easy to see how LEDs inspire new, innovative designs like these every day!
Archive for the 'Creative-Uses' Category
Before you decide if this project is for you, you should answer two very important questions.
1. How much do you like bugs, or other very small, fast moving objects? (If the answer is anything but “a whole heck of a lot,”‘ then you might not be so into this idea.)
2. How much do you like photography? And I’m not talking about looking at pretty pictures, I’m talking actually taking pretty pictures. (If the answer isn’t “I’m obsessed with taking pictures!”, then once agian, this project is probably not for you.)
If you answered sufficiently, however, read on!
So here’s the deal, you bug-nutty shutter-bug, you! A Belgian photographer who goes by the name of Fotoopa has devised a way to take what some are calling the best, clearest and most up-close shots of flying insects (namely: bees) ever. A key component of his contraption is infrared LED lights, as the LEDs are what detect when the bug has flown into optimal shooting range, and then signal the camera to take a picture. In fact, because of the use of IR LEDs, it even works in complete darkness. Before Fotoopa’s invention, the old mode of thought on wildlife and especially insect photography was that you had to take a ton of crappy pictures just to get one or two good ones. And even those were luck of the draw. That’s because human reaction time just isn’t fast enough to capture a tiny insect in flight with as much precision as is needed to take a truly clear picture. If you modify your camera using Fotoopa’s instructions, however, you can get great shots in 10 seconds! Click here to see his DIY instructions for making this ingenious instrument, and say goodbye to the days of frustration and wasting shots. That assuming you already spend a lot of days frustrated over your sub-par photographs of bees. I’m guessing not many of you do, but hey, maybe it’s time for a new hobby!
Just like flowers blooming in the sun, new solar-powered, sustainable LED street lamps designed by Philips soak up the sun’s rays during the day, and then use the accumulated energy to shine much-needed light at night. This ingenious design mimics that of real flowers; the lights’ photovoltaic petals (each light is comprised of five solar panels in the shape of petals) fall open during the day to collect as much sun as possible. At night, they close, and LED lights embedded in the petals shine outward onto the city streets. But that’s not all! The lights also come with motion sensors, which are able to detect human activity on the street below. When no one is around, the lights shut off, thereby conserving energy. Philips calls this feature “proximity sensing.” Another great feature of these sustainable lights is that whatever energy they don’t consume over the course of an evening, they give back to the power grid to be used elsewhere, ensuring nothing gets wasted. Keep in mind that LED lights are a pivotal component to the energy-saving qualities of this design. Because LEDs are so energy efficient, they are easily powered by the solar energy gathered by the lights over the course of a day. Incandescent bulbs would not be able to work unless at least ten times as much energy was gathered. Philips is unclear about which cities, if any, are using these lights yet, but I’m exciting for the day when I’m walking down the street, and look up to see that LED lights in the shape of giant flowers are lighting my way.
Going to the supermarket can be a bit of a headache, especially for constantly busy Americans. It’s not cool, then, when the lighting in the freezer section of your supermarket makes that headache worse with its unappealing florescent glow. Luckily, more and more supermarkets are making the switch to LED lighting in their frozen aisles, thanks to a recent study put about by the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The study found that shoppers overwhelmingly prefer LED lighting inside supermarket freezer cases, stating that it helps to make the merchandise more appealing, is easier on their eyes, and provides brighter, more even illumination. More than 300 shoppers were interviewed about their preferences while viewing two test freezers, one using LED lights, and the other using florescent bulbs. (See picture above, with LED freezer on the right!) When the illumination levels in the freezers were the same, more than 86 percent of shoppers selected the LED freezer as their top preference. A second survey was conducted after dimming the light level in the LED freezer, while leaving the florescent freezer at full capacity. Even after dimming, 68 percent of shoppers favored the lighting in the LED freezer.
It turns out that while fluorescent lamps may be an efficient source of lighting, they are not well suited for cold environments. Low temperatures cause the mercury vapor pressure inside fluorescent fixtures to drop, which can lead to a 25 percent reduction in light emission. LEDs, on the other hand, function at 100 percent capacity in cold temperatures. Furthermore, the flexible and lightweight nature of LEDs allow them to be installed in all sorts of tight spaces that florescent lights have never been able to reach, which results in a more effective lighting scheme overall for the frozen food section. Just imagine all of the tight spaces you could fit flexible LED strip lighting! And, LEDs last longer than florescent lights as well, which means reduced maintenance costs for supermarkets.
It’s just another way LEDs are making life a little easier…the next time you’re doing your weekly shopping, keep your eye out for LED lights! And if you don’t spot any, tell the store manager you’d like to see them installed; my guess is: he’ll thank you!
I hate to rub it in, but I had a fantastic Valentine’s Day weekend. I know it’s easy to hate Valentine’s day, seeing how it’s a Hallmark holiday and all that, but it’s also easy to love it–what’s not to like about chocolate and kissing, two major V-day cornerstones? This year was great because my honey came to visit me, and we got to participate in LA’s biggest V-day event, Lucent L’amour. Besides the great music lineup, there was also some truly awe-inspiring art at this event, some of which incorporated full color LED lights!
Take a look, for instance at the illuminated sculpture by Sean Sobczak, also called “Sandman Creations.” Several of these brilliant and beautiful pieces were arranged just inside the entrance to the indoor venue at Lucent L’amour, and they were breathtaking! The light embedded within each sculpture created lines and shadows that seemed to undulate as if the sculptures really were the underwater creatures they were made to represent. As you can imagine, without LED technology, sculptures like these would not be possible. What other type of light fixture can you bend and twist and manipulate to get any shape imaginable? What other light fixtures provide such a mesmerizing and limitless color scheme? What other form of lighting stays cool enough to handle for hours, no matter what the creative process throws at you?
While we here at Elemental don’t sell any of the “el wire” that Sean uses in his sculptures, we do have tons of flexible RGB LED strip lighting in a full array of colors. So if you’re itching to make your own illuminated sculpture, you know just where to go to make it happen! In fact, what a great idea for next year’s Valentine’s Day gift for your sweetie! Nothing says “I love you” like something you made yourself!
If you talk to anyone who watched the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Games on February 12th, you will most likely be talking to an awe-struck person. Literally everyone I talked to who watched the ceremony was in practical convulsions over how amazing the production and performances were, and was equally disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to watch them. See, it tured out that on the night of the 12th, I was busy preparing for another event, which I’ll blog about next time. Suffice to say, I was bummed that I missed getting to see the opening ceremonies. I decided to look up some pictures of them online to see what I missed. What a show! Even looking at still pictures was enough to tell me that this ceremony was truly spectacular. And, I was pleased, and shall I say, not too surprised to see that LED lights were an important part of what made it so special. Take k.d. Lang’s performance of the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah,” for instance. I watched it on YouTube, and got chills–her voice was pure perfection. But did you notice all of the candles the audience members were waving in the background? Those weren’t candles at all, actually, they were energy efficient, fire-safe LED flashlights!
And if you saw the segment called “Peaks of Endeavor,” you would have noticed red-and-white-clad skaters, skiers and snowboarders sporting LED lights on their costumes suspended from the ceiling while images of Olympic events were projected on a replica of the Rocky Mountains.
Also, there was a 20-meter spirit bear puppet that was completely covered in LED lights, which represented the cultural heritage of the early Canadian peoples; what a dazzling effect! The Olympic Games play an important role in bringing the world together, especially during these tumultuous times. It’s a good feeling to know that LED lights are a part of that unification!
It’s almost Valentine’s day, and may I suggest that if you don’t have a loved one to squeeze (or even if you do!) on the holiday, then squeeze an LED instead! I just think these squeezable LED lights, designed by Diana Lin, are adorable! They look like some sort of friendly underwater sea creature, especially when they’re all bunched together. The squishables are actually silicone bubbles with an LED light inside. They apparently have the texture and supple quality of a stress relief ball. You can play with them for fun, or you can arrange them in whatever sort of sculptural pattern you like, to create your very own, unique and stylish light fixture. And the best part, apparently when you squeeze the lights, a “whoo!” sound comes out! How cute!
It turns out that this ingenious designer didn’t stop there with her idea, either. Because the silicon creates such a fun tactile experience, Lin then decided to create “Huggables,” which are soft pillows filled with LED lights embedded in silicone bubbles. Here’s what she says about her designs: “When lit with warm, white LED lamps, the technology creates a warm and comforting glow that represents sunlight. The tactile quality of the silicone also mimics the feeling of a living creature, and d°light Huggable almost hugs back as you hold it. Its qualities also absorb body heat, causing it to be warm to the touch. The shape and material of the pillow cover encourages people to touch, hold and bond with d°light Huggable.”
Whether it’s bubbles or pillows, it’s the LEDs in these products that make them possible at all. Without LEDs’ cool temperatures, energy efficiency, and small, lightweight size, innovative products like these would not exist. So if you’ve got no one to love this Valentines day, or no one to hug, at least you’ve got LEDs! They won’t let you down!
I’m sure we’ve all had that one pesky-yet-adorable pet who loved to run away. I know I did. (Or at least can pretend I did for the sake of this blog.) Day or night, no matter what names I called him or scrumptious rewards I offered, Sparky would leap over the fence in a single bound, gone until HE decided to come back. If it happened at night, I would be especially worried. Sparky was a lot smaller than he thought he was (he had the canine version of a Napoleon complex) and black as night, and there was no telling what could happen if he crossed the road into oncoming traffic! I spent many sleepless nights with ol’ Sparkster out on the loose. But no more! Thanks to our especially savvy friends in the pet care world, things have gotten a lot less interesting for Sparky. That’s because they’ve wizened up and begun making LED glow-in-the-dark collars for dogs and cats! Just imagine how much relief that will bring when your precious furry one decides to take a midnight stroll. If you know there’s something prominently glowing around his/her neck, you just might sleep a little easier…and we all know that’s a good thing.
For instance the Nite Ize Nite Dawg LED Light Up Collar will ensure that you can see your pet wherever he goes. To quote an article from Gadget Review, “They say you can see these LEDs for as far back as a thousand feet away, and the LEDs in the collar have a life expectancy of 100,000 hours, or, roughly, 11.5 years.” That’s great news for pet owners like me, who believe in both freedom and safety for their fluffy friends. And it’s great news that LEDs are the leading technological revolution in pet safety collars. Their lightweight and energy efficient nature ensures that the next time your dog runs away, finding him will be a lot easier.
Everyone’s talking about the iPad. It’s Apple’s newest contraption that will offer direct competition to the Amazon Kindle, a tablet or digital book device that came out a few months ago. Unlike the Kindle, however, the iPad offers much more than a little bit of reading. The device not only allows the user to read, watch movies, view and store photos, send emails and create basic documents,it also boasts a multi-touch, full color screen. And, like with the iPhone, the iPad will come with access to a full menu of apps. So why should you carry an iPad around instead of your laptop or iPhone? Why, in this over saturated, over techy world, do we need yet another gadget? Well, I’m not sure that we do. But here’s the argument most are making: First of all, this new genre of “tablets” offers a tweener level of accessibility and content creation. Tablets are, by definition bigger than a phone but smaller than a computer. They’re light enough- the Pad weighs in at 1.5 pounds- to carry around with you but big enough to make browsing the web and looking at content a lot easier than it is on your phone. In fact, Apple is so excited about the iPad, they’re calling it “magical.” That seems a little hyperbolic to me. I mean, what are they going to call the iUnicorn when it comes out next year?
But, one of the things that does make the iPad stand out in my opinion is its use of LEDs. Unlike the iPad, the Kindle doesn’t contain any interior lighting system. While this does allow the Kindle to have an exceedingly long battery life, it also means you can’t really read it in the dark without a night light. The iPad, on the other hand, contains a 9.7 inch backlit LED screen which is bright enough to make reading, working or movie-watching a joy. And, of course, the use of LEDs means the iPad didn’t have to compromise weight or energy efficiency for high tech and high-powered lighting.
I’m in countdown mode, and I’ll tell you why. We are less than 80 days away from one of the best music festivals this country (if not this world!) has to offer. Yes, I’m talking about Coachella Music and Arts festival, held in Indio, CA in April! Now, I’m not only this excited because Coachella’s 2010 music lineup looks amazing (and it does, believe me). I’m also dying to see what the art line up will look like this year. See, one of my favorite things about Coachella besides the music is the stellar interactive and visual art lineup the festival curates each year. And one of my favorite pieces of past lineups has been an LED light installation called the Cubatron. Created by Mark Lotter, the Cubatron is “a 3D LED light sculpture. It consists of 5 Modular Cubatron arranged in a rectangle 8×40 feet wide and 13 ft high. Each Modular Cubatron is made up of 1000 lights within an 8×8x8ft open aluminum frame. They sit on top of a 5ft high steel pipe platform. People can view from any direction or crawl underneath.” Each light is individually controllable by computer to any color and brightness level. (Thanks to Mr. Lotter for that explanation!) Needless to say, the Cubatron is visually stunning, and also a ton of fun for festival-goers to explore. I love it because it’s beautiful and interactive, and allows you to create a peaceful, reflective moment in your otherwise jam-packed, hectic day spent bouncing from concert to concert. And, of course, the Cubatron couldn’t exist without the wonderful technology of LED lights. Because of their lightweight and energy-efficient nature, Lotter was able to use LEDs to put together a sculpture that is relatively easy to set up and store, and doesn’t use a lot of power, all of which Coachella appreciates, I’m sure. If you get a chance to go to Coachella this year, be sure to keep an eye out for the Cubatron…you’ll be glad you did!