Designer Tom Dixon will give away 1,000 low-energy lights in Trafalgar Square, London next month as part of the London Design Festival.
The lights - a new design called Glowb (above) - will be powered by renewable electricity and will highlight the amount of energy that can be saved by switching from incandescent bulbs. The project is a collaboration with the Energy Saving Trust.
Here is more info from Dixon:
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Great Give Away of 1000 Tom Dixon low energy lights – the Tom Dixon Energy Saving Installation in Trafalgar Square
In September 2007, to launch the London Design Festival Tom Dixon will take over Trafalgar Square, from Monday 17th September until Wednesday 19th September, with a large scale installation of 500 energy saving lights. In collaboration with the Energy Saving Trust and working with Glowb low energy light bulbs, the 500 lights will be skilfully displayed in a chandelier cluster hung from state of the art scaffolding.
Inspired by the shape of a light bulb, Tom has specifically designed ‘Blow’ a white opaque light, that uses a low-energy compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). With plans afoot to ban the sale of traditional incandescent bulbs in the EU, the ‘Blow’ pendant light will bring further awareness to using CFL’s and sustainability within design.
The Blow lights will be powered by a renewable energy source and lit for 3 hours per day from 7pm – 10pm Monday and Tuesday, and on Wednesday 19th from 5pm – 10pm. On Wednesday at 5pm 1000 lights will be given away to Londoners on a first come first served basis. To further promote the use of CFL’s, Glowb will give away a 1000 CFL light bulbs a day, totaling 3,500 light bulbs being given away and used over the course of the installation.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, the 3,500 Glowb bulbs will save 754 tonnes of CO2 in their collective lives, the equivalent of filling 150 hot air balloons or 4,300 double decker buses, compared to the 60watt incandescent equivalent, this is the equivalent of £212,000 saved in electricity bills.
The Glowb CFL light bulb offers a sleek and elegant design and gives off a soft light, unlike some older style CFL light bulbs. As Tom says, “Low energy bulbs suffer from an image problem, where it is commonly thought that they make an unattractive light. What better way to change this perception than to make an event that allows Londoners to witness a massive installation of 500 lamps allowing everybody to take a part of it home to illuminate their lives whilst using 80% less energy than they would previously have used. Free design for Londoners!"
The state of the art structure is provided by Creative Constructions who will build a light-weight environmentally friendly structure with their 3D-Connect© system to form the framework of a 9 metre high dome from which the Tom Dixon chandelier will hang. Using Catia, the advanced design program which is standard in the aerospace and automobile sectors, together with their 3D-Connect© system Creative Constructions are able to design structures with a large amount of flexibility in a short time frame.