You are furnishing your home and you have realized that you have not considered lighting, so you have turned on your PC or connected from a mobile phone in search of original ideas. How about evaluating some design solution that is at the same time green
Attention to the environment, parallel to creative recycling in fashion and design , represent two themes that have carved out more and more space, to the point of becoming a sort of trend . In this sense, we want to dedicate ourselves in particular to the theme of eco-sustainable lighting, starting from the premise that the future, in this sense, is the LED.
However, this is a furniture magazine, then we will deal with the discourse of lower consumption hand in hand with the fantastic design ideas that can bring an added value to the aesthetics of your apartment which will therefore be beautiful, original and also ecological. Find out by reading this article a lot of useful information on eco-sustainable lighting:
- Eco-sustainable lighting: some technical data
- Green lighting: and now let’s move on to design
- Eco-sustainable and design lighting: what the market offers
- Eco-sustainable lighting: creative do-it-yourself recycling
Eco-sustainable lighting: some technical data
If you are not convinced that LED is better than classic light bulbs, try to consider these data: if in Italy each of us used low consumption light bulbs , in terms of CO2 this would be equivalent to a cut of about 3,000,000 tons and a corresponding saving of 5.6 million KiloWatts per year. Practically, over 1 million euros saved every 12 months.
There is a drawback: energy-saving (or fluorescent) light bulbs should not be confused with LEDs. The former, in fact, even if they have a decidedly lower purchase price, also have a shorter duration and, compared to LEDs, consume more. This translates into a higher overall cost (the research conducted shows, for example, that to illuminate the same room for a duration of 5 and a half years, in the case of energy-saving bulbs the cost will be € 254, in the case of LEDs. instead, € 122). Therefore, the LED remains the podium with an advantage equal to 50%. Green lighting: and now let’s move on to design Low consumption
lamps and lighting systems are among the protagonists of sustainable furnitureand compatible with the environment. Among other things, not only do they allow savings on the electricity bill and have a lesser impact on the Earth, but they fully comply with the standards specified by the European regulations currently in force regarding respect for the environment.
In this sense, recycled materials come into play which for years have been discarded by designers and which today, however, are even sought after. In combination with other modern pieces, these objects are in fact able to restore a unique and very original environment.
To give you a complete overview of eco-sustainable lighting and design choices, we have then divided the two main alternatives that can be inspired by: on the one hand the pieces of furniture designed by different designers, on the other hand the do-it-yourself. Eco-sustainable and design lighting: what the market offers
The interesting pieces of furniture that fall into this genre are usually made with design products that respect the environment or with salvaged and reused parts. This is the case of many artists and personalities who have created real luminous sculptures.
Some examples: the Trash me lamp by Victor Vetterlein, modeled starting from the packages of the eggs, wet and amalgamated to create a malleable substance; the coffee- maker lamp by Gilles Eichenbaum , created by creating a series of holes that give life to fantastic plays of light.
The designer Pierre Ospina has created a sort of artificial vegetation of lights and industrial materials, where the coatings are made with the rubber of the bicycle inner tubes to which LEDs are mounted, creating an effect like buds on the branches.
Edward Chew used simple strips of tetrapak, without any glue, creating a magnificent origami lamp .
Years ago the Rhode Island School of Design awarded a chandelier project made with many cocktail umbrellas covered with a protective paint and a fireproof spray to make them safer: a touch of joy and vivacity for any type of environment.
Lastly, we want to remember the lamp created by the artist Anja Verdonk , where the pages cut out of a book are transformed into a work of fascinating shapes. Eco-Friendly Lighting: Creative DIY Recycling
Now that you’re inspired enough, let’s move on to the practical part: eco-friendly DIY lamps. An original and graceful idea is to make fantastic cascading chandeliers with plastic bottles. So equip yourself with all the bottles you can and cut the lower part that, looking at it, will have a flower-like appearance. Repeat the operation on all the bottles you want, then pierce the central part where a thread will be inserted to tie them together – ideal is the fishing one. Once you have created a series of cascades of different sizes, attach them to a circular structure, perhaps in metal, which will support everything around the light source. As a final touch, if you want you can color some or all of the little flowers obtained and decide how to arrange the threads, creating a more or less symmetrical structure, depending on your tastes.
A fanciful alternative has copper as its protagonist, a 100% recyclable material, so it will be possible to create, having an old kitchen saucepan available, a very original soft light. Equipped with drill bits of different diameters, proceed to drill your saucepan on the back starting with the smallest tip and gradually enlarging the holes with the other larger ones – if you prefer, you can also create spaces of different sizes. On the edge of the saucepan, near the handle, create an 8 mm hole that will be used to pass the threaded end. Once the socket is inserted inside, your copper lamp will be ready to hang.
Lastly, a modern modern lamp made with aglass jar , such as a jam jar or those used for tomato puree. You will need a jar with its cap, possibly to be colored, an LED bulb, sturdy scissors and of course an electric cable, even better if colored, equipped with the attachment for the lamp. Once the label has been removed from the jar (if present), proceed to pierce the cap with scissors, of the size of the bulb attachment. Then insert the latter, screw in the bulb, close the cap and connect to the socket. Done! In conclusion, there are really many ideas for lighting that is both eco-sustainable and design. Make yourself a piece of furniture such as a chandelierand also an original and fun way to personalize your home, embellishing the apartment with an absolutely unique piece.
