Dimmable Eco Bulbs – At Last

One of the really irritating things about those eco bulbs (CFL’s) we are constantly asked to put into our homes is that you can’t dime then. Enter the ‘Electronic Garden’ an interactive installation by Jason Bruges for Green Peace and the 100% Design show, held in September at London’s Earl’s Court.



Jason, who we have featured on the EcoList previously, was commissioned by Green Peace to produce this ground breaking installation as a way of drawing attention to the new dimmable low energy bulbs and to show that they can be stylish and versatile.

For more details visit the Green Peace website where this video is also available along with more details about the installation and these new dimmable bulbs.

Put a Tyre in Your Bag

Well, part of one at least.

These pencil cases used to be tyres and are part of a range of smart recycled product from Remarkable. They also produce notebooks from recycled juice cartons and pencils which once used to be video cassettes. It seems that recycled products don't have to be dull.

Healthier Options, Eco-Friendly and Odourless Paints

As a time served qualified decorator and a College Tutor, Peter Padun provides a decorating service working with eco-friendly paints which are solvent free and odourless.
By using these paints you are contributing towards a healthier environment for us all.

Peter was present at the West Bridgford Summer Gathering when his stall was inundated with enquiries. To quote one of the visitors: "It's all great, the eco decorating was brilliant!"

For those of you who want to make sure that the environment inside your home is safe for your family, have a think before you go to your D~I~Y store and buy the synthetic paints.

Contact Peter for a quote, you might be pleasantly surprised. If you want to find out more, have a look at his website: http://www.eco-decorator.co.uk/

Or phone him on: mobile: 07969 401824

Glass recycling with style

For most of us, glass recycling means an embarassing trip to the bottle bank.

Hide your shame and approach it from a different angle. The people at EcoCentric are offering these stunning recycled glasses and jug designed by Tord Boontje and Emma Woofenden.

Can you think of a nicer way of drinking twice from the same bottle?

Eco Lighting for Everyone

There is something about a city skyline, illuminated at night, which ads spectacle and intrigue to the places we love.

On the one hand we want to reduce our carbon footprint, energy consumption and budget but on the other we want our cities to look spectacular at night.

In London the National Theatre is trying to find a way to be both eco friendly and remain a beacon on the South Bank. In a 5-year partnership with Philips they are renewing the external and internal lighting of their building complex.

During September they completed the first phase and changed their external lighting. The results (suggested by Philips) are a 70 % reduction in the energy required to illuminate the distinctive, but daylight ugly, flytowers.

It seems that once the entire project is compete the theatre hopes to save £100,000 annually which they want to reinvest in theatrical productions.

More details at the community website London SE1

Eco Dimming

Now that artists and Green Peace have firmly drawn our attention to the new dimmable, low energy, bulbs, perhaps it is time to go out and buy one?

Many people want (or need) dimmable lighting either to create mood or for safety (in a child’s room for example).

The new dimmable bulbs come in two versions: one which works with a normal dimmer (like your existing light bulb) so can be used to directly replace the old incandescent bulb; the other which can be dimmed without a dimmer!

Flick your standard light switch and the bulb goes into its dimming cycle. Just flick your switch again to select the brightness you need. This bulb has its own dimmer inbuilt so will also save you money by not having to buy a dimmer.

Both of these bulbs are 20W (equivalent to a normal 100watt bulb), can be dimmed from 2 – 100%, are energy class A and can expect to save you about £100 and 500kg of carbon pollution during its lifetime (about 16,000 hours).

Both are available from Nigel's Eco Store priced at £12.49 for the dimmer switch version and £10.99 for the switch version. Add a little mood to your living and save on energy, carbon and money!

Do it Yourself Light Shade

As the world switches over to low energy light bulbs (a little), there are masses of the old style bulbs being left on the shelf. See the item below.

Rather than bin them why not collect them (if you don’t have enough bulbs yourself rope in your local friends), and make your own recycled light shade?

‘Bulbs Unlimited’ is a German based company which supplies a kit to help you ‘stick’ your light bulbs together in a variety of shapes and forms. The result – a sculptural light shade made from all those old bulbs.

You can attach bulbs together in a variety of shapes and build ‘light objects’ in almost any size you feel fits into your room. What is really nice is that you can also unclip them and make them into a new shape!


Bulbs Unlimited’s web site has a slide show to give you an idea of how it all works (very simple) and you can order a starter pack online. The ‘Rookie-Pack’ contains all the pieces you need to make one light ‘object’ (supply your own light bulbs!) and costs 39.95 Euros + post and packing. Once you get good at this you can add to your ‘construction kit’ and make larger light shades. So, light up your home and recycle your old light bulbs at the same time.

www.bulbs-unlimited.com

Wind to Light – Art

No one seems to want a wind turbine at the bottom of their garden but they might change their mind when they see these.

Artist Jason Bruges has installed 'Wind to Light', a ‘cloud of light’ made up of tiny wind turbines which power LEDs on London’s South Bank. When the wind blows the LEDs light up to produce a kinetic light cloud – a firefly-like shimmer around the south bank architecture.

Part of this year’s Architecture Week theme of “how green is our space’, the installation illustrates alternative, ways of harnessing energy that explore the power of the wind in the city, visualising it as an ephemeral, luminous cloud.

Being able to visualise the direct relationship between wind power and our environment is difficult – this looks like it does just that with elegance and intelligence.

A short video of the installation is available here.

Look, No wires

This beautifully designed eco glow brick gives you light without the wires. Simply charge the brick using sunlight (or another bulb) and then take it someplace dark.

It will glow for about 3 hours - an ideal night light - and a serious design statement. It works using phosphor luminescent materials encased in plastic so, although you probably would have difficulty using it for a reading lamp, it will certainly add style (and a glow) to any room. Find it at Nigel's Eco Store

First zero-carbon house

Monday was a good day for the zero-carbon debate as the UK government has just recognised the first zero-carbon house by awarding it a stamp duty exemption certificate. For those not living in the UK – stamp duty is a tax payable when you buy property.

Housing minister, Yvette Cooper, handed over the certificate to a prototype house which is the most environmentally friendly home built in the UK. For a buyer this means they do not have to pay the tax and could save around £2,000 on a zero-carbon house costing £200,000.

"A quarter of carbon emissions come from our homes. That's why zero-carbon homes are so important," said Yvette Cooper.
Photo: Peter White, BRE. Used with permission.

[From the Guardian]

Carry your Juice Box

It seems we drink a lot of juice. Healthy and good for you but we then throw all the packaging away – tonnes of the stuff.

A women’s cooperative in the Philippines is doing something about it and making a range of bags, purses and accessories from recycled juice packs - non-biodegradable foil and plastic packaging that would otherwise go into landfill sites and incinerators.

The Cooperative began as an environmental project with the aim of 'cleaning and greening' the local neighbourhood. It has since become increasingly successful and now employs over 200 women and distributes its innovative products world-wide.

They have a huge range and orders are processed in London for UK delivery.

More details at www.doybags.com

Lighting up

There is a lot of art out there made from recycled objects and materials.

A new exhibition at the Lincart Gallery in San Francisco, USA, just opened with elegant light sculptures and digital prints by Bill Culbert. Recycling isn’t mentioned – and it isn’t an issue in his work (on an eco level), but the results are worth a look and they do use found and reclaimed objects. The piece illustrated here uses Ecover bottles - stunning!

Growing Book

Like other books there is information printed on the pages inside but that is where the similarity ends. This one has seeds embedded within the cover. Once activated (we guess by watering it) it grows. Over the weeks you get to watch it turn into it’s own indoor jungle. Jungle Book 2

Recycled Light Shade

In December we featured a chandelier made using Bic pens and now, something even more eco friendly in the shape of an elegant light shade/sculpture made from recycled rubbish.

Berlin based, British designer, Stewart Haygarth has produced this “Tide” chandelier as part of a larger body of work using ‘man made’ debris washed up on the Kent coastline. This large lamp measures 150 cm in diameter and is illuminated using a 100w incandescent light bulb. There are ten in the edition and price is on request.

Haygarth has also made light shades using discarded party poppers and disposable plastic wine glasses. His site is well worth a look. www.stuarthaygarth.com

Curious Coasters

There are a lot of products made from recycled materials but UK company Revolve have added some serious style.

They produce a full range of ‘things made from things’ including business card holders, notebooks, rulers, organisers and some very stylish coasters - made from recycled plastic bottles. Well worth a look at their web site which has a relaxed sense of humour.

Now, where’s that pen?

People, all over the world, just can’t find a pen when they want one. Millions are missing and one design studio aims to recycle them.

The Madrid based studio enPieza has produced the Volivik chandelier, replacing all those cut glass prisms with Bic ball point pens. The edition is limited to 30 and will set you back a substantial $1,000. You might be inspired to make your own? Normally objects made from recycled products tend to disguise the original – here you can marvel as the light twinkles through your Bic.