With ecological sustainability a forefront issue in public consciousness, it is hard not to associate beautiful light installations with an irritating use of energy. However, with the development of increased energy efficiency, lights are back on the scene and brighter than ever.
Energy efficient and solar lighting schemes are increasingly common in the public domain. The Vivid Festival, which turns Sydney into a spectacular canvas of light, is a carbon neutral event. Utilizing the latest technology, some of the installations in this event use little to no energy at all, encouraging the public to think creatively about sustainable urban light solutions. Floriade’s upcoming Nightfest creates a colourfully lit wonderland using the same amount of energy as a standard water-heater. Even the beloved Eiffel Tower’s globes (all 20,000 of them) have been replaced from incandescent bulbs to metal iodide bulbs, which are five times more efficient, and total usage has been cut by half. No one wants to be admire a beautiful icon or event and be secretly wondering what the total carbon emission is.
It’s not even just on a grand scale that light production has changed, most suppliers offer efficient lighting, whether it is solar, zero or reduced carbon and these technologies are available for our houses, gardens, streets, parks, sports stadiums and airports.
Now it’s easy to simply enjoy the view of the Xiying Rainbow Bridge in Taiwan, with its beautiful energy efficient thin fluorescent band which reflects a shimmering rainbow in the water at night. The Xiying Rainbow Bridge in Taiwan illustrates how a simple construction can be illuminated by such striking use of light as art.
Lighting no longer needs to be associated with such heinous use of power; to find out some of the easy and green options for your home or business, refer to the exterior lighting section of ODS.
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