World’s first fully dimmable CFL bulb makes shortlist in “most innovative lighting” category
An interactive, low energy light bulb installation designed by Jason Bruges Studio and commissioned by Greenpeace has been moved to the front of house feature space at the 100% Design exhibition which begins next week in London. Exhibition organisers have recognised that the combination of style and efficiency embodied in Bruges' "Light Garden" will be a major draw for the show and a groundbreaking example of low energy technology. Jason Bruges has designed a fully interactive, dimming garden of light, which at its brightest will dazzle observers with its intensity whilst consuming a fraction of the energy of its exhibition neighbours. The installation is presented as part of Kinetica's latest group show, In Flux.
In addition, a completely new type of energy efficient bulb, produced by small scale manufacturer Varilight, will feature in the installation. The bulb has been shortlisted in the category of "most innovative lighting product" at the 100% Design London awards. For the first time, this Varilight compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) can be used with household dimmer switches - (there is special circuitry inside the lamp which stops most domestic dimmer switches from switching off when presented with the low load of a dimmed 20W CFL) - hugely increasing the practical application of CFLs in the home.
"When we heard that our interactive garden of light had been moved to the front of house position, we knew we were involved with something big," said Louise Molloy, climate campaigner at Greenpeace UK. "This project is gathering a momentum all of its own, and to hear that Varilight has been shortlisted for an award because of their new fully dimmable CFL proves that this invention is really putting the big manufacturers to shame."
Varilight are a small, UK-based company headed by Tony Doyle. They are thought to be the first manufacturer in the world to have developed a technique for producing fully dimmable CFL bulbs - that is bulbs that will dim over the full range that a consumer would want, from 2.5 per cent to 100 per cent brightness and which will even switch straight on at the lowest brightness. They estimate that each bulb will save the consumer over £100 and more than half a tonne of carbon dioxide emissions over the course of its lifetime. If every UK retailer stopped selling incandescent bulbs, the country would save enough energy to close two whole power stations.
Quotes:
"I always look forward to installations by Jason Bruges, combining as they do ingenious, yet apparently effortlessly simple, custom-designed interactive virtuosity with beautiful, non-standard effects. Like all Bruges' projects, his new interactive garden at 100% Light for Greenpeace, once again, promises to respond memorably to people's movements. It's an enchanting, sensual way to spell out a message about energy efficiency that could otherwise be lost on visitors if it relied on dry facts and figures alone."
Lucy Bullivant, editor of the 2007 London Design Festival Guide
"Take two light bulbs giving the same output, both dimmable. One uses a fraction of the power of the other. Why on earth would you use the greedier one? We hope you enjoy our green-fingered work in support of Greenpeace's climate change campaign."
Jason Bruges, Creative Director, Jason Bruges Studio, September 2007
NOTES TO EDITORS
Greenpeace campaigners will be present at the 100% Design show for the entire weekend, and will be available for interview and to give more information about the lightbulb campaign. Jason Bruges and his team will also be present.
Using government figures, Greenpeace has calculated that the UK could save 5.1 million tones of CO2 per year by eliminating incandescent light bulbs - the equivalent output of the 26 lowest-emitting countries combined. Put another way, if the entire country made this switch, the government could shut down two entire power stations.
