Twinkle, twinkle LED...
January 10, 2004 9:24 AM Subscribe
Oh yes! I want to move in. Right now.
posted by apocalypse miaow at 9:48 AM on January 10, 2004
posted by apocalypse miaow at 9:48 AM on January 10, 2004
[Haven't quite woken up yet. Meant to say...] God, that's irritating! Who'd want to live in a disco? [I know. Hardly worth correcting.]
posted by 327.ca at 9:53 AM on January 10, 2004
posted by 327.ca at 9:53 AM on January 10, 2004
It looks soothing to me, rather than irritating. But I wouldn't want to live there either. It looks rather cold.
posted by ukamikanasi at 9:54 AM on January 10, 2004
posted by ukamikanasi at 9:54 AM on January 10, 2004
The choice of colours is rather strange and not very pleasant, I agree. An odd decision, especially considering that red and yellow LEDs are much cheaper than blue ones...
posted by fvw at 9:57 AM on January 10, 2004
posted by fvw at 9:57 AM on January 10, 2004
It's hard to consider the lighting separately from the space and furnishings in these photographs. All together it feels more like a gallery than a living environment. Reminds me a bit of one of the last images in 2001.
posted by 327.ca at 10:01 AM on January 10, 2004
posted by 327.ca at 10:01 AM on January 10, 2004
I would think that the lighting would make it infuriatingly dark all the time. You can't read to soft-purple lighting in every room and I believe that bright light, like that of the sun, is healthy biologically. Haven't studies shown links between health and natural light cycles?
posted by crazy finger at 10:04 AM on January 10, 2004
posted by crazy finger at 10:04 AM on January 10, 2004
The point of the exercise is to demonstrate the future of lighting. While incandescents used to be the only option, low-voltage halogen came in and showed us you could get brighter white light from a smaller source. LED is the next big thing in home lighting, though it currently costs too much for most residential applications (just as halogen is still 4-5x more expensive than regular bulbs and housings, it used to cost way more). LED is the future and I hope it comes sooner than later, all the things I've heard about it make it sound like a better alternative to halogen.
This example apartment is a proof of concept and I think they went for dramatic instead of practical, and while it makes for great photos, I'd love to see a real home environment lit entirely with LEDs, so I could compare to halogen and incandescent.
posted by mathowie at 10:26 AM on January 10, 2004
This example apartment is a proof of concept and I think they went for dramatic instead of practical, and while it makes for great photos, I'd love to see a real home environment lit entirely with LEDs, so I could compare to halogen and incandescent.
posted by mathowie at 10:26 AM on January 10, 2004
Despite its enormous number of light fixtures, Vos' apartment uses no more electricity than four 100-watt incandescent bulbs would, he said. ("And what kind of fun can you have with just four light bulbs?" he asked.)
Solid-state lighting efficiency (scroll down to questions 8 and 9) is only just now surpassing that of incandescents (and is still far from that of flourescents). So his apartment has at most a little more light than "just four light bulbs." What kind of fun, indeed.
LEDs are getting there, but they're not there yet. The cost is still ridiculous. People tend to focus on the energy efficiency, ignoring the initial purchase cost that throws all the gains away (e.g., $50,000 for Vos' four or five 100W lightbulbs). And the color needs some work (blue tints on everything is not so good), though that shouldn't be too difficult to get right.
LED flashlights, on the other hand, are the bee's knees. I like this one.
posted by whatnotever at 10:42 AM on January 10, 2004
Solid-state lighting efficiency (scroll down to questions 8 and 9) is only just now surpassing that of incandescents (and is still far from that of flourescents). So his apartment has at most a little more light than "just four light bulbs." What kind of fun, indeed.
LEDs are getting there, but they're not there yet. The cost is still ridiculous. People tend to focus on the energy efficiency, ignoring the initial purchase cost that throws all the gains away (e.g., $50,000 for Vos' four or five 100W lightbulbs). And the color needs some work (blue tints on everything is not so good), though that shouldn't be too difficult to get right.
LED flashlights, on the other hand, are the bee's knees. I like this one.
posted by whatnotever at 10:42 AM on January 10, 2004
Nearly all of the furniture in the Vos Pad is away from the walls, allowing the lights to be placed along the edge of the floor. I realize the Vos Pad is more conceptual than practical, but I would also like to see an installation in the average home where the sofa, desk, entertainment center, etc. are against the walls. Perhaps light the ceiling instead?
posted by brism at 11:12 AM on January 10, 2004
posted by brism at 11:12 AM on January 10, 2004
I have an LED headlamp and it gives off an erie blue glow. It would not be my first choice for long-term usage in the backwoods versus a normal bulb headlamp but it does the trick for takeing the trash out on a dark night. If nothing else it is cool which is important at places like Burning Man where style over substance is everything.
posted by stbalbach at 11:31 AM on January 10, 2004
posted by stbalbach at 11:31 AM on January 10, 2004
Also note that all the shades are drawn so you can see the effects of the LED. I'm sure this apartment gets plenty of natural light.
posted by jpoulos at 1:08 PM on January 10, 2004
posted by jpoulos at 1:08 PM on January 10, 2004
According to the website, the color of the light is selectable electronically.
I'd like to point out that fancy lighting in homes appears very popular in Europe. I find visiting lighting stores to be like visiting an art gallery over here, most especially so in Germany. Alas, the prices on some of the creations I saw were staggering! Even my frugal in-laws (Belgian) spent large sums on fine lighting in their new apartment
.
posted by Goofyy at 9:31 AM on January 11, 2004
I'd like to point out that fancy lighting in homes appears very popular in Europe. I find visiting lighting stores to be like visiting an art gallery over here, most especially so in Germany. Alas, the prices on some of the creations I saw were staggering! Even my frugal in-laws (Belgian) spent large sums on fine lighting in their new apartment
.
posted by Goofyy at 9:31 AM on January 11, 2004
Weird.. I was daydreaming about lighting a house with LED's the other day.
One of my kids got given a keyring torch for Chirstmas that has a cluster of 3 LEDs. A red, a green and a blue one. When they're all on it gives off a nice white light, but its also got a program where it cycles between the colours with smooth transitions.. It's very cool.
How come LEDs are expensive? I thought they were cheap as hell to make. I'm off to do some research..
posted by jiroczech at 12:17 PM on January 11, 2004
One of my kids got given a keyring torch for Chirstmas that has a cluster of 3 LEDs. A red, a green and a blue one. When they're all on it gives off a nice white light, but its also got a program where it cycles between the colours with smooth transitions.. It's very cool.
How come LEDs are expensive? I thought they were cheap as hell to make. I'm off to do some research..
posted by jiroczech at 12:17 PM on January 11, 2004
It's slashdotted...anyone know if there's a mirror?
posted by dejah420 at 10:45 AM on January 12, 2004
posted by dejah420 at 10:45 AM on January 12, 2004
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posted by ukamikanasi at 9:26 AM on January 10, 2004