Fluorescents aren’t the only alternative — light-emitting diodes offer an energy-efficient and non-polluting way to illuminate our lives
May 29, 2007 By: Momoy Category: Home & Decoration“You name it, we did it,” Furry says.
From these evolved a company of 36 employees. Furry now directs LED installations around the world. He was part of the team for the new Chanel tower in Tokyo’s Ginza district, where more than 700,000 LEDs were embedded into the facade of the building to produce a constantly changing billboard.
Arts, artifacts at home
Even the Vatican has an LED connection. When “The Legacy of the Popes” exhibition toured the United States and Canada from 2003 to 2006, Lightswitch in Orlando selected LEDs to illuminate treasured robes worn by early popes.
Kelly Roberson, who works out of the Lightswitch office in Sausalito, explains: “LEDs emit negligible ultraviolet light.” That property means that art and artifacts are better protected from damaging rays.
Some homeowners are homing in on this quality. Why not give Grandma’s quilt hanging on the bedroom wall a better chance for survival by spotlighting it with LEDs? Homeowners might even consider using LEDs to create special moods and effects.
Roberson and other designers know how to use the many colors of LEDs much as an artist does from a palette. In time, it is expected that we’ll be able to select the color of the lighting in our homes in the same way we select paint for our walls: mix and match. Better yet, this kind of color can be made to change with the flip of a switch — or, more likely, a computer key. You might choose a light of vanilla cream for your room in the morning and peach sorbet at night.
LEDs also hold up well outside. According to Roberson, they can withstand anything Mother Nature throws at them: wind, rain, even earthquakes. Try getting that kind performance out of your typical incandescent bulb.
Because there are a lot of gimmicky LEDs on the market nowadays — mostly from China — consumers are accustomed to paying just $15 for a strand of colored LED Christmas lights probably not manufactured to high standards.
If you decide to buy an LED product, whether it’s an inexpensive LED lamp for your desk or a high-end recessed ceiling fixture, be sure to check the label for color temperature. Look for lighting for the home in the warm range of 2,700 to 3,500 degrees Kelvin.