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Smart Street Lights Know How To Bloom
The street lights in my area have a mind of their own and flicker into life on whim. So when I hear of concepts like the Sustainable City Lights, it makes me go green with envy. It’s not asking too much for an intelligent lighting system that harnesses the solar and wind energy for itself. Lampposts intuitive enough to beam up the LEDs only when people are around, else emit a soft glow! Ah, Wishful Thinking
Adapting itself to the environment, Sustainable City Lights mimic the opening and closing of a flower bud while harvesting the energies. Any surplus accumulated goes back to the main grid for powering other city things…
Designer: Philips Design
47 Comments »
widepers says
I like the lights, I don’t really believe in the automatic switches on/off when people around, and don’t really follow how they’re going to open and close (some energy will be lost with the mechanics)…
reality says
how much energy is going into moving those parts? esp with resistance, ie high winds. (wind is much stronger at height)
where is the solar energy stored? batteries, located where replaced how often.
What about the durability of having moving parts? this is external and will get very dirty, rain pollution and bird $hit will clog it up.
the expense is going to be huge. the solar panels could not deliver the amount of energy needed. what if its a dull day? less light at night? why not just have clean energy fed into regular systems? having the power source on location limits where these can be installed, and it will be these shady areas that will need light earlier than the brighter spots.
the form is for me vegas palm tree tacky. the opening and closing has no function what soever. the service costs and limitation of use ruin the concept.
mif991 says
I like these. But graphics do not show how they open….
Margot says
This is a really good design. I think Frank Lloyd Wright, the instigator of “form follows function” would be proud!
JoshBeechFan says
where were these photos taken? what city is that suppose to be?
RJ says
This is a representation of Eindhoven. A city in the south of the Netherlands.
electronfusion says
neat concept, although it seems the closing is entirely counter-productive day or night.
efficient street lights should always point down, with no light lost in the upward direction, which causes light pollution.
likewise, efficient solar panels should never really “close up,” just follow the direction of the sun.
so basically if the tops of these street lights were more like stationary orbs, or slightly flattened orbs, where the upper hemispheres collect light and the lower hemispheres distribute light, then a portion of the solar collectors would always be facing the sun during the day, and light would radiate downward and outward at night.
electronfusion says
another shape that would work well would be an upside-down bowl shape (much cooler looking), where the outside/top surface collects light and the inside/bottom surface emits light.
eirrann says
Not that I don’t like the idea of street furniture that mimics nature, but I don’t understand why they have to open and close. Changing the design slightly could provide a bit of shade during the day, as well, and even shelter from the rain. Add a rain catcher and wind turbine to boost the eco-bling factor even further.
Dash'n says
Dumb nysayers . . . This design is briliant . . pun intended.
Dash'n says
Dumb nysayers . . . This design is briliant . . pun intended.
Mike says
It’s obvious to me that very few of those who wrote comments truly appreciate the design. The Sustainable City Light is to designed to capture two abundant sources of energy, solar and wind. those who are truly interested in understanding the product should visit the Philips website and query sustainable city light. Show faith that the design engineers for Philips are frankly the best in the world. This product ranks right up there with the Philips Heartstart MRx Monitor Defibrillator, the safest, most reliable healthcare device on the market today. Commenters, do your homework.
Mike says
It’s obvious to me that very few of those who wrote comments truly appreciate the design. The Sustainable City Light is to designed to capture two abundant sources of energy, solar and wind. those who are truly interested in understanding the product should visit the Philips website and query sustainable city light. Show faith that the design engineers for Philips are frankly the best in the world. This product ranks right up there with the Philips Heartstart MRx Monitor Defibrillator, the safest, most reliable healthcare device on the market today. Commenters, do your homework.
mili says
I like the lights, a good start for a more sustrainable world and cities. Why don't we use the principles of nature more often? The energie loss of sun and other sourches is way under estimated. We should harvest energie more often. I am defenitely goiing to use these lights in my sustainable neighbourhood design!
mili says
I like the lights, a good start for a more sustrainable world and cities. Why don't we use the principles of nature more often? The energie loss of sun and other sourches is way under estimated. We should harvest energie more often. I am defenitely goiing to use these lights in my sustainable neighbourhood design!
zigo says
It’s a neat idea and am sure they would look great – any news on whether these designs have been launched anywhere yet?
Electronfusion says
@Mike, why on earth *would* we commeters need to “do our homework”? I’m not a city planner trying to choose a lighting system for my own city right now. I’m reading a design blog. And as presented here on this design blog, the silly moving flaps seem beyond useless and actually detrimental. But you’ve piqued my curiosity. I might check out the Phillips website now and see how they spin it.
Kyla says
neat concept design but need good implementation to make it done
Pete Zeus says
great idea, whether the design is over-the-top though however, I’m unsure.
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