Eco Friendly House And Garden

Lighting your home for low energy consumption is an important part of modern eco living.

But don’t forget that it is also very important for all your other hoursehold activities too - like reading, entertaining and general safety.  So do think about these when trying to change your lighting for the better.

If you don’t plan for the correct number of light fixtures in your rooms – or bulb brightness; then you may end up having to make adaptations to the room, or changing room uses – which could all be avoided with better planning.

For example, if the lights are not bright enough in your lounge, you may want to read and use your laptop in the kitchen instead, where seating is usually more uncomfortable - and you may have to keep moving out of the way for others to eat.  And why heat the front room if noone ever really uses it anyway?

But then what if your kitchen is open plan to the hall, the stairs or the conservatory – heating that space is going to cost you more money and energy than having fitted a suitable light in the lounge in the first place!

No Need To Compromise:
Planning for a greener home doesn’t mean you have to ask for less stylish fittings - and you can still take advantage of contemporary designs like modern alessi Designs or AXO’s avant-garde approach in your home.  ‘Eco Friendly’ doesn’t have to mean ‘boring’ – just plan ahead and choose the eco options where possible, for example fittings that work with low energy bulbs and lighting that makes a room in your home fit for the purpose you want to use it for. 

I mean, you can still have glitz and glamour in your home – but make sure it is with a purpose: like some delicate chandelier lighting in the dining room!  If you have a dining room that you want to glam up for special occasions – then go for it!  Energy-efficient light bulbs can be used for most fittings these days – and you still get to enjoy that special treat for yourself without having just a boring single lampshade in your room!

And, as you use it regularly for entertaining – it will be fit for purpose and so make better use of that space, those fittings and your energy choices.  It can also help to keep that room ‘kid free’ so it stays as a special place for grown-ups or special events.

Planning Ahead For A Night In:
Another idea is to have 2 sets of independent lights in a room – for 2 different purposes.  Take your lounge: day to day living for the family, or quiet night in for the grown-ups? 

If you are like me and want the lounge only lit with low light while watching an evening movie – then consider a pendant light – or three.  Rather than leaving the bright kitchen or hall way lights on to create that ambiance; why not light the room with low wattage (and low energy) tiny lights – maybe with colored covers for some warmth. 

And don’t forget – keeping the lighting in the room you are actually in means you can close the door and keep the warmth inside in the winter – rather than it all leaking out of the open hallway door!

So, plan ahead – way ahead – and make sure that the time and energy you spend on planning your new light fittings will fit with your hopes and uses for each room. 

No more having to sit somewhere stupid just because it’s brighter, no more having to move the furniture around to fit in a new lamp – and of course no more compromise on having an eco friendly house!

It really is a light for your garden powered only by the wind!

Imagine sitting outside in your garden or on your balcony and you are being mesmerised by your spinning light! Sometimes it is a solid tube of color and other times it is a pulsating spiral of energy!

How Does It Work?
Well, there are 14 LED lights embedded on the edges of the product which are powered by the spinning of the FireWinder in the wind.

The Firewinder itself is made of 100% recyclable materials and is moulded in the shape of a helix. This way it can catch the wind from any angle and any strength.

Any breeze over a few miles-per-hour will spin the helix around – giving the illusion of a rising edge and in daylight this is more like a mobile than a piece of cutting edge eco-technology!

However, what makes it light up are the 14 LED ‘bulbs’ or ‘patches’ spread out all up the outside edge of the spiral which are powered by the tiny turbines inside.

As it is the outer rising edge of the FireWinder that has the lights on it – when the wind picks up, these lights spin around really quickly forming a continuous band of rising light around the lamp: See Light Spinning.

In slower winds the light pattern is mesmerising and moves upwards around the FireWinder at differnt speeds, sometimes throbing in the breeze. But at higher wind speeds, the lights stay solid and so you will have a what appears to be a static column of light 14 bands high!

It really is something to just stare at for hours!

Is It More Of An Ornament Then?
I suppose you could say that. I mean it is not going to be bright enough for you to read books by or offer home security features – but it will be a welcome edition in gardens during those warmer summer months.

FireWinder is I think the first and only wind-powered outdoor lighting product – all the others on the market are solar-powered – and offer a less fun form of lighting! However, if you don’t get a lot of wind then you best opt for these!

One great eco-friendly product for garden lighting are the solar-powered ‘rock’ lights. As their name suggests, they are plastic ‘rocks’ that have a tilted and so hidden solar panal on the top. By day they look like a simple stone and by night they emit a quite powerful beam of light.

These come in a range of different sizes and offer a more continous and reliable solid light in the garden than the Firewinders, but are not so amazing to watch!

There are of course plenty of more light-looking solar powered lights for your garden – some white, some colored and even some color changing lights – but you can’t beat the spiral effect!