Solar-Powered LED Lamp Tracks Your Home's Energy Use

September 11, 2008 by Lisa Zyga Spark Lamp

The Spark Lamp was designed in response to the Swedish government´s plan to install smart meters in new homes to track energy consumption.

Designer Beverly Ng created the solar-powered LED Spark Lamp as a decorative way to reduce energy consumption - but, perhaps more importantly, to let homeowners know of their daily energy use.

In Sweden, the government is responding to the energy crisis by installing smart meters in future homes, which will provide real-time feedback of energy use on the Internet. Homeowners are encouraged to set monthly energy goals in terms of money and/or watts. They can log into their online accounts to view their home´s data and find tips on energy conservation.

But realizing that visiting a Web site isn't the most engaging way to view this data, Ng developed the Spark Lamp to enhance the experience by extending the feedback beyond the computer screen and into everyday objects in the home.

The lamp concept itself is engaging and simple: during the day, you turn the lamp upside down on a windowsill to recharge the solar panels. When turned over, the lamp looks a bit like a small potted plant. At night, when you turn the lamp upright and switch it on, the lamp (equipped with Wi-Fi) flickers in different colors to signal your home´s power consumption level for the month compared to your goal.

The lamp pulses for about three seconds, displaying green if you´re doing better than your goal, yellow if you´re on target, and red if you´re using too much power. Then the lamp returns to a regular white light lamp.

The Spark Lamp is not yet available for purchase.

via: Design Zen

Rate this story - 2.6 /5 (16 votes)

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Modernmystic - Sep 12, 2008
- Rank: 2.3 / 5 (3)
Whooo hoooo!!!! Just what we need the energy police! I can see it now...the Bureau of Recycling, and Food/Energy Consumption (BRFEC). All complete with jackboots, rams to batter down your doors and automatic weapons to shoot women holding infants and 14 year old boys in the back as they run away from them.
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nano999 - Sep 12, 2008
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ruby ridge energy police
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madrocketscientist - Sep 12, 2008
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Actually, this is a device which helps the user to manage their own usage according to their own goals, not government mandated levels.

You set your goals, the lamp gives you some real-time feedback and allows you to choose how best to achieve your goals. This is the best in consumer choice and a working free market.
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Modernmystic - Sep 12, 2008
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Yeah they also said something about social security numbers never being used for identification etc etc ect.
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OldICFart - Sep 17, 2008
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Boy, the paranoid are out in force on this one. Scandinavians have always been very conscious of sunlight, my wife was intrigued years ago by a Norwegian friend who would lie down and sunbathe every time the sun came out.
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holmstar - Sep 18, 2008
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Its certainly possible that this could be turned into an enforcement system for some future energy conservation law, but it could be done with today's technology too. They wouldn't even have to set-up monitoring at each house, they would just interface with the power companies billing system to see how much energy you used.

Thus, much ado about nothing IMHO.
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