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New Technology Will Transform Lighting in 21st Century Buildings

Efforts to reduce the amount of energy used for lighting are looking beyond “bulb culture” to solid state technologies that will transform “lighting as we know it today,” architect Sheila Kennedy, AIA, a principal in the Boston firm of Kennedy and Violich, said last week at the National Building Museum.

Heating filaments “is a wasteful way of providing light,” she said in a lecture that was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies program, and fabric — such as a thirsty cotton or polymer — is one of the prime mediums that will be used to provide cool light.

Phosphors in the material absorb energy and then release light when they are energized through copper-connected microprocessors that have been woven into the fabric. “Light flows through the fabric like water,” she said.

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Kennedy said that her company has also been working with luminous plywood. “Thinner than a credit card,” a plastic substrate with sprayed-on phosphors covers the plywood surface.

Applying thin-film and Suspended Particle Device technology, Kennedy said her company is working with DuPont on a “24-hour” window that can provide nighttime light and during other parts of the day charge a cell phone, display information such as the outside temperature, display advertisements and provide ambient base lighting.

These interactive facades “will have an impact on how we work and live in this country,” she predicted.

The technology is currently being applied to commuter ferry terminals on the East River in Manhattan in response to a stringent mandate from New York Governor George Pataki for using non-traditional sources of energy. Those interested in the new technology will soon be able to see it in action at piers at East 23rd Street, East 34th Street and other locations in the ferry system.

In September Kennedy said she plans to start posting on her Web site information on residential uses of new “ambient intelligence” technologies.

In the meantime, builders who are looking for information on more efficient lighting from sources that are now readily available can explore several links provided by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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