Philips’ Light Blossom

It’s good to see that large companies are embracing solar energy. Take for instance Philips, which is a maker of various consumer products and lighting solutions. During its Simplicity Event last year, Philips unveiled their Light Blossom concept.

The Light Blossom can replace the conventional streetlights that are in use today. Further, it adds to the aesthetic beauty of the community. Light Blossoms are environmentally sound because they use solar and wind energy that they collect, to illuminate their LED lights.

During the day, the Light Blossom blossoms like a flower opening its petals to collect energy from the sun. Its petals dynamically move in the direction of the sun to collect solar energy  effectively.  Imagine large metal sunflowers along the avenue.

Cloudy weather will not dampen the Light Blossom’s day, nor its effectiveness in illuminating the streets. When there’s a breeze, it will automatically move its petals to a semi-open position that will catch the wind. As the petals rotate, the built-in rotor will convert the motion into energy. Once the sun is up again, the petals will stop rotating, and open up to catch the rays.

Light Blossoms can store the energy they gather during the day, to light up the streets at night, and feed excess energy back to the power grid. Passers-by will know the status of each Light Blossom, through a display in its trunk.

Once the sun is out and the night has come, the Light Blossom will close up its petals, and its LED lights will shine to light up the surrounding. Its beam will also be directed downwards, to avoid light pollution. You’ll be able to see the stars again, when these are in use.

The Light Blossom also has built in sensors that will know whether there are people nearby. When there are none, the Light Blossom will shine at a minimum level, and when it senses movement nearby, it will increase its intensity. That will ensure the best safety for everyone, while conserving energy at the same time.

Because it produces its own energy, it consumes zero energy from the power grid. That means that Light Blossom will continue to shine even during natural disasters and power disruptions. Not only that, but they use half of the energy that a usual street light uses today.

Remote locations which are detached from the power grid will also have a new lighting solution with Light Blossom.  There will be no need to connect to the grid, to light up the surroundings.

For more information about this lighting solution, you can visit Philips’ web site on the Light Blossom here.