Archive for the ‘Green Gadgets’ Category
Kitchen Equipment And Gadgets For Your Raw Food Kitchen
March 5th, 2009
This interview is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni’s The Healthiest Year of Your Life, which can be found at http://thehealthiestyearofyourlife.com. In this excerpt, Nomi Shannon shares on kitchen equipment and recipes for preparing raw foods.
The Healthiest Year of Your Life with Nomi Shannon, raw gourmet, author and raw food educator.
Nomi: People get really tired, really fast of salads. I do, but you can take the same things that you put into a salad and throw it in the blender and do it up, it’s amazing what the addition of a tomato or slice of mango or something can do to a concoction like that and you can make yourself some really delicious things really fast.
Kevin: What kind of blender do you use?
Nomi: There are only two great blenders, in my humble opinion, Kevin. One is the K-Tec Blender
which is the one I do recommend for several reasons. The other is the Vita-Mix
. They’re both fabulous blenders. I prefer the K-tech. The main reason is it’s a whole horsepower stronger but there’s a few others.
The difference between one of these blenders and a Hamilton Beach or whatever is the difference between a Pinto and a Rolls Royce. They’ re both cars but need I say more? In my book, for example, I assumed everybody would have a regular blender. They’re not inexpensive. I would say to make this dish,grate the carrot, grate the parsnip, then put it in the blender. Well, one of these blenders, you throw the darn thing in whole. I throw two frozen, rock hard bananas, whole and 45 seconds later I’m eating whatever it is.
You can do with one of these blenders things you could never do any other way. I will take a couple of apples and cut them up and throw them in the blender with some cinnamon, I have to baby the blender a little because there’s no liquid in there, and I can turn it into applesauce in a minute or two, because people think applesauce? Raw applesauce? No, it’s completely easy and possible if you have the right equipment.
Kevin: It’s great for kids, too. I think the price comparison, you can tell me if I’m wrong or not, is if you break two or three $100 blenders, you can eventually, you kind of go for the bigger one.
Nomi: Well, I personally have taken two, probably $30 to $50 blenders, smoking,outside to finish their smoking process in the air where I tried to make a pate or something in it. They couldn’t handle it. I do understand Kevin that there are plenty of people interested in this kind of food that are never going to be able to spend $400 on a blender. I appreciate that and that’s why in my DVDs I use a regular blender. One or two hints about that, if you have an old Oster blender or you can get your hands on one and that would be like at garage sales, 40 or 50 year old blenders grab it, because they have the most amazing motor. Now, they don’t compare with the Vita-mix or the K-tech. But they’re still nice and strong. My first few years I was raw I had an old Oster.
Kevin: I think that people sometimes just think that the only thing you can make in a blender is a frozen drink or a yoghurt smoothie and you mentioned applesauce and then you just talked about pates. How versatile is a blender for making things?
Nomi: There’s a big crossover in equipment. When I make a pate I use a food processor because a blender needs a lot of liquid. The pate I like best, it’s in my book, called the Sunflower Pate, and it’s 3 cups of sprouted sunflower seeds and lemon juice, because that’s a good preservative and some tahini and then some onion and scallion and different spices. I use it in the food processor. The secret to blending is it needs liquid. Food processing is for things that are drier. The food processor could never work with as much liquid as a blender would. It would leak all over the place.
Kevin: What about Saladacco
Nomi: It’s an odd name, it’s also called a spiral slicer and some people call it a spiralizer. Another name is garnishing machine. I finally just said, listen, I’m confusing everyone because every time the company changed the name, I changed the name. And it’s called the Salidako. It’s now made in China. It’s just a simple plastic gizmo, but what it does is really amazing. Here’s what is does that’s wonderful. It will take a vegetable, and the most commonly used vegetable is a zucchini. You put a three-inch piece of zucchini in this little thing and you turn the handle and what you get is pasta-shaped zucchini. It has this fascinating way of shredding it and you get long, long strands. I’ve had three and four feet long strands, where I’ve had to cut them in the bowl, of angel hair sized pasta made out of zucchini or carrot or beet or sweet potato or parsnip. It won’t work with anything soft. Just turn like a tomato to mush, most cucumbers to mush. It has to be a good firm vegetable and this has revolutionized sort of the palate of raw people. You just never have to eat a salad. You can sit your kids down and they can eat this spaghetti and it’s tossed in a pesto sauce, which I’m sure as you know is garlic and olive oil and lots and lots of basil and pine nuts, just no cheese and it doesn’t taste any different, and then top it off with a raw marinara and suddenly it smells like and it looks like and it tastes like Italian spaghetti. The only difference is, it’s not hot. This has, literally this little gadget has revolutionized, because you’ve got to have ways of doing food fast that’s tasty.
There’s another one I’ve just learned about from Germany and it’s called a Spiralo. If you do like a parsnip, beet, carrot, and turn it into this little skinny pasta — I’ve done this at shows and little kids have walked by and I’ve got it on the table next to the machine to show what it does, and these little three year olds will grab it and eat it. The mother or the grandmother will go, “I can’t believe it, he won’t eat any vegetables!” Something about cutting that vegetable into facets, let’s say, really brings out the sweetness like no grating or slicing ever could.
Kevin: Not only does it bring out the sweetness, I think, but it’s just so much easier to eat. You look at a carrot and you’re like, oh, a carrot. I got to chew this thing forever and when it’s in that small kind of form, you can eat it and you just keep eating it and eating it and eating it.
Nomi: When I started with raw food, I actually had a Champion Juicer
at the time, but it was in storage. When I started with 100% actually all I had was an everyday blender, a good sharp knife and a grater and I didn’t have any other equipment for at least for the first 6 months. So I do like to say to people when people say, “I don’t have the money to go out and buy all that stuff.” And you really don’t have to, but on the other hand, I have to say, that having some of these gadgets, the Salidako I mean is $24.95, really the ability to change these foods, their shapes, their size, pureeing or taking and turning into this little strand what suddenly is delicate and tender instead of chomping down on some hard. I would never eat a parsnip the way you might take a carrot and chew on it the way you would a carrot. I just wouldn’t, but it’s so delicious when you turn it into the pasta. It’s insane. It’s like a whole other thing.
Kevin: You talked about some of the quick things you can do, like the applesauce. What are some other real quick ideas that someone can do to maybe make a meal like in 5 minutes and go?
Nomi: Let’s not forget that almost any raw fresh raw fruit and vegetable can be eaten as it is. If you start out with a bowl on your counter filled with apples, oranges, bananas, whatever you can find seasonally, grapes papaya, mango whatever and then in your fridge you have different kinds of greens, like broccoli, cauliflower and all that there’s nothing wrong with going and sitting down and eating three apples and two bananas and a mango. I mean literally. I very often eat a red pepper like you would an apple. I found some that are so delicious and I just literally just wash the thing off and bite it and even if I get some of the seeds they’re not hot or anything like they can be. We’re so removed from going into the back yard and plucking fruit from the tree or a walnut from the tree that we literally forget, especially the younger generation, that food doesn’t really come in a box.
I’ve got a gadget called the Toss ‘n Chop. It’s such a clever gadget. You just throw everything that you want for your salad into the bowl and your dressing ingredients, everything, goes in a bowl but no cutting, no cutting board, no knife, no chopping, nothing. Then you just go at it with this thing, sort of a cross between a scissors and a tossing implement.
The other thing is, and I’m sure you already know this, is there’s just a huge craze going on with something called green smoothies, which I actually did mention in my book, suggesting you could put your sprouts and things, sneak them in smoothies. Would you like my green smoothie recipe which is my current passion and crave?
Kevin: Sure.
Nomi: Okay. I put a cup of either orange of tangerine juice in the blender and that’s taking about four tangerines at the moment. Personally I put about 8 cups of greens in, I wouldn’t start with that many because it might taste bitter to you at first. So, if there are any supplements that I’m taking, and I’m usually taking some supplements, put that in. Then if I can get my hands on papaya and I put that in. Yesterday I put a little bit of mango in instead, or a handful of blueberries and then I top it off with two frozen bananas. I like it, because I like my smoothies to be thick and cold. It gives me about 24 oz of smoothie. It’s fabulous. I have it at least once a day, every day. I vary out. You don’t want to eat the same thing every day, no matter how good you think it is for you, because you need variety.
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How To Find The Best Green Gadgets
January 4th, 2009
Saving our planet is important, but that doesn’t mean you have to live in a tree and forgo your gadget pleasures. There are plenty of gadgets out there that will help you live a greener life and while most LCD televisions don’t come with a way to turn them off you can get devices to help combat that. Here are some of my favourite ones.
With a 1GB capacity and a design that won’t win any red dot awards, the main USP for this new MP3 player is its green credentials. One minute’s worth of cranking will give you playback of 10 minutes – although there is USB charging too for when your arm gets tired. Including shipping, it’ll cost 55 euros, which is around 43 pounds, but consider what you’ll save on batteries.
The Neuton CE 6.2 Mower gives you the powerful performance of a gas mower with convenience of battery technology. And because it is battery-powered it is also easy to operate.
At only 69 lbs. and half as noisy as an average gas mower, the Neuton CE 6.2 is easy on you and the neighborhood. The battery recharges on about 10 cents worth of electricity – so the Neuton CE 6.2 is also easy on your wallet. The approximate cost to operate a gas mower (including gasoline, oil, spark plugs, filters and tune-ups) for 4 years is $260.
Four years of mowing 28 times per year with a Neuton Mower is only $11.20! You’ll save almost $250!! All Neuton Mowers are backed by a 2-year warranty and Neuton’s own customer service technicians, web site and live chat.
The Efergy meter is a compact monitor that allows the user to see electricity consumption in real time in your home. Made up of three components: a portable display monitor, a sensor which is clipped around the power cable feeding electricity into the premises, and a transmitter which is connected to the sensor and which sends the information to the monitor the data on the screen of the Efergy meter is refreshed every 5 seconds, so the impact on power usage of turning an electrical appliance on or off can be seen immediately. The Efergy meter costs 44.95 pounds.
You want to turn your television off at the main, but the sockets at the back and out of the reach of your arm. The Stanby buster basically gives you a remote for your plug. The easy to use, remote-controlled electrical socket lets you switch off multiple appliances completely rather than leaving them in standby mode – all from a single button press. Sockets are simply plugged into existing power outlets allowing any connected appliances to be switched on and off using the remote control. Standby Buster uses Radio Frequency (RF) rather than Infra-Red (IR) to switch appliances on and off, so it is not impaired by objects in its way.
Moixa USBCELL batteries
The USBCELL as an environmentally-friendly alternative to normal AA batteries. The top of one side flips up to reveal a USB connector, and the battery simply plugs into an open port. It takes five hours to charge one of the cells if it was fully discharged; each battery has a capacity of 1300mAH. The USBCELL cost around 12.99 pounds for two AA batteries.
Can We Predict the Future Gadgets?
January 1st, 2009
Dan Ionescu asked:
No one can know the future. But can we predict the future gadgets? The answer is yes, of course our prediction will not be 100% accurate.
We predict the future gadgets by paying attention to current trends. The trends will guide us to discover what devices will become part of our life.
The trends for the gadgets of the future are:
* Miniaturization
* Futuristic and bold design
* LCD with touchpad usage
* Usage of hi tech and hi speed chips
* Usage of green, eco technologies
Miniaturization
The trend in technology is to create ever-smaller scales for first mechanical, then optical and most recently electronic devices. The miniaturization trend can be traced back to ancient times both as an abstract science and a physical practice, beginning with atomic theories of the nature of matter and the use of early microscopes and leading, centuries later, to the current sciences of nanotechnology and molecular nanotechnology.
Regarding the gadgets the miniaturization is transforming them into: easy to use, easy to fit everywhere carry, travel and store devices.
Futuristic and bold design
All the actual gadgets have great design. The new devices use futuristic designs or a combination between classic design and futuristic one. Another popular combination is retro futuristic design.
The trend for the hi tech is to adopt a futuristic design.
Of course there will be a large number of simple devices which will use the classic design. This gadgets are for the ones who consider simplicity to be the new complexity and for the ones who don’t like hi tech and adopt very hard new items.
LCD with touch screen
Touch Screens are cool and are becoming more and more present on different types of gadgets.
The future gadgets must use touch screens because there are simple to use and have enormous popularity. A big plus for using touch screens is the new technology which permits making cheaper electronics.
Touch screens are use today for gadgets like: mp4 players, car Cd-Mp3-Radio’s, GPSs, mobile phones, computer monitors, LCD TVs, PDA’s.
Usage of hi tech and hi speed chips
The impact of this tiny chip has been far-reaching. Many of the electronics products of today could not have been developed without it. The chip virtually created the modern computer industry, transforming yesterday’s room-size machines into today’s array of mainframes, minicomputers and personal computers.
The integrated circuits made the gadgets faster and smaller. They played a major part in the miniaturization process.
The gadgets for the future will use tiny, but powerful chips which will make them super powerful.
Now the hi tech gadgets are very popular. Mp players, mobile phones, games consoles, hi fi audio systems, GPSs and PDAs are best sellers.
The gadgets which don’t use hi technology will continue to exist for two categories of people: the ones who prefer simple things and the ones who don’t like technology.
The usage of green, eco technologies
Eco technologies became more and more popular in our days. The love for nature encouraged people to protect it and adopt environment friendly technologies.
The trend for the new gadgets is to use less energy to operate and to be recyclable. Solar power is used as much as possible because it is free and harmless for the environment.
Conclusion
The gadgets of the future will be smaller, smarter, faster and more eco friendly.
GREEN GIZMOS
December 7th, 2008
“Green” and “gadgets” are not two words that you would immediately place together. It’s fair to say that the impression that people get when they hear the word “gadget” is somehow more to do with shiny little boxes that make life easier for the owner, helping them to switch on their stereo or TV (or both at once). Convenience is a fashionable thing, and given that the latest mobile phones allow the owner to not only make calls, send texts and take photos, but now allow you to download music and get directions to a postcode in another part of the country, it’s safe to say that many people either don’t view Green issues as a major influence on their gadget purchasing, or if they do put it quite low down on their list of priorities.
There is, however, a completely natural synergy between convenience and ecology, perhaps most succinctly summed up in the phrase “saving energy”. The benefit for the user is that they can perform a task with a minimum of fuss, while the environment benefits due to the decreased demand on resources. One gadget doing an excellent job for the consumer and the planet is known as the Bye Bye Standby, a motherboard into which all household electrical equipment can be plugged and, at the touch of a remote allows you to power these items down in one go.
There is also a new generation of solar rechargers which allow you to top up the energy required to use a number of gadgets. Very often you’ll encounter someone who has their mobile phone constantly plugged into a charger running from the wall socket. Some people don’t realise just how much energy is being used by such a small piece of equipment, but given that an hour a day of charge will be more than sufficient to keep the average mobile phone running, a solar-powered recharger will cut down on senseless waste. Along with a reappraisal of the use of wind-up technology – chargers, media players, torches and digital radios among other items are all available in wind-up form – these innovations in renewable energy makes waste more avoidable every day.
Household Clean with Green
December 7th, 2008
The average person uses up to two thirds of their total energy consumption while at home, which is a huge chunk of your carbon footprint before you’ve even set foot near a car. A lot of this usage is due to electrical appliances – and the great news is it is possible to save on your energy consumption in this area without buying a new appliance.
For some time now small products, which go by a range of names including “Machine Balls”, have been available for use when doing laundry. The main washing product lets you wash clothes thoroughly but without using any washing powder. These products usually contain various minerals and salts and genuinely are as effective as standard powder but without the chemicals. There’s also a version available for tumble drying, a necessity in winter, which work by helping separate fabric and allowing clothes to dry quicker and therefore the machine is in use for less time. Brilliantly, these products are also infinitely cheaper than washing powder or running a tumble dryer for a long period of time and they work just as well.
There’s plenty of items available for general cleaning, too. There are substitutes for your usual, chemically harsh products that reduce the damage to the environment while still remaining effective. Look around the internet and you’ll find an eco-friendly version of every type of product you currently use, from washing up liquid to furniture polish, and there is little or no difference in price. As well as this, there has been recent innovations for products that require no water or cleaning product at all, as the fabric used is designed in such a way that it cleans even stubborn stains by itself.
The key to household cleaning and being eco-friendly at the same time is looking for products which use natural ingredients only. Some products may also biodegrade quickly, reducing disruption to aquatic life when you’ve washed them away. The growth in the popularity of eco-friendly and natural cleaning products has made all of the well-known manufacturer’s take notice and all are now bringing out their own ranges, meaning you can match the relibility of a well known brand with being kind to the environment. However you do it, using eco-friendly cleaning products will have a dramatic effect on your energy consumption and the overall effect you have on the planet.
From A to B via G
December 7th, 2008
When it comes to calculating a carbon footprint, nothing has such an effect as the usage of transport. One thing guaranteed to send your rating through the ceiling is daily car use, which of course most people rely on for commuting to work. The general suggestion to lower this aspect of your emissions is to use public transport instead, but often – such as for night shift workers or people living in remote areas – this isn’t viable. The only other alternative is eco-friendly cars, and luckily, car manufacturer’s are beginning to see the need.
The most obvious solution is the electric car. Various types are available, including some that run on rechargeable batteries, some that need charging before use and some that charge during use. The hybrid car is the most popular, which requires a conventional propulsion system but uses a rechargeable energy storage system for it’s power. The hybrid has become the most popular eco-friendly car due it’s relative similarities to a standard car in design and price. Pure electric cars are often troublesome, have low average speeds and can only drive for a small amount of miles at a time.
Even the hybrid, however, has experienced problems. These vehicles tend to be more expensive than their environmentally non-friendly counterparts, while design initially suffered in terms of aesthetics. These problems are being fixed constantly, so the hybrid is still a good option if you are purchasing a new car and wish to keep it as environmentally friendly as possible.
But what about those of us who aren’t buying a new car? Well, you can convert your current petrol or diesel car into one powered by natural gas. This will drastically reduce your carbon emissions as well as money in running costs. Alternatively, if you have a diesel car you can start using bio-diesel instead, a type of fuel which is made from transesterification of animal fat and can be used in unmodified engines. It, like natural gas, tends to be cheaper than standard petroleum or diesel. However, if your car was made before 1992 there is a chance that bio-diesel will have a bad effect on the engine, so check with your manufacturer to ensure you’re safe to use it.
There are also small changes you can make to your current vehicle and fuel type that cost nothing. Check your tyres regularly, as under inflated tyres reduce fuel economy, and the more fuel you use the more emissions and the greater damage to the environment. Even if you can’t make the leap to a non-petrol car, small changes will make all the difference.
Alternative Energy: The Future’s Bright, The Future’s Green
December 7th, 2008
The unfortunate truth is that when green energy was first pioneered, it was introduced to the marketplace before all of the glitches were ironed out, such was the excitement at it’s invention. Unfortunately, those glitches caused malfunctions and very quickly green energy sources got a terrible reputation, one which they are still struggling to recover from.
The truth is, nowadays, green energy is just as reliable as the standard sort – if not more so, when you consider huge price rises aren’t going to be part of the package. What you see it what you get and while installing may seem expensive, the benefits to your budget and the environment is infinitely worth it.
The most commonly known type of green energy is solar power, where the light from the sun is turned into electricity using specially designed solar panels. These solar panels are becoming more and more visible, as the world cottons on to the need to protect the environment and find renewable energy sources.
Then there is wind power. So-called ‘wind farms’ are springing up everywhere, both on land and in the sea. These generate a huge amount of electricity and are probably the best hope for a truly sustainable energy source. The power is harnessed by wind turbines, specially built three-blade windmills. A huge development is currently in place off the Norfolk coast to build turbines actually in the sea, which harness the power of the incredible sea wind. That annoyance that blows sand in your face while sunbathing could soon become what heats your home.
There are other methods, too. Water has been used to create power for years and new ideas for utilizing it are becoming more prevalent. There is a system in place in Northern Ireland which is harnessing the power of the tides, called the Marine Current Turbine, which though still in a developmental phase is doing extremely well. It essentially works like a wind turbine, but underwater.
New ideas for green energy are being invented all the time and some may soon be powering your kettle soon. For the first time, inventors are not creating things to ease human lifestyle, but to possibly save the planet. This is only the beginning for green energy.
Alternative Energy: The Future's Bright, The Future's Green
December 7th, 2008
The unfortunate truth is that when green energy was first pioneered, it was introduced to the marketplace before all of the glitches were ironed out, such was the excitement at it’s invention. Unfortunately, those glitches caused malfunctions and very quickly green energy sources got a terrible reputation, one which they are still struggling to recover from.
The truth is, nowadays, green energy is just as reliable as the standard sort – if not more so, when you consider huge price rises aren’t going to be part of the package. What you see it what you get and while installing may seem expensive, the benefits to your budget and the environment is infinitely worth it.
The most commonly known type of green energy is solar power, where the light from the sun is turned into electricity using specially designed solar panels. These solar panels are becoming more and more visible, as the world cottons on to the need to protect the environment and find renewable energy sources.
Then there is wind power. So-called ‘wind farms’ are springing up everywhere, both on land and in the sea. These generate a huge amount of electricity and are probably the best hope for a truly sustainable energy source. The power is harnessed by wind turbines, specially built three-blade windmills. A huge development is currently in place off the Norfolk coast to build turbines actually in the sea, which harness the power of the incredible sea wind. That annoyance that blows sand in your face while sunbathing could soon become what heats your home.
There are other methods, too. Water has been used to create power for years and new ideas for utilizing it are becoming more prevalent. There is a system in place in Northern Ireland which is harnessing the power of the tides, called the Marine Current Turbine, which though still in a developmental phase is doing extremely well. It essentially works like a wind turbine, but underwater.
New ideas for green energy are being invented all the time and some may soon be powering your kettle soon. For the first time, inventors are not creating things to ease human lifestyle, but to possibly save the planet. This is only the beginning for green energy.
Everyone Doing Something – Ten Ways to be Green
October 20th, 2008
Everyone doing something – ten ways to be green
Laurie David, who produced Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” once stated that saving the planet is not about everyone doing everything, rather, “It is about everyone doing something.”
Some scientists are predicting that unhindered, human-caused, global warming over the next century is expected to raise sea levels and cause extremes in temperatures. Thankfully, there is a great deal we can all do to counter this and the impact of small actions by millions of people promises to be huge.
When it comes to the environment, being a good global citizen starts at your doorstep. From recycling to using alternative cleaning materials, minor changes at home can add up to real benefits for the planet, not to mention your own health and happiness. Being earth-friendly does not necessarily require major changes to your life such as growing all your own vegetables, there are plenty of little and very easy ways to make a big difference -here are just ten of them.
1. Toilet paper and paper towels are commonly made of virgin wood. When a 100-year-old tree is cut down, just so that we can have disposable paper products, is this okay? Switch your home and your business paper products to 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper, saving countless trees and five pounds of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.
2. Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) use 66 percent less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to ten times longer. Replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a 32-watt CFL can also save you money in energy costs over the life of the bulb.
3. Use cold water in the washer whenever possible.
4. Unplug electronics and chargers. Mobile phones, Blackberry devices, MP3 players, digital cameras and other electronics use energy if their charger is still going, even if the gadget itself is turned off.
5. Use less water by adding aerators (available for a few dirhams at your local hardware store) to your sink taps and change over to a low-flow showerhead. Take shorter showers too and remember that water for bathing accounts for two-thirds of all water-heating costs.
6. Use cloth bags to the supermarket. Think of all the plastic bags we have used on this planet in the last few decades, and then imagine this – not one of them has yet started to decompose. It takes 10,000 years for a plastic bag to even just begin to break down.
7. Do not use electrical appliances for things you can easily do by hand, such as opening cans.
8. Filter your tap water for drinking rather than using bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it produces large amounts of container waste. Next, buy reusable water bottles that you can take to the office or pack in your family’s lunch boxes.
9. Store food in re-usable containers, instead of using plastic wrap or aluminium foil.
10. Take unwanted, re-usable items to a charitable organisation or thrift shop.
The responsibility for sustaining our world as a healthy environment for future generations rests with us all. By implementing even just a few of these ideas, you will not only reduce your ecological footprint, but in many cases, you will save money too.
green gadgets
Green White Light: Oled for Lighting Explained
July 27th, 2008
OLEDs are very power efficient and they can be made very thin. An OLED light bulb is actually a thin film of material that emits bright white light. Because OLEDs can be flexible, or even transparent, exciting new OLED lamp designs are possible.
OLEDs are also the most ‘green’ light source. Not only are they super efficient, but OLEDs do not contain any ‘bad’ metals such as mercury, which is present in efficient CFL lamps. So OLEDs are really the future lighting source, when all things are considered.
In April 2008, OSRAM has announced the world’s first OLED lamp. It was designed by lighting designer Ingo Maurer, uses 10 OLED light panels, sized 132 x 33 millimeters. The OLED bulb in this lamp are actually thin square sheets that emit light. This lamp is more of a prototype than a commercial product – only 25 will be made, and the price is more than 25,000euro. But it sure is an important milestone on the path for OLED lighting.
Several companies are working towards white OLED light products. GE is hoping to get products out by 2010, and OSRAM is planning products for 2011-12, even though, like we said, they already introduced their first OLED lamp in 2008.
Philips is already shipping product samples and OLED lighting kits, and is hoping to have commercial products as early as 2009. Other companies involved in white OLED lighting are Konica Minolta (plans to have products by 2011), Universal Display (WOLED technology), and Kodak.The EU is funding several OLED lighting projects, while in Japan a few companies have joined forces to create Lumiotec – a JV to study the possibilities of OLED light bulbs.
We’re yet to see which company (or companies) will win the race for OLED lighting. But we’re seeing more and more evidence that OLEDs will play an important role in our green-light future.
By: Ron Mertens
About the Author:
Ron Mertens has been following OLEDs since 1998, and is the editor of OLED-Info, the web’s leading OLED display information web site. OLED-Info is published by Metalgrass software, who provides shareware for AdSense publishers and several other web sites.
