Clearvision Lighting has created a lighting design for the Eco Home, one of the centre piece displays at the 2008 Daily Mail Ideal Home Show at Earl’s Court. The design of the lighting had to look good, but also cope with the requirements of the modular build structure, be very quick to install and provide an educational element on energy saving.

For practical reasons there are no wall mounted fittings, but otherwise the lighting is intended to be practical for use in a typical home. Clearvision chose to use ceiling based downlights as the core of the scheme, because they are popular, look good, are easy to install and provide a good platform for educational messages on the relative effectiveness of halogen, compact florescent and LED lamps.

The design combines linear and compact fluorescent sources with the latest more efficient Infra Red Coated (IRC) halogen and some power LEDs. The desire was to go beyond the most simplistic arguments that energy saving lighting is synonymous with CFL lamps, because the IRC technology is arguably more ecological. The design and accompanying display seeks to explain that fluorescent is for wide area lighting and that the best halogen technology is still more effective for directional applications. LED lighting is restricted to highlighting applications where the narrow beam widths are acceptable.

Clearvision has a long pedigree in ecological lighting, having been the first significant lighting company in the UK to switch its entire fluorescent range to energy efficient high frequency ballasts back in 1997, when the issue of energy saving was out of favour during a period of cheap electricity. More recently in 2007 they provided lighting to the Calyx conference centre in Kent, a green building that pioneered several key techniques in sustainable architecture.

Paul Stephenson, Chief Executive of Clearvision says “we see the issues surrounding the ergonomics and ecology of lighting as inextricable. Green lighting need not be the visual equivalent of lentil stew nor need it be as comfortable as a hair shirt. We just have to sensitively modify the technology and experience from commercial lighting to residential taste. The EcoHome is part of wider process for us as a company to explore how this is aim is best achieved.

For more information call Clearvision on 01252 344011 or email nperry@virtualdaylight.com