LED wallpaper to supersede fluorescent lighting

A technology firm based in Wales has just been awarded nearly half a million pounds by the Carbon Trust to help with the development of LED systems which can be easily integrated into wallpaper in order to provide a clean, green alternative to current lighting solutions.

The firm behind the new project, Lomox, said that it would be able to get the LED technology ready for consumer use within the next 12 months, which means millions of people could completely change the way in which they light their homes by 2012.

The system utilises organic LEDs integrated into a chemical solution which can be painted directly onto the wallpaper itself and is then powered either by a renewable source such as a solar panel or by a low voltage battery within the room itself. In total a sixth of all electricity consumed in the UK is accounted for by indoor lighting and the energy savings made possible using LED technology could help the Government meet its emission targets by 2020.

Unlike other energy saving lighting technologies, that many people have complained about as they do not provide adequate lighting for certain circumstances, the LED wallpaper technology will emit a uniform glow across the entirety of its surface and is designed to emulate sunlight. As such it will be gentle and eliminate shadowed areas within rooms. It is even possible to change the colour of the lighting.

Mark Williamson, who heads up the funding for new innovation at the Carbon Trust, said that the versatility and the undeniable efficiency of the new LED technologies, of which the wallpaper project is just one, could revolutionise the ways in which energy is used and saved. Mr Williamson also said that the UK was a real world leader in terms of LED displays, lighting and technology and that it could become an ever more important industry in the future.