Opinion

Battery-powered lights are the real thing

6.10.2020

Translation: machine translated

I couldn't go back. I'm now using battery-operated table lamps and floor lamps, because I can't stand all those cables and I can't find a better solution.

Tidy desks with lighting in the middle of the room without any tangles of cables, you only see that in catalogues. In the series of photos staged for furniture brands or interior magazines, no annoying wires protrude from the screen or floor lamp. For the photo, these are retouched on the spot or later using dedicated software.

Where ugly cables are rare is in new buildings. Recently, I visited several modern apartment blocks at the "Open House Zürich", an event held on a weekend in September, during which architects guide visitors through Zurich's various already-occupied public and private spaces. A look behind the facades told me one thing: modern homes with intelligently placed power sockets, wireless solutions and USB hubs make all the difference.

Rare: an electrical socket right in the middle of the room. Photo: Ark Journal

As an aesthete, I'm always on the lookout for ways to hide cables. Unfortunately, I don't live in a new building for which architectural offices work in collaboration with lighting designers right from the design phase. In my 1920s flat in Zurich's fifth district, I have to find other solutions. Sockets are few and far between. I'm always annoyed by the extension leads I have to pull around the room. They flicker somewhere, no matter how hard I try to fit cable boxes and so on. But now I know how this can be changed without turning anything upside down.

For outdoors and indoors

Lamps running on battery are making their way into our four walls. Apart from ceiling lights, which are the exception, battery-operated lamps are the only thing I can think of. They've taken over my flat. I particularly like to place the table lamp next to me to read, in front of the sink to wash the dishes or on the dining table to replace candlelight.

My very first portable LED lamp Carrie from "Menu Design" has a battery life of ten hours. The latest - called One, see photo above, "The Humble One" - incorporates a battery deploying one hundred hours of autonomy.

Table lamps

Humble One

54 lm, E27

Since 2015, when Carrie was conceived, much has changed in terms of function. Nevertheless, the choice of wireless models remains surprisingly limited. I keep coming across the same classics like "Follow Me" by Inma Bermúdez for Marset. Her design was the forerunner on the market in 2014. It is also striking that there are more table lamps than floor lamps. Archiproducts, the world's largest information platform for architecture and design, collects data on products from all over the world. It currently lists 15 indoor wireless and 33 outdoor floor lamps. By comparison, the platform lists almost 2,400 conventional models.

Table lamps

CHF214.–

Marset FollowMe

240 lm

As I continue to browse, I notice that portable lights are still referred to as outdoor lights on many platforms today. "One of the most common requirements when buying a garden lamp is the complete absence of wires and cables," says Archiproducts, in similar wording, on many other supplier sites. And I always ask myself: don't I have the same requirement for indoors? If I had the choice, I'd rather see the cables outside than inside.

I'm aware that with my penchant for aesthetic perfection, I belong to a minority. Unlike most people, I accept having to recharge lamps regularly. I don't care what devices I have to charge in addition to my smartphone. What I'm learning is how to use light more consciously. I used to leave the light on much more often when I spent time in another room. Now I only turn it on when I need it. There's no need to recharge more often than necessary. I also use festive lights less often. Next to my bed sits a designer table lamp, " Bud " by Innermost, which can be operated by pressing it. This means I don't have to search long in the dark or get tangled up in cables.

It's not yet possible to say whether the batteries in these models will weaken over time. The lithium-ion battery in my oldest lamp is doing well so far. It's supposed to last more than nine hours. I know this because I accidentally left it on overnight once not long ago. Lamps like the Humble brand have a battery that can be replaced if necessary. Until I settle my suitcases in a flat cleverly created by architects, I'll have to make do with my battery-powered mobile lamps.

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Pia Seidel

Senior Editor

Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.ch

Like a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.

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Battery-powered lights are the real thing

For outdoors and indoors

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