With OFF, the light switch hook from Die Electric, form follows function and then some. OFF is a fully functional light switch that doubles as a place to hang essentials when in the OFF position – prompting the user to choose to save electricity. The clever little gadget not only takes some significant kWhs off of the meter, but serves as a subtle reminder to turn off the lights – while solving the age old “where are my keys?” quandary on a daily basis.
The idea comes from Scott Amron, a freelance electrical engineer, designer and conceptual artist. The intent was simple: persuade people to use less energy. Lighting accounts for over 8 percent of household electricity in the average American home, according to the U.S. DOE Energy Information Administration (EIA). Worldwide lighting eats up 19 percent of electricity generation, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Leaning the lumens from one light even for just an hour per day could conserve up to 22,000 kWh per year.
$35 from Die Electric
this one is cool.
Why are designers so intent on form that they cease to care about actual function? If they wanted to make something practical, they’d make a power bar that you don’t have to stoop to reach, that looks good, something you could plug your electrical items into and unplug when they’re not in use. THAT saves energy.
You get home and hang up your coat, keys, etc and turn off the lights?
I guess you hang your rechargeable lantern on this hook. I couldn’t come up with a functional use for this in my own world, until I saw that Die Electric’s other products are designed to not use power outlets for electricity at all, but to hold other everyday items like vases and toothbrushes. So I guess that the real point is pretty much, don’t flip this switch!
It’s the concept behind this that people should think about and appreciate, and sometimes that matters more than function.
More cool designs are available at http://www.portolanogroup.com
This one would be great… if this were India (where the prevailing switch convention is the opposite of north america, i.e. down=on, up=off).
This is highly contradicting, when you hang your keays, is because you get home, and when you turn off the lights is because you are leaving! why would I want to turn off the light as I hang my coat when I arrive home? and why would the light be on in the first place?
nice concept, but it totally missed the point or function because the designer got carried away with the green movement…
Well I guess you could always flip the way your light switch works to accommodate this.