Plumen 001 Light Bulb

In response to environmental concerns, the development of low-energy lighting technologies has become a flourishing area of contemporary design and manufacture. The low energy compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) light bulb is rooted in 19th-century technology but has come to the forefront of energy-saving devices available to large numbers of consumers at a relatively low cost since the early 21st century. Compared to incandescent lamps producing the same amount of light, CFLs consume roughly 80% less energy and last about eight times longer. Bulbs with straight- or spiral-form CFL tubes are widely available but are considered purely utilitarian objects—a light source devoid of aesthetic qualities. In 2007, the English telecommunications firm Hulger ventured into lighting design with the Plumen (derived from the word “plumage”) project, geared toward designing a more attractive and interesting bulb shape using only the form of the CFL tubes themselves. The result is the Plumen 001 low energy light bulb. The English designer, Samuel Wilkinson, worked with Hulger to devise an organic, linear silhouette formed by two long, looping CFL tubes intended to be exposed rather than hidden within a fixture or under a lamp shade. The curved shape of the tubes references the filaments of an incandescent bulb, and the Plumen 001 can be used in any socket made for an incandescent bulb. The Plumen 001 light bulb would add an example of an aesthetically interesting solution to socially conscious design to the museum’s collection, which has been expanding its holdings of contemporary lighting, particularly lamps employing energy-saving technologies.