Believe it or not, we may see glowing walls hit the shelves to replace lightbulbs as early as 2012. A new technology is being developed in the UK, wherein wallpaper would be coated with a special chemical to emit a gentle, even glow throughout the room. The light is said to mimic sunlight, and could be dimmed on a dimmer switch like a normal lamp.
The lighting would draw an electric current, but the voltage would be extremely low (much lower than regular lighting), and importantly, the walls would still be safe to touch. The claim is that the walls would be 2 ½ times more energy efficient than current energy saving bulbs. The chemical coating itself could even be painted directly onto wallpaper, so no new wall paper would have to be purchased, making the result more sustainable.
Eventually, the paint may be made for application on screens and roll-up, portable surfaces.
We’re hoping that in two years, these interesting products will appear in the products section of the greenhomeimprovement.com community.