A chandelier that doubles as a planter pot? Ok, that sounds kind of weird, but the folks xDesign Environmental Health Clinic at New York University have actually come up with an interesting concept: filtering air with plants (nothing new) and attaching a light source to those plants (intriguing!)

Essentially, as we all move toward homes and offices with more insulation and fewer drafts, we are trapping unwanted air pollutants inside. This can be anything from photocopier ozone to various pet pellets. Enter the Green Light. This chandelier turned flowerpot features a 6-watt LED in the centre, surrounded by plants growing from the base. The LED emits specific wavelenghts of light to encourage photosynthesis in the plants and thus:

absorb polluted air and destroy contaminants in a process called metabolic breakdown, according to Bill Wolverton, the environmental scientist and retired NASA researcher who pioneered this idea for flushing out the dirty atmosphere in long-term life-support space stations.

The LED can be powered by a solar awning, which can also charge the batteries for up to 4 days in case it's cloudy out, and it has an adjustable timer to program when to turn the lights on or off if you're away. Of course, at a price tag of $6000 apiece, I don't imagine this will be finding its way into our homes just yet.

 

via PopularMechanics