We here at Greenthinkers love a good year-end list. And one of our favourites is Time Magazine’s list of the year’s great inventions. First up, the Flower Lamp from the Swedish Interactive Institute’s design research project ‘STATIC!’.

This elegant flower-shaped light harbors an eco-friendly secret: it monitors the overall energy usage in your household. When it senses that power consumption is low, it rewards you by blooming - its metal petals unfold attractively. If you start draining too much electricity, it closes up again.

Household lamps typically have very basic functionality with respect to energy - expressed in lit states of ‘on’ or ‘off’ or somewhere between. In the Flower Lamp example, it is not just the light of the lamp but its very form that reflects energy used. In order to make the lamp more beautiful, a change in behaviour is needed.

STATIC! explores ways of using design to increase energy awareness and promote greener lifestyles.