Buildings Twinkle With 'Green' UrbanTiles

With buildings getting taller by the day, the cost of keeping them illuminated during the night is not only soaring, but also, a complete waste of valuable resources. Now, an Israeli designer has come up with a brilliant idea - Tiles that act as energy absorbers during the day and light emitters at night.

Meidad Marzan's 'UrbanTiles' are designed with photovoltaic panels on one side and Organic Light Emitting Diode's (OLED's) on the other. During the day, the tiles are rotated like a window blind so that the solar panels face the outside, absorbing and storing the energy from the sun. At night, they are flipped so that OLED side can light up the building exterior, using the solar energy that was captured earlier.

Not only do these tiles make the buildings a lot 'greener' and energy efficient, but also, make them look spectacular, especially when they are intertwined with ordinary tiles. And, its not just buildings that could use these cool panels. 'Green' designers envision UrbanTiles in everything, ranging from cell phones to laptops and even, clothing. Japanese manufacture Mitsubishi recently created an interactive 20-foot OLED globe for the Tokyo museum using 10,362 tile panels.

Though the tiles are perfect for construction they may not appear on many buildings in the very near future due to just one reason - Their high cost. Hopefully, as demand increases, the cost will be reduced and more of the world's high rises will turn to this 'green' power to help them sparkle at night.

Resources: treehugger.com, ecofriend.com