Some Thoughts & Observations on Modern Vs Vintage Lighting - Part 3: In-Built Obselescence & Summary
In-Built Obselescence
Now there's an element of 'you pay your money, you take your choice' and affordability is obviously a key factor when buying lighting. My aim is to share my knowledge to help inform choices, and most definitely not to be a design snob or vintage purist. In fact sometimes vintage lamps can actually be cheaper than modern made versions of the same model.
The Multi-Lite I referred to before is my own lamp, that I have hanging in my own home and it is a modern lamp that brings me joy looking at it every day.
It's my absolute favourite lamp design, and I've coveted one for years but was unable to afford one - whether vintage or modern. I was extremely lucky to come across this modern one, sold cheaply on eBay because it wasn't working and wasn't easily repairable.
So this brings me to in-built obselescene, a term you may have come across with tech such as mobile phones, but the principle is the same - the manufacture of modern lighting involves features that make it not easily repairable. The difference is that with mobile phones it's possibly cynical to drive sales of replacements whereas I think with lighting it's simply the result of achieving the lowest cost product possible.
Vintage lighting was built to some degree by hand and being put together by hand means it can be taken apart by hand when it needs to be repaired. Seems basic doesn't it? But if you cannot take a lamp apart without breaking it, you cannot rewire or repair it.
There are various elements to this.
Modern lighting has moulded construction and parts. Mass production methods involve factory-sealing the body of lighting together, meaning it can be damaged or broken when you try to take it apart. Component parts such as lampholders click into place, so are designed to be single-use only. These parts are often glued in place as well.
When I do manage to get modern Chinese made lighting apart I sometimes find cardboard being used as a isolating material. It probably does the job adequately but isn't something found in older or better made lighting.
With all that said, modern materials and mass production methods do produce a consistent standard of lighting that should be expected to reliably provide a reasonably long life. It's just unlikely to last the 50+ years that older lighting did, and, if it does fail, probably won't be cost-effective to repair, if repairable at all.
Summary - Modern Vs Vintage Lighting
Hopefully, I've given you a bit more insight in to the differences between modern and vintage lighting. To be clear, I'm overwhelmingly in favour of the continued production of iconic lighting designs such as the Danish mid century classics - these beautiful lamps deserve to continue to be appreciated by as many people as wish to enjoy them.
I do wish more of these iconic European designs were still made in Europe, they often carry a premium price which suggests it would still be cost-effective to produce them here, just perhaps not quite as profitable.
To conclude, modern lighting is usually made using lower cost materials, in lower cost countries and not built to be repaired but it is usually safe to use and of sufficient quality and reliability to give a lifespan in line with what is considered reasonable these days.