Applications for Hybrid Lighting Systems

There are currently two proposed applications for hybrid lighting systems. First, hybrid lighting systems are being developed for use in commercial buildings to displace electric lighting. Electric lighting consumes a large portion of electricity in commercial buildings. The figure below illustrated one system configuration being developed for this application. Second, researchers are investigating the use of the device as a key component in new hybrid solar photobioreactors that sequester carbon via enhanced photosynthetic-based bio-processing at power plants, also illustrated below.

Hybrid lighting systems are being developed 
for use in commercial buildings to displace 
electric lighting

When sunlight is plentiful, the fiber optics in the luminaires provide all or most of the light needed in an area. Unlike conventional electric lamps, HSL systems produce little waste heat. During times of little or no sunlight, sensor-controlled electric lamps operate to maintain the desired illumination level. “It is a very cool light — you can touch the fibers with your hands,” says Dr. Duncan Earl, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This is because the collectors remove the infrared light — the part of the spectrum that generates a lot of the heat in conventional bulbs. Hybrid light fixtures do use artificial means to generate light. Photosensors automatically adjust how much electric current is needed to keep a room uniformly bright. According to Earl, “On a sunny day [HSL] can pull in enough sunlight to offset 80 percent of the artificial light.” If the sun is blocked by a dark thundercloud, the piped-in sunlight will drop to only about five per-cent of a room’s lighting needs. The optical fibers also lose light the longer they are. Therefore, it only makes sense right now to use HSL in rooms with direct roof access. The current optimal fiber length is 50 feet or less. Typically this translates to the top two floors of a commercial building.

Click on Photobioreactor for virtual demo.

Hybrid Solar Photobioreactors
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