Bring a Little Sunlight Into Our Lives

Hybrid Solar Lighting (HSL)

Dana and I have been looking into this a little more lately. It combines the eco-benefits of solar energy and the consistency of hybrid energy into one. Not only is it all the rage now, but it is wonderful for our planet, our wallet, and our bodies. It's a WIN WIN WIN alternative to traditional lighting options.

What is it? The Hybrid Solar Lighting (HSL) technology uses a solar concentrator to collect and distribute sunlight into the interior of a building via plastic optical fibers. It's goal is To capture sunlight and distribute it, using optical fibers, into the interior of a building to provide premium quality, controllable lighting capable of reducing energy consumption.

Q. How does the color of the light compare to sunlight?

A. For all practical purposes, the delivered light is equivalent to direct sunlight in every way. The delivered light has a color correlated temperature of 5400K and a color rendering index of 100 (as does sunlight). In the mornings and evenings, the delivered light will have a reddish tint just as the rising and setting Sun. An option on the HSL3010 light switch panel allows this shift in color to be eliminated, if desired. The delivered sunlight does not contain IR or UV wavelengths.

Q. What happens when clouds obscure the sun?

A. The Hybrid Solar Lighting system collects primarily direct sunlight. Therefore, when cloud coverage is dense, very little light is delivered by the system. Under these circumstances, electric lamps are used to compensate for the reduced sunlight. A daylight harvesting sensor monitors the room illumination to maintain a constant intensity level.

Q. How much space will one system illuminate?

A. Although the exact value depends on lighting requirements for the space, a typical lighted area would consist of 750 - 1000 square feet.

Q. How much energy and money will I save with this technology?

A. Unfortunately, that answer depends on your location within the United States, your local utility costs, and your current lighting technology and use. The Northeast U.S., Southwest U.S., and Hawaii are the geographic areas most likely to benefit from this technology. As an extreme example of the energy and cost savings, an installation in Kauai, Hawaii that normally uses incandescent lighting would likely receive $1100 or 8,000 kWh a year in energy savings due to lighting displacement alone. If the cost savings associated with extending the life of existing incandescent lamps and reducing building cooling load is factored into the savings, a Kauai customer could save as much as $2000 - $3000 per year per system.

Benefits of HSL

Increased Wellness with Hybrid Solar Lighting The effects of natural light on the regulation of key biological processes has been known and documented for many years. As more time is spent under artificial lighting, the regulation of these processes can become disrupted and affect wellness. Studies have estimated that 5-20% of the U.S. population now suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a serious disorder that causes symptoms of depression that occur during the winter months and subside during the spring and summer months. Depending on the severity of the disorder, SAD sufferers may display one or more of the following symptoms: Sleep Disorders Overeating Depression Anxiety Family/Social Problems Lethargy Joint/Stomach Pain The cause of this disorder is known to be linked to a disruption in the natural light cycles that humans experience with the changing seasons. By spending a significant amount of the day under artificial lighting, a building occupant can become disconnected from the seasonal and daily variations in natural lighting levels that regulate the body's circadian rhythms. This eventually results in a disruption in the production of melatonin hormone levels from the pineal gland. "Bright light" therapy is the recommended treatment and involves exposure to intense lights for a prescribed period of time each day (to stimulate or reset the production of the pineal gland). Research has shown that the lack of natural daylighting in buildings plays an important role in the occurrence of SAD. For the first time, the Hybrid Solar Lighting technology provides building owners with a convenient method of delivering the therapeutic properties of natural light to their occupants without the structural constraints and architectural drawbacks associated with conventional daylighting. Existing buildings that are not properly oriented or constructed for daylighting can be easily retrofitted with the Hybrid Solar Lighting technology to provide continuous exposure to sunlight throughout the year. The increase in employee wellness can result in increased worker productivity, reduced absentee-ism, and improvements in employee moods and interactions. To learn more about the connection between SAD and natural lighting, please read the National Mental Health Association's fact sheet on this disorder.

Reduced Energy Costs with Hybrid Solar Lighting Lighting consumes more electric energy than any other building end-use, accounting for a third of all electricity consumed for commercial use in the United States. Ironically, much of this lighting energy is consumed during peak daylight hours when sunlight is readily available. The ability to capture and utilize this sunlight for interior building lighting provides a real opportunity for significantly reducing energy consumption in the United States. On a sunny day, one Hybrid Solar Lighting system will deliver 50,000 lumens of sunlight, or the equivalent of 55 60W incandescent lamps. For buildings in the Nation's sunbelt that use incandescent lamps, which have a luminous efficacy of 15-20 lumens/watt, this can result in two forms of energy savings. First, there is an energy savings of approximately 8000 kWh per year due to the reduced lighting needs. Second, there is an energy savings resulting from the buildings reduced cooling load. Because the Hybrid Solar Lighting system delivers light with little to no infrared component, there is very little waste heat. Depending on the cooling technology utilized, this can result in an additional energy savings of as much as 8000 kWh per year, or a total energy savings of 16,000 kWh per year. The cost savings associated with this energy reduction will vary depending on local utility rates. As an example, for areas with high utility rates, such as Hawaii or California, the cost per kWh can be as high as $0.10 per kWh (and in some places even more!). Therefore, over a ten year period, a Hybrid Solar Lighting system, working with incandescent lamps, can save a building occupant in these locations $16,000 per unit. For large floor-spaces of 100,000 to 200,000 sq. ft., this translates into $1.6M to $3.2M of energy cost savings over a ten year period.

This is an exciting time to be living. Where being eco-friendly and 'going green' is considered cool or 'in'. There is more information, resources, and knowledge than we have ever had before. Things are becoming more affordable to the average consumer making it not only smart for the planet, but easy on the wallet to go green. I have noticed in changing some of our consumer habits, yes, it is slightly more expensive. But who can put a price on our wellbeing, our lives and ultimately our planet. Instead of buying products with parabens in it, we look for something with natural preservatives. By doing that we spend $3-$5 more per bottle, but avoid a cancer causing agent which some research has shown is a leading cause in women's breast cancer today. I'm sorry, but my life is worth more to me than that $5. We switched to a flushable product called gDiapers for Ava which is almost double what traditional diapers cost. But it completely biodegradable and is completely absorbed within 150 days. The average decomposition of a traditional diaper is 7 years. Think about the millions of diapers in our landfill that just I am saving our planet from (not too).

Last week, my Earthy Thursday post didn't generate alot of comments. Mind you, my blog never really generates alot of comments. But this week if you could share if like getting this information or if you would just rather my regular ramblings. Thanks and hope you have a great week.