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Hybrid Lighting

Bavarian Optics developed Sollektor as a solution for bringing sunlight indoors.

Image: Angela Marie / Flickr (source) (CC BY 2.0)

Bringing Sunlight Indoors with POF

In an effort to bring natural lighting indoors, BavarianOptics has developed Sollektor, a solution for bringing natural sunlight into office buildings. The system consists of a collector lens array, plastic optical fiber light pipes that distribute the light throughout the building, and hybrid light fixtures.

Sollektor concept diagram. Source: University of Applied Sciences, Nuremberg, Germany.
Sollektor lens array. Source: University of Applied Sciences, Nuremberg, Germany.

Hybrid Lighting

Since Sollektor only works during daylight hours, artificial light sources must still be considered. Bavarian Optics has designed hybrid light fixtures that incorporate LEDs, which have been touted as the artificial light source of the future.

Hybrid lamp shade luminaire prototype. Source: Sollektor Goes Hybrid.

Benefits of Hybrid Lighting

  • Up to 50% efficiency, versus 1% efficiency for solar energy converted to artificial light
  • Reduced CO2 emissions
  • Reduced energy costs during daytime
  • No heat generated by light emitters
  • Natural sun light with a full color spectrum

References

O. Zeimann et al., “Sollektor”, The 21st International Conference on Plastic Optical Fiber, 2012.

H. Poisel et al., “Sollektor Goes Hybrid”, in The 21st International Conference on Plastic Optical Fiber, Atlanta, GA, 2012.