Let There be Light: Solar Lighting
Solar power reaches the earth in two different ways-by heat and by light. Solar cells and other sources collect this heat to produce electricity, but it is often overlooked that the sun’s light can be very useful as well. For much of our country’s history, Americans depended on the sun for lighting our homes and businesses during the day, since lamps were expensive and electricity was unavailable. Now, there is a movement to get back to our roots and use the light from the sun to provide light indoors as well. New technology is making this possible.
Fiber optics and other lighting sources that use the sun became popular as America became more interested in renewable energy and saving the environment. Now, these forms are no longer being researched; instead, solar power laboratories are looking to a new form of using sunlight, called Hybrid Solar Lighting, or HSL. This technology uses sunlight to light spaces naturally as well as to create electricity for lighting sources. Scientists are still developing this idea, but hopefully it will be more efficient than other forms of solar energy collections.
HSL technology works by using a special device to direct sunlight into optical cables. The infrared light, normally wasted in this process, is then collected and turned into electricity. The cables deliver that sunlight to lighting fixtures throughout the building, so they use less electricity. HSL technology may be used in two ways in the future. First, in the aforementioned procedure, lighting this way can be used to cut back on the amount of electricity used in commercial buildings. Special sensors would adjust the amount of electricity used depending on how much light is gathered from the sun at any given time. The second way in which HSL technology could be used is in power plants. By collecting sunlight energy on a large scale, power plants can use this form of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels. Once energy is created and converted to electricity, it can be sent to our homes in the same way it is now.
Solar lighting energy is efficient when using the HSL technique because it does not waste any of the sun’s power. The visible light that we see is directed completely to use in lighting, while the infrared light that normally would be wasted is converted into electricity. Alternative energies such as this, which was renewable and inexpensive, are important to research as fossil fuels become limited. They are environmentally friendly and natural, with no harmful byproducts, such as with nuclear power. Sunlight energy is just one step the United States is taking towards a brighter energy future.