Hey all,
I have been considering some of this for a new shop/office building I am working on the design of - For better or worse, I am my own customer on this misadventure - so I can go pretty wild on any test designs. This is a little broader than the fiberoptics of this starting topic, but is along the same general idea.
So I am still in some early pondering about the deep internal lighting of a building - or even a below grade structure -
This was how I was tending to break the elements of the problem down --
1. Separating Heat from Light.
A major problem I see with this whole venture is that many light sources - including sunlight -- carry heat that is not always desirable. I guess the use of fiberoptics tends to keep the heat out but let the light in? If no, what ideas does anyone have regarding this?
2. Concentrating
This seems pretty simple . . . a trick with mirrors. 1 square foot tile mirrors go for about US$1 to 1.50. I am guessing about using 16 to 20 in a concentrator fashion that tracks the sun and hits a 1 to 2 foot square target on the a gable end of a building. It then requires [insert magic device, here - have not thought it through yet - but help is very welcome] that refocuses the concentrated sunlight into a beam through the attic.
3. Distribution
After being concentrated into say a 16 or 20 "sunshines" beam the concentrated sunshine can be "beamed" through unoccupied attic space. It requires no real tube, duct, or shaft for function, but one of those may be a good idea for preventing burns to eyes if someone were to pass through and look towards the source of the concentrated beam. Within the beam small mirrors could be placed to reflect portions of the light beam towards targeted fixtures that backlight the fixtures for the room(s) below.
4. Fixtures.
I am thinking of a 2 x 2 or 2 x 4 (feer) ceiling grid system - typical of commercial office space. If you wanted to use the standard fixtures, cut the back out of them, and place translucent glass or plastic for the attic mirrors to target. This backlights the translucent plastic and "lights" the conventional fixture for the room below. At night, or on low light or cloudy days, the fixtures operate normally.
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Motivation on this is that it is SO cheap. Review, comments, observations, or just plain help is welcome.