Hybrid Solar Lighting Gaining Momentum around Nation

[jpak]

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/home

Oak Ridge, Tennessee With five hybrid solar lighting systems already in place and another 20 scheduled to be installed in the next couple of months, the forecast is looking sunny for a technology developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

Preliminary data from field units, which collect sunlight and pipe it into buildings using bundles of small optical fibers, show potentially significant energy savings in lighting and maintenance costs. An added benefit is that, for most uses, natural light is vastly superior to artificial light.

"This is the ultimate 'green' technology," said Duncan Earl, a co-developer of the technology and chief technology officer of Oak Ridge startup company Sunlight Direct, which licensed the technology from ORNL last year. "In fact, we have received many inquiries and are working with several organizations that are aiming to build LEED -- (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings."

The U.S. Green Building Council established the LEED designation for buildings that comply with a national consensus standard for design and construction of "green" buildings.

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[whistle]

1. Neat concept, so a system for 1,000 sq ft costs $12,000 to $14,000

...The payback period for a 20,000 sq foot office that uses florescent lighting say for 10 years would be what then?

[jpak]

2. From the link...

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The system can save about 6,000-kilowatt hours (kWh) per year in lighting and another 2,000 in reduced cooling needs for a total of 8,000 kWh annually, according to Sunlight Direct estimates. Over 10 years, for parts of the country where the utility rates are 10 cents per kWh, that can result in savings up to $8,000 per hybrid solar lighting unit. For large floor spaces -- 100,000 to 200,000 square feet -- this translates into energy cost savings of between $1 million and $2 million over 10 years, according to Sunlight Direct. Operation and maintenance savings could account for another $300,000 in savings over the same period.

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[skids]

3. Other such systems...

http://www.japanfs.org/db/database.cgi?cmd=dp&dp=data_e.html&num=1028
http://sunlight-direct.com/
http://www.solatube.com/