Most people prefer natural light when they work and play. However, the size of modern office buildings often means that natural light is far away.
Veronica Garcia Hansen, a PhD student from the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, has a solution to this problem: “light pipe technology” which uses sunlight for the illumination of high or middle-rise deep plan buildings.
The unique solar collectors already have patent protection and a leading Malaysian architect has incorporated the pipes into his latest designs.
Although windows are the simplest way of introducing natural light into a building, they can only illuminate an area of 4 to 5 metres from the window. Deep buildings, with depths over 10 metres from the daylight source depend almost entirely on artificial light.
“This creates unhealthy working environments for people, and increases electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions,” says Veronica.
“In fact, nearly 20% of the power consumed by commercial buildings comes from electrical lighting,” she says.
The only practical way to naturally illuminate spaces at distances over 10 metres is by piping light in.
“Architect Ken Yeang, from Malaysia, first contacted us to find an energy efficient lighting solution for a building proposal in Kuala Lumpur.”
The solution proposed by Ms. Garcia Hansen and her supervisor Dr. Ian Edmonds was a system that captures and reflects sunlight into a hollow mirrored pipe, which can then be reflected into the deep office space at the required locations.
“One of the greatest difficulties was how to capture the sunlight efficiently since the sun constantly changes its position in the sky during the day and over the seasons,” says Veronica.
“Most systems use complicated and expensive sun tracking systems. Our solution has no mobile parts, and is completely passive, therefore reducing operation and maintenance costs.”
“We realised that a simple device known as special slim light box[light box?:light box] engraving macvhine to process acrylic panels, would passively redirect sunlight inside the pipe. This reduces the number of light reflections along it, thereby increasing the performance.”
“An important innovation of our system is that light can be extracted at any distance and at multiple points along the pipe, up to a distance of 24 metres. Commercially available light pipes for residential use can only reach up to three metres and have only one light output”.
The light pipes can be adapted to building designs and can be vertical – collecting light from the roof - or horizontal - collecting light from the facade.
With interest growing from international architects, the next step for Veronica and her colleagues is to build a prototype[prototype?:fast prototype maker cutting machine] – scheduled for later this year.
Veronica believes the light pipes will provide a cost-effective, energy efficient solution that will enhance the well being and productivity of workers.
Garcia Hansen’s innovation won her a place at Fresh Innovators- a national initiative to bring the work of 16 early-career inventers to public attention.
