Fiber Optics For Lighting?

Like light tubes?

There is something out called the Solar Skylight that does this.

While they have some advantages over traditional skylights, some issues are:

1. Lighting conditions are not consistent through the day. Both intensity and color temperature vary a lot depending on time of day and weather conditions.

2. They are not very practical for multi-floor dwellings.

3. Can be difficult to retrofit in some cases.

4. Provide another weak spot for roof leaks.

5. Provide no light at night. The higher your latitude the worse this gets during the winter months.

Yeah, I've seen those, and they actually work pretty well...............even on a cloudy day they provide enough light to see by.

I'm thinking more along the lines of this, but on a larger scale. It seems that there are many places in which bright lighting during the work day just doesn't make sense anymore.

http://www.archiexpo.com/prod/schott-ag/fiber-optic-lights-for-display-cases-63755-628474.html

Edit- If this is any indication, it would be very expensive.

http://www.del-lighting.com/fiber_optic_chandelier.html

Yes, the expense is up there. The way around it is to promote how much your product would save over a 2-5 yr span. ROI and simple payback are very important in the sales of such items. Hook up with a well known architect that is "going green" with the designs and you might have a win.

They don't provide the foot-candles per wire. This is necessary to meet the OSHA lighting requirements of 30 foot-candles for office spaces (http://shadesbreath.hubpages.com/hub/Workplace-Lighting---Office-Lighting). It would probably take buying the 3mm fiber at $1.17 (USD) per foot and testing it. They have a "sampler pack" for $20 that could be used for testing.

As for getting the light focused on the wires, take the solar tubes mentioned above and put the wires in it. Not sure what length of tube you would need to get the light focused enough for it. Probably not more than a few feet.

Since this is just an idea and could become a "pet project", you could sell the design once completed. I am sure there are some rich people that would be very interested in it for their mansions.

How could it not have occurred to me that OSHA would be involved in office lighting?

Well, thanks for the post. I think the OSHA requirements pretty much knock fiber optics out of the mix for large office buildings. I've always found the ceiling mounted banks of fluorescents to be extremely harsh.

Intelligent design trumps almost every other consideration. In rooms with high ceilings a clerestory can provide glare-free daylight, and fresh air if the windows can be opened.

Although retrofits are generally not as satisfactory as well-thought-out new construction, a good architect can make the effort worthwhile.

It is precidely for multiple level houses, fibre optics would be ideal.

As far as leaking roofs are concerned, it is notnecessary to puncture the roof for entry/exit of optic fibres, sidewalls are good enough/

The biggest problem will be that of focussing the light into the core of optic fibre. Due to the regular rotation of earth this will be difficult. As far as the ups and owns of light from sun is concerned, it is a part of renewable energy system, whether solar photo, thermal, wind, or tides. That is the reasin why fossil fuels with their steady outputs are preferred.

So what happens when the horizon covers over the great, 98 million mile distant lamp? Does everyone have to go home because they no longer have light in their office? I like your idea for a no power lighting supplement but this will not replace the need for electric lighting.

No of course not.

But with all of the threads on here about alternative energy, my common theme has been about reducing consumption. I think the whole notion of finding ways to cut back usage, (of everything), has been a little neglected.

Already done

Well, I guess that settles it.

Thanks. I'll use google to find out where and how.

Three Words: Frank Lloyd Wright

Cool!

Thanks for sharing p911. I agree with 'cool'.

I didn't have a lot of hope for this one, but I was hoping to at least be called an idiot.

Maybe it's just a slow starter...................if it's already being used, where and how?

I wasn't looking to patent the idea...............just some conversation and feedback.

I once heard of some guys growing weed in an underground chamber, using fiber optics to bring the sun in. Not what I'm interested in, but I wonder if it was true, or just another urban legend...................I also heard that they got caught.

But what about for lighting?

I've been fascinated since I was a kid, and first saw a small fiber optic display.

Anybody remember Spencers at the mall?

Light tubes into basement pool.

Light tubes in factories.

The light tubes have been around for a long time & are a virtually loss free method of using natural light. Fibre optic bundles are relatively expensive & have transmission losses but I can imagine having a large parabolic reflector to collect light. This could have a small parabolic reflector at it's focus to give a relatively coherent beam to transmit along a fibre optic bundle.

Light tube is for sunlight piped in. You will be surprised at how many magnitudes higher illumination it provides.

Multimode fibers are used for spot lighting, leaving the heat at the source, guiding the light to wherever you need it. One source serves many lighting spots. Multimode fibers are relatively thick, efficient light transmitters. Not for data transmission.

Not that surprised.

I'm waiting for someone to tell me why it's a really bad idea...............or why it isn't being utilized......................or why it doesn't matter.

We, ( as humans), are looking for the next big thing. I'm not convinced that there's going to be one.

The logical next step, would be to make tiny, incremental steps to create the next big thing. Which in my mind, would be using every aspect of everything.

Why consume ourselves with electricity production, when we should be thinking about light itself?.....................light is a commodity.

Cold is a commodity

Heat is a commodity

We consume ourselves with generating both, while the earth provides them both.

I'm thinking about massive exchanges of cold dry air for warm damp air. Everyone is comfortable throughout the seasons, and we generate electricity through the exchange..................with piping.

I'm probably nuts.

Perhaps those people heating and cooling with, "Heat Pumps ?"

There was a system some years ago we used it in cosmetics. for display systems. truth is makeup and perfume don't like hot cold cycles. It was cold cast optically clear silicone. It only came in 5-6 meter lengths plugged into a single light source and gave a cold light distribution Cant remember the name but it faded into obscurity..the industry would not pay the extra..

Years ago I heard a story similar to this. In that project a parabolic dish was used to concentrate the light on a glass fiber bundle. The light was then to be distributed throughout the building.

the idea should work fine in high direct light regions (can't concentrate the diffuse light).

I never heard of the project again. Wonder what became of the idea.

In use in the UK.. strange as it might seem. Several TV programs that watch folk re-build houses, etc.. employ them, must work as the popularity of these light tubes seem to growing.

From Sleepy.

I posted on this a year or so back, maybe more.

I keep trying to persuade the wife to add a light tube (alternative names now abound) in our central hallway which is a tad dark at some times.

Note that you can add supplemental heating, lighting within the tube and also have the mechanism to reduce the amount of light which might be bothersome under certain conditions. Obviously it is neccesary to get an absolutely tight air/water seal at the roof level. I believe that I have seen these used as supplemental Air Conditioning with a fan in the tube and an appropriate top. This would not provide much light but could provide AC in one of a number of light tubes.

I am less happy at replacing "all those flourescent tubes" in the work place as I would be concerned about light levels and concentration of light in work spaces.

We are mammals that need light and we will badly affect our eyes if we do not look after them.

Thanks for the reminder

Sleepy

The light tubes work really well. Yeah, sometimes too bright.

I don't think piped in light would work in every work environment, but it seems ridiculous to light up an office area as if it was a factory floor, when everyone in there is staring at a computer screen.

I suppose an easier solution would be to just turn off at least 2/3 of the lights during the day.

I guess this is just part of a bigger theme, in which we start to notice how much we waste..............every day.

I had a model railroad locomotive that had a plastic "light pipe" manifold that delivered light to all the running lights and the cab using a single bulb.

I remember being fascinated with these when they first came out.

How efficient would it be to have solar panels powering LED lamps?

Depends on the design.

Not.

However, it is due to costs. The solar panels, controller, and LED lighting costs are very high.

Even grid power and standard lightbulbs are way cheaper than a solar system.

I was thinking along the lines of fiber optic just for ambient lighting. Individual workspaces could just have one of these.

I understand. I was responding to the idea of using solar panels and LEDs as a cheaper alternative to grid power, which they would not be.

No.

I saw these in Home Depot the other day. They look like a good choice for where CFLs just don't work very well.

http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/blogs/philips-ecovantage-efficient-affordable-and-incandescent

1,000 hour life is not all that good.

I didn't buy any. Actually, I have stocked up on enough incandescent bulbs to last a lifetime, if I need them. About $15 worth.

Actually, I have connected a strip of LED lights, all designed to light up with 12 V DC, that uses about 4.8 Watts poer metre, directly to a solar panel. These lights start lighting up at 6 AM (Sun rise time in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, South India) slowly and reach full illuminationaround 7.30 AM. They continue to glow till 5.30 PM or so, and gradually die down. Iam using these lights for the last 4 months continuously along with a 12V DC pedestal fan, connected in parallel, which starts working from 8.30 AM till 4.30 PM. This LED strip cost me around Rs. 100/- (INR) or say $2/-.

My efforts to get a 5/6 Watt LED lamp working on 12 V DC for illumination have not borne fruit. They are either not avaialable or the quote is too costly (Around Rs. 1,000/- per pc. which is far more than even CFL lamps, and CFL lamps are not avialable for DC 12 V supply. Any suggestions would be welcome

Check out marine supply stores. 12 V is popular for boats. See what they use.

I am doing several scratch-building projects and am looking to add lighting to buildings using fiber optic lines. I plan to buy mine from http://www.ledlightinghut.com/other-led-lighting/fiber-optic-lighting.html . Having never used fiber optics, I have a question that if the fiber optic line is bent too sharply (in order to fit in a tight corner), will that affect the brightness of the end light?