Hybrid Lighting Technology Shows Potential for Energy Efficiency and Savings

Building Operating Management Magazine

A newly-developed hybrid lighting technology pioneered by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) could save facilities thousands of dollars annually in lighting costs, according to ORNL.

Five hybrid solar lighting systems are already in place and another 20 are scheduled to be installed, ORNL says.

The technology collects sunlight and pipes it into buildings using bundles of small optical fibers, resulting in potentially significant energy savings in lighting and maintenance costs.

The system can save about 6,000 kilowatt hours per year in lighting and another 2,000 in reduced cooling needs for a total of 8,000 kilowatt hours annually, according to estimates by Sunlight Direct, a company that licensed the technology from ORNL.

Over 10 years, for parts of the country where the utility rates are 10 cents per kilowatt hour, 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.

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