Firstlight Energy Hybrid Lighting System

Using optical fibres, FirstLight Energy's solar lighting system (the HSL3000) delivers high quality sunlight and provides a revolutionary alternative to conventional day lighting. Unlike skylights and windows, the HSL3000 allows the user to control where and how sunlight is used within a building and provides supplemental electric lighting to automatically maintain a constant level of illumination.

The HSL3000's solar collector consists of a two-axis tracking mechanism that supports a 1.22 metre diameter plastic primary mirror, a smaller secondary mirror, and a fibre optic receiver unit. The collector tracks the sun using a microprocessor based controller that accurately calculates the position of the sun given the local GPS co-ordinates and the local time.

                                                           

The collector can be mounted to a building rooftop through either an integrated structural mount or a portable mounting system The power required by the collector can likewise be tied into the building power or generated separately using a solar photovoltaic panel. The collector requires minimal maintenance and is designed to handle adverse environmental conditions.

 

Light gathered with the two-mirror collector system is focused into the end of a fibre optic receiver. The fibre optic receiver consists of special optics that allow only visible light to be concentrated into a 1.5" diameter bundle of plastic optical fibres. The bundle is actually a grouping of 127 smaller 1/8" diameter fibres. The amount of light emitted from just two of these fibres is equivalent to a typical 50W incandescent bulb and it is cool to the touch.

 

Key Benefits of the system:-

 

Improves workforce productivity

Reduces absenteeism

Reduces incidence of SAD

Saves energy

Reduces CO2 emissions

Natural light without heat of electric lights

Increases sales in a retail environment

Extends the life of conventional light bulbs

 

Conventional day lighting techniques, such as windows and skylights, lack the control and flexibility of the HSL3000. With conventional techniques, issues such as glare, over or under illumination, water leakage / condensation, heat loss, and architectural constraints can often limit their application.

The HSL3000 uses active solar tracking and optical fiber transport to eliminate all of these disadvantages and provide a fully controlled and flexible alternative. The removal of non-visible wavelengths from the collected sunlight also eliminates unwanted heating due to infrared light and product fading due to ultraviolet rays common in conventional day lighting systems.

The HSL3000 imposes minimal architectural constraints, maintains a constant illumination level, and can easily be integrated into an existing building’s lighting scheme. Incorporating the HSL3000 into building plans requires only the inclusion of a centrally located mounting post per 1000 square feet (see back side for more details).

The HSL3000 has been designed to work with many of today’s most common electrical lighting fixtures and lamps. Whether your business uses fluorescent, metal halide, or halogen lamps, various HSL3000 compatible luminaires are available to help meet your lighting requirements. As such, a building with a pre-existing electric lighting scheme can easily be converted into a Hybrid Solar Lighting system with minimal disruptions.