Natural Lighting System Using Fiber Optics for Energy Efficiency

The sunlight's utilization as an illumination supply for lighting inside the building has expanded significantly since the 1900s. Lighting holds an integral part of the total electricity usage in a building. It is also one of the scopes with numerous ways to increase energy effectiveness by lowering energy usage. Hence, a natural lighting system is recommended to curtail electrical energy consumption for illumination throughout the daytime. This work aims to create a natural lighting system model to direct and address natural illuminance into challenging and complicated buildings. In this work, solar energy from the sun is conducted towards the fiber optics package's edge by utilizing a convex lens. This system aims to lower electrical-based lighting consumption during daytime illumination by transmitting the solar light over fiber optics. According to the sun's position, the system is sustained by an optic directional controller to guarantee the utmost connected illuminance. The control system would assure the highest illuminance accumulation also automatically turn on the electricity-based illumination if the acquired natural light did not satisfy the sufficient lux. The PIC16F877A microcontroller was used as a processor to power the tracking device engine. The percentage of the reduction in energy usage for daytime lighting was obtained. The obtained results show that this system will save energy during the day by 57%. Therefore, this paper represents a notable improvement in optical fiber natural lighting systems' commercialization in energy-saving and cost reduction.