a huge mirror collector whose goal is to reduce the score

As Elon Musk commented a few months ago, “We have a giant fusion reactor in the sky.” Harnessing the benefits of the Sun is one of the priorities of industries such as energy through the installation of new solar panels and research to make them more efficient, but on the user side we have also recently had good news due to an interesting drop in prices due to increased production in China. But… what if, in addition to using the Sun to generate electricity and heat, we could illuminate spaces better and stop relying so heavily on artificial light?

This is where mirrors and systems come into play, allowing us to redirect outside light into interior spaces. And the creation of the Israeli company Solight is very interesting.

Skylight has come for more. Using mirrors to redirect sunlight is nothing new. It was used in homes in ancient times, and a good example is heliostat fields like the one we can see in the PS10 factory in Seville. Now, when it comes to interior lighting, a design or system is needed to transmit this reflected light. There are projects that capture light and transmit it through optical fiber, but there are also others, simpler (in concept), that play with mirrors.

This is where we need to talk about Solight, an Israeli startup that was partially funded by European funds and they have a system called SOLIS. The SOLar solar lighting system is a structure that has a row of mirrors at one end and a reflective interior that can fill a building with light. And according to its creators, it is focused on profitability and people-centricity.

Data. Ofer Bekker, project coordinator and technical director at Solight, says his system is maintenance-free and capable of delivering up to 40,000 lmen per square meter. They say this doubles the power of direct competitors and allows them to offer full spectrum light without heat or UV rays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. This will depend on the region, since, for example, in Spain such a graph is not particularly impressive.

Where Becker elaborates a little more is with percentages. According to their research, this will save up to 40% of energy in buildings such as supermarkets or office buildings. This is logical since the idea is to optimize sunlight that cannot optimally penetrate through windows, so with such a system the dependence on artificial lighting will be reduced.

Circadian rhythm. However, the company also claims that using its system will increase productivity in offices by 18%, make students learn 26% faster in schools and allow 41% faster recovery in hospitals. Without going into the sources of these percentages, this makes sense.

We are not here to find out the importance of the Sun in the life cycle of any living thing, but better exposure to sunlight has been proven to improve mood and imply better health due to the nutrients our skin absorbs. . and we become more naturally aware of the passage of time. If we are exposed to artificial light all day, our body is not fully aware of the passage of time and this affects our biological clock.

Vitamin D? One of the characteristics of the system is that, as we already mentioned, it is able to block both heat and ultraviolet radiation. While blocking out heat is very interesting (for example, to keep the temperature of your home from rising during heat waves), the absence of UV radiation may not be as beneficial.

The reason is that UVB rays play an important role in the development of organisms. For us, this means that they activate previtamin D, which is subsequently converted into vitamin D. And the company is already working on this for new versions of the system. In fact, they state that “we can provide a small dose of UVB radiation to help solve the global problem of vitamin D deficiency.”

Three formats. Having said all that, let’s take a look at what they offer with SOLIS. The company currently has three systems targeting classrooms, hospitals, homes, shopping centers and industrial environments, and has solutions for each need:

• SOLIS Mini DIY: High efficiency 3:1 collector with 1/16 square meter aperture and 2000 lumens. Suitable for spot lighting of basements and small houses.
• Solight Universal Collector: Another 3:1 efficiency collector that produces an average light output of 7,000 lumens, suitable for rooms ranging from 12 to 15 square meters. They claim that it allows light to be transported over a distance of more than five meters without loss.
• Solight Industrial Manifold: The largest with an opening area of ​​1 square meter and an average flow of 30,000 lumens for large areas. In this case, the transport distance is 20 meters.

Looking to the future. The company is currently looking to expand beyond its home country and has markets such as Japan and China in mind, as well as Europe, where it has received significant funding.

And, as we said, this is not something new. You don’t have to leave Spain to find other companies offering something similar, and even systems like Sunflowers that orient mirrors based on the position of the Sun to give more light to lower floors or interiors, for example.

Images | Solight

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