Hybrid lighting concept illuminated by DOE

17 Jun 2002

Artificial lighting consumes about $75 billion, or about a fourth of the nation's electric bill, but that may change because of a new type of lighting being developed bythe Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and several partners. The hybrid lighting concept combines natural and artificial light byusing collectors to capture sunlight and waveguides to transmit the light to special fixtures. These fixtures are fitted with fluorescent tubes and natural light tubes toproduce the desired light output.

"Hybrid lighting holds great promise for improving quality and efficiency of lighting," said ORNL's Art Clemons, co-developer and a member of the EngineeringTechnology Division. "Even a modest improvement could result in significant savings."