Novel technique for solar power illumination using plastic optical fibres

J. Munisami; D. Kalymnios

doi:10.1117/12.799518

23 September 2008 Novel technique for solar power illumination using plastic optical fibres

J. Munisami, D. Kalymnios

Proceedings Volume 7103, Illumination Optics; 71030D (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.799518
Event: Optical Systems Design, 2008, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

Abstract

Plastic Optical Fibres (POF) were developed almost 3 decades ago. They are mainly used for short haul data communications (up to 1 km with data rates up to 1 Gbps). Over the years, POF has found applications in many other areas including solar energy transport for illumination. In such an application, light is collected from the sun and is directed into a space which needs to be illuminated. The use of fibres and more specifically POF, in daylighting systems, started only a few years ago. Several approaches have been investigated and we have seen the development of a few commercial products. The market however, has not really taken off for these technologies simply because of their enormous price tags. It is important to note that the use of POF in these designs has been limited to the function of POF as the transmission medium only. We propose a novel solar illumination technique using POF as both the light collecting/concentrating mechanism and the transmission medium. By modifying the structure of the fibre, solar light can be directed into the fibre by using an analogous process to fibre side emission but, in the reverse. We shall report on the solar light capturing efficiency of POF as modified by several types of external imperfections introduced onto the fibre. One major advantage of our proposed approach lies in the fact that we aim to eliminate at least one of the two axes of sun tracking that is currently used in existing solar illumination systems.

Citation Download Citation

J. Munisami and D. Kalymnios "Novel technique for solar power illumination using plastic optical fibres", Proc. SPIE 7103, Illumination Optics, 71030D (23 September 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.799518

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available