AN INTEGRATED ANAMORPHIC DAYLIGHTING ROOF APERTURE (ADRA) SYSTEM BASED ON NON-IMAGING OPTICAL COMPONENTS

THERE ARE THREE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCE STATE-OF-THE-ART DAYLIGHTING SYSTEMS FOR INTERIOR ILLUMINATION. THIS PORJECT WILL DEVELOP A NON-TRACKING, INTEGRATED ANAMORPHIC DAYLIGHTING ROOF APERTURE (ADRA) SYSTEM THAT WILL INCORPORATE EACH OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE BASED ON THE INTEGRATION OF NEW NON-IMAGING OPTICAL COMPONENTS AND LOW-LOSS PLASTIC FIBERS FOR DELIVERING SOLAR LIGHT TO BUILDING INTERIORS. THE FIRST NEW COMPONENT WILL BE AN ANAMORPHIC NON-IMAGING LIGHT COLLECTOR WHICH TRANSFORMS ELLIPTICAL BEAMS INTO CIRCULAR BEAMS AND ACHIEVES THE THEORETICAL LIMIT OF LIOUVILLE'S CONCENTRATION PRINCIPLE. ONLY ANAMORPHIC CONCENTRATORS CAN EFFECTIVELY COLLECT SOLAR LIGHT FOR DIFFERENT LATITUDINAL AND SZIMUTHAL SOLAR ANGLES WITHOUT MECHANICAL TRACKING. ADDITIONALLY, NON-IMAGING COLLECTORS WILL ALSO BE USED AS BEAM EXPANDERS IN THE BUILDING'S INTERIOR. THEY WILL BE COMBINED WITH UNIQUE HOLOGRAPHIC NON-LAMBERTIAN BEAM-SHAPING DIFFUSERS. THESE DIFFUSERS CAN IMPROVE LIGHTING EFFICIENCY BY DISTRIBUTING LIGHT TO ONLY A SELECTED LIMITED SOLID ANGLE, WHICH IS OPTIMUM FOR OFFICE ILLUMINATION. THESE DIFFUSERS DO NOT EXHIBIT ANY SIGNIFICANT BACK SCATTERING LOSSES AND CAN BE MASS REPLICATED USING LOW COST EMBOSSING TECHNIQUES. PHASE I WILL COMBINE THESE COMPONENTS WITH LOW-LOSS PLASTIC FIBERS TO PRODUCE EFFICIENT COMPACT DAYLIGHTING SYSTEMS, WHICH CAN BE READILY INCORPORATED INTO ROOF STRUCTURES. THE RESULTING ADRA SYSTEM WILL BE MODULAR AND VERSATILE WHICH WILL MAKE IT IDEALLY SUITED FOR INTEGRATION WITH ELECTRICAL AND HEATING, VENTILATING, AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS AND ELECTRONIC NETWORKS.