For owners of their own homes, a new device, light-guiding pipes, has recently appeared, which can be used as a replacement for skylights, which is cheaper and requires less labor.
If you're thinking about adding some sunlight to your kitchen or dark hallway, then a solar chimney might be the way to go. It will cost only a fraction of the cost of installing a skylight and will bring pleasant daylight to the right room.
How it works
Known by various names: solar tube, light pipe, light tunnel is a metal tube with a diameter of usually 25 cm to 35 cm with a polished inner surface. The inner surface acts as a continuous mirror, transmitting light along its entire length and maintaining its intensity. Reception of light rays occurs on the roof and then they are sent to the inside of the house.
A plastic sphere is installed on the roof above the pipe to protect it from the weather. The pipe ends with a diffuser on the ceiling of the room where it is led. The sphere collects light from the outside, the diffuser distributes it with an even white glow. The result is amazing, with a recent installation, owners often reach for the light switch when leaving the room.
Price
Such systems are just appearing in our country and their cost is still quite large, but the cost reduction is a matter of time. In Australia and the USA, such systems have already established themselves in the market and competition has begun, leading to a decrease in cost. In the US, the cost with installation is an average of $500, it is worth noting that they have an average cost of installing a roof window of $2,000. As a result, light guide tubes are becoming more and more popular. For those who climb onto the roof for installation themselves, the system kit costs only $150 to $250. And here everything is easier compared to skylights, no new drywall inserts, painting, changes in frame elements are needed.
How much light?
Light from a pipe with a diameter of 25 cm, the smallest option, is approximately equal to lighting from three 100-watt lamps, which will be enough to illuminate a room of 20 square meters. m. With a diameter of 35 cm, there will be enough light for an area of \u200b\u200babout 28 square meters. m.
What made by hand costs about $200 and looks much better! In addition, the chandelier is controlled by a remote control and can be successfully used for information notification.
Note : Sometimes the photos do not exactly match what is described in the step.
Step 1: Equipment and tools
- Sheets of black plexiglass 50*50 cm and thickness 4-6 mm.
- 200 glass beads diameter 1.7cm;
- 3 W RGB LEDs with remote control;
- Plastic container;
- Heat shrink tubing;
- IR receiver;
- Epoxy adhesive;
- Chain;
- transition pipe;
- 120 m fiber optic cable;
- wires;
- Adhesive tape;
- Black paint;
- screws;
- Three-pin electrical plug/socket;
- Lamp socket.
Tools:
- grinding disc;
- Drill and drills;
- Hot glue gun;
- Engraver with nozzle;
- Saw;
- Electric jigsaw;
- Varnish and paint brushes;
- Hacksaw;
- Plane;
- Compass;
- Vise;
- Plasticine;
Step 2: Wood Base Top - Part 1
Using a compass, draw a circle with a radius 225 mm. Then cut it out with a hacksaw.
We grind the edges of the circle with a disc grinder.
To complete the decoration, paint the upper side black (in three layers).
Electronics :
Cut a hole large enough in diameter to accommodate a three-prong socket.
Then fix it with screws.
Set the plastic box on the wooden circle. Drill holes for four short 7 mm screws.
Connect the wires from the power supply to the lamp base.
The photo does not take into account the fact that the lamp is in a plastic box. Since these photos were taken after the project was completed.
Step 3: Wood Base Top - Part 2
Let's take a chain and cut it into three sections, each of them is 25 cm.
In a wooden base, drill three holes in 20 cm from the center. These holes, if properly drilled, will form an equilateral triangle.
Insert the eye stud (with a washer on the top and bottom) into the drilled hole and tighten with a nut.
Place the ends of the chains in each loop.
Install the opposite ends in carabiners.
The suspension mechanism is ready.
The support posts will support the Plexiglas plates.
Use a planer and sandpaper to make the surface of the bar smooth.
Apply varnish to the supporting parts to further protect them from moisture.
Let's make marks on the bar every 7 cm(a total of 42 cm), and then cut the workpiece into 6 parts.
Now we will place six hexagon-shaped blocks along the lines on the plexiglass plates between the 3rd and 4th rings.
The last photo is the only picture that shows exactly how all the supports should look at the end of all the operations done.
Step 4: Perspex Plate - Part 1
Draw a circle with a radius 225 mm.
Use a jigsaw to cut out the circle and a sander to clean up the edges.
Now you need to divide the workpiece into five rings. They will separate the chandelier, creating multi-level transitions.
Workpiece marking:
- Draw the first circle with a diameter 205 mm, slightly scratching the circle, then draw the outline with a pencil;
- The second circle is the radius 160 mm;
- Third circle - radius 115 mm;
- The fourth circle is the radius 70 mm;
- Fifth circle - diameter 50 mm.
The width between the marks on the circles is 20 mm.
Step 5: Perspex Plate - Part 2
The circumference of the fifth ring = diameter (5 cm) x π = 15.7 cm. (Round the number to avoid any error when working with tools).
Diameter of each glass ball 1.7 cm. Therefore: 15.0 / 1.7 = 8 pcs. The ring used 7 balls to create a small gap between each element.
Repeat this procedure for each ring, making sure to leave the required gap between the balls.
It's time to make marks on the rings where the balls will be located.
To do this (the fifth ring is considered as an example), we take 7 glass balls, plasticine and attach the balls to the workpiece. After that, we circle their outline with a pencil.
Make sure the pencil is perpendicular to the base. After that, mark the centers of future holes.
Repeat this procedure for the remaining four rings.
After all places are marked, using a drill 0.5 mm drill a hole.
Step 6: Light Box
The light source and receiver are inside the box.
Mark the center at the end of the plastic box. We drill a hole of the same cross section as the diameter of the base. Install the pipe adapter on the opposite end of the box.
Now let's install the IR sensor on the pre-existing terminal. (Sorry, no photo).
We cut three wires with a length of 20 cm each.
Clean up the ends of the wires.
Let's connect one wire to the lead to an existing IR sensor
Close the connection with heat shrink tubing and then twist it with wire (no soldering required).
Attach the appropriate wires to the IR sensor and apply heat shrink tubing.
Install the lamp in the light box and close it. Now we can screw the light box onto the wooden base using the screws and pilot holes we made earlier.
Step 7: Mounting the Balls
In this step, we will use an engraver with a spherical nozzle.
Let's make a conductor that will hold the balls (two clamps are attached to the wood). The whole structure is very stable, in addition, it allows you to work freely with tools.
Let's repeat the procedure 180 times!!! Yes, I know it will take the most time, but be patient even when some of them break...
Step 8: Cut the fiber
Exists 5 levels optical fiber.
Using a centimeter and scissors, cut the fiber in accordance with the table:
- 7x - 75 cm of thread + 10 cm = 85 cm each;
- 21x - 60cm thread + 15cm = 75cm;
- 35x - 45cm thread + 20cm = 65cm;
- 50x - 30cm thread + 25cm = 55cm;
- 64x - 15cm thread + 30cm = 45cm.
CAUTION!: This is the length of each fiber, including the bead. In order for each layer to connect to the light box, you must add extra length to the fiber to mount it into the system.
Step 9: Installing the Threads
Let's pick up the bundles. For example, 7x 85cm or 50x 55cm will be joined with heat shrink tubing to hold them together. Repeat these steps for all other groups.
Take 7x 85cm of yarn and thread each strand through the hole on the inner ring of the bottom plate.
You must pull all the threads through one hole! This will allow much better light transmission and mount the threads in a closed case.
To make an even end cut, heat the spatula with a blowtorch until it is hot enough to melt the fibers.
Step 10: Installing the Balls
For fastening, you must use epoxy, not super glue.
Set the fibers in the hole and press everything down with tape to make a small cradle for the ball. The cradle should “hug” the ball and bear the weight of the glass, thus allowing the glue to dry. I recommend wrapping with a second layer of tape to avoid the chance of losing stiffness.
The final effect is that you don't see the glue, the fiber magically touches the glass when viewed from below and from the side.
Step 11: Basic Decorations
Pieces of plexiglass long 303 mm, divided into 3 parts and cut with a band saw, their width is 30 mm.
Divide the squares into 3 equal parts
Use a saw to cut out these rectangles
Take off the paper from the plexiglass
We attach the plates with superglue to a wooden base, use a square for precise alignment.
Repeat this procedure for all 47 pieces.
Step 12: End result
This turned out to be unusual craft —
This is a unique energy-saving lighting equipment that is a full green technology and conducts natural sunlight through a light pipe through the roof to interior spaces where there is no possibility to install windows or there is not enough daylight. Solatube® systems are skylights and roof windows of the new generation.
Traditional methods of organizing natural lighting often do not allow filling the premises with comfortable and uniform lighting without blinding brightness, as well as without violating the thermophysical properties of building envelopes. Windows are always tied to the cardinal points: for example, a window on the north side will not allow you to get enough sunlight, and on the south side we will get blinding brightness and high heat gain.
On the contrary, Solatube® light guides provide energy-efficient, uniform and comfortable illumination of rooms with natural sunlight throughout the day. Especially when the diffuser is located in the center of the ceiling. Solatube® systems do not conduct heat and cold into the room, there are no leaks and condensate.
In addition, providing indoors with more natural light has a beneficial effect on the well-being and health of the people in the room. After all, we receive 90% of information through the organs of vision, and sunlight plays a huge role in this process. Therefore, improving the organization of natural lighting contributes to an increase in working capacity even in cases where the labor process practically does not depend on visual perception.
Moreover, sanitary standards (SanPiN 2.2.1 / 2.1.1.1278-03) provide for the presence of full-fledged natural lighting in workplaces where a person spends more than 4 hours a day. Evaluations of the effectiveness of the Solatube® CCO application carried out abroad showed an increase in personnel productivity by 16%. Workers exposed to natural light experience 20% fewer symptoms of various diseases and improved well-being. That is, in addition to energy saving, the use of this lighting technology makes it possible to provide such characteristics of ecological construction as comfort and environmental friendliness (since this equipment does not have a negative impact on the environment).
System elements
The system is a light-receiving dome with lenses that capture and redirect the rays down into the light guide, which passes through the under-roof space. Repeatedly reflected, the light enters the room through the ceiling lamp-diffuser and evenly illuminates the room.
Efficiency
The dome of the system is able to capture not only direct sunlight, but also collects light from the entire hemisphere, providing exceptional illumination of the premises even on cloudy days, winter months, early morning and late afternoon when the sun is low above the horizon, which traditional light openings are not capable of. Installation of systems is possible at any stage of construction and operation of the building.
Light transmission
Solatube® lighting systems transmit light over a distance of more than 20 meters without spectrum shift in the range of 400 nm ÷ 830 nm with an energy loss of no more than 17%. This is currently the highest rate in the world.
energy saving
Solatube® systems have energy-saving properties, do not conduct heat and cold into the room and are elements of capital construction. Thanks to their technical properties, Solatube® systems reduce the energy costs of lighting and air-conditioning the buildings in which they are installed by up to 70%.
Thermal conductivity
The Solatube® system provides good thermal insulation. Its unique features such as the dual dome system, Raybender® 3000 refraction technology and Spectralight® Infinity light guide coating combine to produce the most energy efficient daylighting system on the market today, with a thermal conductivity of less than 0.2 W/m*S.
Warranty and service life
Solatube® systems, thanks to the use of modern high technologies in their manufacture, have a 10-year warranty period and an unlimited service life. When installed in any structure, they become elements of capital construction and cannot be replaced during the entire life of the building.
Application
The system is installed on any type of roofing in premises of any purpose (from private to industrial and commercial). Solatube® systems have been successfully operating for more than ten years in many Russian cities in buildings for various purposes. The most significant pilot projects using Solatube® systems include:
* Kindergartens (Krasnodar, Slavyansk-on-Kuban, Izhevsk, Sredneuralsk);
* Secondary school No. 35 (Krasnodar);
* Nizhny Novgorod Law Academy (Nizhny Novgorod);
* Ural House of Science and Technology (Yekaterinburg);
* Therapeutic complex "Vityaz" (Anapa);
* Hospital of the North Caucasus Railway (Rostov-on-Don);
* Sochi Infectious Diseases Hospital (Sochi);
* Station complex "Anapa" (Anapa);
* The building of the Marine Station (St. Petersburg);
* Scientific and adaptation building and Oceanarium (Vladivostok, Russian island);
* Administrative building and workshops of the Mars plant (Moscow, Ulyanovsk);
* IKEA offices in the MEGA shopping center (Krasnodar, Moscow);
* Danone offices (Moscow region);
* Offices "FASION HOUSE Outlet Center" (Moscow region);
as well as other facilities in various regions of Russia.
The unique "solar well" technology, which was invented back in the 90s of the last century, is capable of delivering natural light to the darkest corners without energy loss and in any weather. Even rooms without windows can get their portion of sunlight if you install special tubular light guides with a fantastic level of reflection, reaching 99.5%!
In recent decades, mankind has been mastering new technologies for energy transportation, a striking example of such developments was the invention of the "solar well" system. This technology allows not only to minimize the use of energy resources generated by power plants, but also to preserve people's health, because everyone knows about the negative impact of artificial lighting on the human body.
Since the 1990s, some countries have been actively implementing these technologies, thereby reducing energy consumption by 40%.
What is a "solar well", how does it work and what benefits does it bring to people?
This unique system consists of a structure built into the roof (facade) of a building from one or more hermetic hollow tubular light guides that have an internal reflection coefficient of 99.5% or more.
Thanks to this technology, this installation allows you to deliver natural light in the daytime with virtually no loss and any weather, even in the darkest back room.
The main components of this unique system are:
Transparent dome built into the roof (facade);
- light interception system with optical reflective devices,
changing the direction of the light flux;
- roof adapter, which ensures the tightness of the roof (facade);
- a light guide and a diffuser that allows you to scatter the flow of light.
The principle of operation of this kind of optical funnel is as follows: light passing through the transparent dome is reflected from the walls of the light guide and moves to the diffuser. In order to reduce the number of reflections, the reflective device is installed at a special, most favorable angle. Thanks to this design, natural light has the ability to enter the light guide in any weather during the daytime, capturing the flow of light rays from the lowest angle of the horizon.
Installing a "solar well" is absolutely not a complicated process, but still it should be done by a specialist.
Installation of the system on the roof or facade of the building is carried out using a roof adapter, which is mounted in the floor or wall and prevents moisture from entering the room. The length of the tubular light guide can be adjusted, which allows you to supply light not only to the room located directly under the roof itself, but also to rooms on the lower levels, up to the basement. The width can also vary, depending on the needs of energy consumption.
This lighting option has many advantages, ranging from ease of installation and operation of the system itself (there is nothing to break in it and energy costs are 0%), and ending with a reduction in electricity consumption by almost 40%.
The action of such a design has a positive effect not only on saving money and protecting the environment, but also significantly reduces the harmful effects of artificial lighting on human health.
Homegrown kulibins managed to create such structures using only ... plastic bottles filled with water!
Mechanic Alfredo Moser (Alfredo Moser) from Brazil in 2002, based on this technology, created the simplest design of a "solar well" using an ordinary plastic bottle filled with water.
The idea is absolutely simple - you need to drill a hole of the required diameter in the roof, install a two-liter plastic bottle of water into it, observing the conditions of complete sealing in order to avoid moisture entering the room.
That's all - the lamp for the garage, cottage or basement is ready! By the way, such a solar spotlight can replace a 40-60 watt incandescent lamp.
Incoming electricity bills are a headache for most consumers, because you have to pay for the benefits of civilization. We all do not want to give up the microwave, water heater or air conditioner. Turns out there are a lot of tricks.
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