Solar "light bulbs» Sunpipe

Invention of which we want to tell - is not new. He is 9 years old. But when we found out about it, then immediately sold on its elegant simplicity, combined with high efficiency. No wonder this "curiosity" sell in 16 countries. The British company Monodraught specializes in equipment for buildings, which allows them to use the things Mother Nature, more fully implement solar and wind energy for lighting and ventilation of buildings. However, it is not about wind power plants or solar panels. The company has focused on finding more affordable "green" solutions. Take, for instance light. In many homes - residential cottages and offices, schools and industrial buildings - full of domestic premises, toilets, bathrooms, corridors and cellars in which artificial lighting around the clock. Imagine that these facilities are no walls, facing outwards, where they could cut through at least a small window. From light bulbs to incandescent Ilyich Sun can make at least a day of such room not burning electricity? The idea to hold such a confined space of the natural sunlight in the air long ago. Yes, and already being implemented. Here and there. But how? System of mirrors is not very efficient at large distances from the roof (or exterior wall) to the destination, to the same - it is cumbersome and imposes greater restrictions on the layout of the premises and the construction walls. Optical fibers? Such examples are known. But imagine how much needed fiber to spend a lot of light even in a small room. Remember the feeble light-night-lights with a beam of fibers. Expensive solution. But the British offer original set SunPipe. On the roof (wall) is set the receiver window (provided by many of its various shapes and sizes), which is partially covered by sediments transparent hood made of a polymeric material, the clipping ultraviolet. Some of these domes are called the Diamond Dome because of its faceted form. From the hood (or canopy) in the bowels of the building is empty pipe, made of aluminum with a wall thickness of 0,5 mm. Inside this tube is covered with thin silver-plated and polished to a mirror shine. Thus, light, and travels to the end of the tube-fiber. In case of placing input domes on the south side of the wall (slope roofs), the brightness of lighting inside is very significant, does not include allowing the lamp to the evening. But most importantly, thanks to a good internal reflection, a pipe can be bent at least 90 degrees, without a noticeable loss of light. Thus, using SunPipe can cover the cellars. Light and shadow SunPipe There must be added that provides cover, covering such a lamp from the room if it needs to be darkened. And the British offer to embed directly into the tube light bulbs, to work at night to the room did not need to mount more and ordinary light. People who use the system SunPipe many years, they say that no problems with it there (there simply is nothing to break), pay for electricity is reduced and, moreover, have, for example, in the bathroom, located in the back of the house, natural light - just nice. Such pipes to complement the company offers a ventilation system Windcatcher - another example of the use of natural resources. Ventilation tower on the roof contains several separate vertical channels for air, opening on opposite sides of the world. Any way or the wind blew - on both sides of the towers will always create a pressure difference, through which the flow of fresh air will run down one channel and the flow of air from the house - up and out (on the next channel, obviously) . So again, the main principle is being implemented this technical miracle - useful work without the cost and no moving parts. Some pipes SunPipe mounted on the ceiling, even in rooms where windows is - to raise the level of illumination, and again conserve energy. The same is true for wind ventilation, which can perfectly complement the other systems. A system Monovent engineers crossed his two previous inventions - in the center of the mirror pipe to the house is light and, through its double outer walls - air. The company claims that in many buildings (especially public), where many internal rooms without windows, its lighting system saves 75% of the electricity that this house would have been spent in the daytime without SunPipe.