With so many recent initiatives aimed at combating climate change, energy prices have obviously taken a hit. To compensate for this change, though, many architects and builders have begun using Daylighting to a great degree in construction.

“Daylighting,” or “daylight harvesting,” has been growing in popularity recently because it uses natural sunlight to its advantage. A number of automated systems are able to measure free natural sunlight and figure out how it should use controlled lighting in relation to that. Then, a system will automatically dim or brighten the lighting so that only artificial light which is needed is used. From an architect’s standpoint, it’s an important thing that the most beneficial entry points of daylight are decided on before construction. North-facing windows are great because they will definitely reduce unwanted glare. A designer, in turn, would decide on a quality lighting control system for dimming indoor light fixtures. There are a lot of systems out there, so deciding on a single one has a lot to do with finding a balance between natural lighting availability and extra electric lighting needs.

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Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California have suggested a plan to drastically reduce global warming, by painting the world white.  If implemented successfully, it would be the equivalent of taking the world’s 600 million cars off the road for 18 years.

Hashem Akbari and Surabi Meno, along with Art Rosenfeld, California Energy Commissioner and Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, are so convinced that their idea will work, that they have proposed a “Cool World” plan that would use white roofs, and solar-reflective roofs of other colors, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help delay atmospheric heating effects.

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Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered a new way of storing energy from sunlight that could lead to ‘unlimited’ solar power.

The process, loosely based on plant photosynthesis, uses solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. When needed, the gases can then be re-combined in a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity whether the sun is shining or not.

According to project leader Prof. Daniel Nocera, “This is the nirvana of what we’ve been talking about for years. Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now, we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon.”

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Scientists have created a new material that could dramatically increase the efficiency of solar cells, by literally capturing every color of the rainbow.

Whereas other materials only catch a small range of light frequencies, and therefore only a small fraction of the potential energy, the new invention is capable of absorbing all the energy contained in sunlight. According to team leader, Prof. Malcolm Chisolm, “There are other such hybrids out there, but the advantage of our material is that we can cover the entire range of the solar spectrum.”

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The material is a computerized lab creation that combines electrically conductive plastic with several metals including molybdenum and titanium. It overcomes the two major roadblocks involved in capturing solar energy: taking in all energy from sunlight and producing easily-capturable electons. Thus, the new material may have the potential to revolutionize how manufactured solar cells obtain energy from the sun.

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For me, sunshine is so important, it makes me smile. Just think, if we could harness sunlight indoors, not only would we cut back on energy bills by twenty percent, we will also be able to nourish ourselves with indoor gardens, that heal. Here are futuristic indoor sunlight options (some visionary research projects) that may become more widely available with time (going counter-clockwise)~

1. This indoor chandelier is brilliant, I’d love to see this available in different sizes and shapes, staying with the cosmic theme.
2. “Turn off the light ~ here comes the sun” is the motto of Parans, who states that their goal is to collect natural sunlight, distributed through fiber optic cables to office work spaces.

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