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September 1, 2006

New Solar Hybrid Product Successful in Field Tests

by Stephen Lacey, RenewableEnergyAccess.com
Peterborough, New Hampshire [RenewableEnergyAccess.com]

Hybrid Solar Lighting, a new product developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), is being tested in five locations around the U.S. with another 20 test sites planned for the coming months.

"We've received a very favorable response from a number of organizations from New York to California who are field testing this product."

- Melissa Lapsa, ORNL Solar Technologies Manager, speaking on RenewableEnergyAccess.com's Inside Renewable Energy podcast.

"We've received a very favorable response from a number of organizations from New York to California who are field testing this product," said Melissa Lapsa, ORNL Solar Technologies Manager, speaking on RenewableEnergyAccess.com's Inside Renewable Energy podcast.

Hybrid Solar Lighting is designed to work in tandem with existing lighting systems in large retail stores, offices, and schools. The initial cost for a system is $24,000, but the price will go down in the future as the product moves out of the testing phase. At the conclusion of the beta field tests, ORNL will be publishing a report on Hybrid Solar Lighting for the Department of Energy.

Retail stores are interested in the product because they believe the natural lighting will increase sales. Schools and offices like the product because of its potential to increase productivity and lower energy costs.

Want to learn more about how this product works? Check out this week's episode of Inside Renewable Energy at the link below. Also in the cast: Vote Solar Initiative's Co-Founder Adam Browning talks about activism in the solar industry.
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Reader Comments (10)
 
No image available
September 1, 2006
who would i contact about getting this product on trial for a large scale project in New Zealand, if you could put me in contact would be greatly appriciated
thanks
jason tweedie
Comment 1 of 10
No image available
September 1, 2006
Great idea! $24,000 for this system, not counting installation and labor charges... The 30% federal tax credit is great, but there are no passive solar rebates or incentives available for this product, which means state, non-profits and gov applications will be a tough sell at full dollar, and lower than consumer electric charges.
Or, Am I wrong about rebates or incentives??
Comment 2 of 10
No image available
September 2, 2006
Sorry Jason, looks like this web site does not allow putting company web sites on the discussion forum, as that is considered promotional. I guess.
Try going to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory web site, and enter "Hybrid Solar Lighting" in the search engine on their web page. Keep following the links until you get where you want to get. Hope it works for you. - Glenn
Comment 3 of 10
No image available
September 2, 2006
Hi Jason. This is what I could find out. Dr. Duncan Earl, an employee of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has started a company to manufacture and test the Hybrid Solar Lighting. So far, it is the only company making the product, according to the ORNL website. The company can be found on the internet at . Clicking on "contact us", there were lots of ways to contact the company mentioned. Hope this has been helpful. - Glenn Andersen
Comment 4 of 10
No image available
September 6, 2006
thanks glen for the comments, will lokk into it now and get back to you. thanks.

jason
Comment 5 of 10
No image available
September 6, 2006
Isn't the other reason this is better than skylights that skylights only work on the top floor? In northern climes skylights let in both heat and cold (especially at night) - sometimes thats good and sometimes not so good.

I'd have thought that this system lets in heat associated with the light, unless it somehow filters out the infra-red. Does anyone know whether it does? It would be great, if you could turn such a filter on or off, depending on the outside temperature.
Comment 6 of 10
No image available
September 6, 2006
The reason it may be better than skylights is skylights let a lot of heat in.
Comment 7 of 10
No image available
September 6, 2006
Um, besides the 30% tax credit, why is this better than skylights?
Comment 8 of 10
No image available
September 7, 2006
Many fiber optic materials do not transmit IR very well, so heat probably is not being transmitted in this application.
Comment 9 of 10
No image available
September 13, 2006
soon it will be affordable to go solar and i am very happy. what about lineing the light shaft that is framed in by the carpenter (the space between actual glass and celing where the drywall is) with solar cells? no roof penitrations and no need to protect the solar cells from the weather .
Comment 10 of 10
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