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It was not until the 20th century that artificial light became our primary source of interior lighting. However this does not mean that we should ignore other lighting options. Two solar lighting options that should be considered are daylighting, hybrid solar lighting and solar lights in an effort to reduce energy consumption. Daylighting techniques primarily collect sunlight and then redistribute it into the interior of a building. Daylighting can provide savings by reducing the requirement artificial lighting. Some common methods/features to incorporate daylighting into a building include sawtooth roofs (many old factories employed this method), clerestory windows, light shelves, skylights and light tubes. Hybrid solar lighting is another solar method of supplying sunlight to the interior of a building. The basic principle behind Hybrid solar lighting systems is to collect sunlight with tracking mirrors (mirrors that track the suns movement throughout the day) and then use optical fibres (or fibres) to transport the light to the interior of a building.
Solar lights are becoming common in todays homes. They rely upon daytime sunlight to charge batteries and then utilise this battery power to provide light when required.
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