SOLAR LIGHTING

Throughout the 1900s, use of the sun as a source of energy has evolved considerably. Early in the century, the sun was the primary source of interior light for buildings during the day. Eventually, however, the cost, convenience, and performance of electric lamps improved and the sun was displaced as our primary method of lighting building interiors.
Attempts to use sunlight directly for interior lighting via lens collectors, reflective light-pipes, and fiber-optic bundles were the next step.
The most recent technology, Hybrid solar lighting, collects sunlight and routs it through optical fibers into buildings where it is combined with electric light in "hybrid" light fixtures. Sensors keep the room at a steady lighting level by adjusting the electric lights based on the sunlight available. This new generation of solar lighting combines both electric and solar power. Hybrid solar lighting pipes sunlight directly to the light fixture and no energy conversions are necessary, therefore the process is much more efficient. It is currently being developed and tested by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in collaboration with the Department of Energy and several industry partners.
 http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_lighting.html

Fluorescent Light bulbs

Three years ago a Princeton team made one of the best assessments of the strategies needed to curb the current trend of global warming via CO2 emissions. Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow published a paper in Science detailing 15 “stabilization wedges"–changes big enough to really matter, and for which the technology was already available or clearly on the horizon.  Each wedge represented a CO2 decrease of one billion metric tons worldwide.  If we replaced every incandescent bulb that burned out in the next decade anyplace in the world with a compact fluorescent, we'd make an impressive start on one of the 15 wedges.

You can take part in this solution by replacing all of the incandescent bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent bulbs, and save yourself quite a bit of money on your electric bill as well.  Compact fluorescent bulbs can now be found in any hardware store or super market, and the technology has come a long way in the past few years.  No longer do the bulbs flicker on or take a long time to warm up.  The bulbs mimic the light from an incandescent bulb, so a fluorescent bulb is no longer very noticeable when the light is turned on.  And fluorescent bulbs burn for five to ten years before having to be replaced.

In conclusion, I hope that you have found this article both interesting and informative.  All the solutions I have presented are becoming very common in the residential market, and current installation of any of these ideas is no longer considered cutting edge or at all risky.  More information on any of these ideas can be found on the web, or feel free to contact me at joseph.matje@brucebrooks.com.