Sustainability: Because Sunlight Is Better For Us Anyway

t's a simple concept really: during the day when the sun is shining your light bulbs don't need to burn as brightly. With that in mind, Nebraska-based Axis Technologies came up with a product to improve efficiency and cut electrical costs at the same time. The Axis Daylight Harvesting Dimming Ballast works with fluorescent lights in commercial buildings; the company says it can improve energy efficiency by up to 70 percent on sunny days and can cut as much as a third off the building's electrical bill.

In lighting systems, a ballast is the device that converts the voltage that comes out of the electrical socket into a current the fluorescent light can use. The Axis ballast is installed much like any other ballast, but its potential for decreased energy usage is twofold. First, a dipswitch attached to the ballast allows all the lights to be dimmed by a certain increment (say 40 percent). More importantly, a photocell on the ballast itself measures the amount of sunlight in the room and adjusts the level of fluorescent lighting accordingly.

Click here for the full article: Fast Company