Project Description
PROPOSAL FOR VELUX 2020 INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION 1.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION The need to have proper lighting in interior spaces can never be over-emphasized as lighting avails the opportunity to effectively utilize interior spaces and promotes the well-being of the space users. The aim of this project is to effectively lighten up spaces naturally bereft of daylight light like mine tunnels, subway tunnels and basements, with mine tunnels in Africa being the focus of application in this project. Mine tunnels are usually bereft of natural light and usually depend on artificial light sources which may sometimes be electrically powered by alternating current sources like fixed installations or more usually direct current sources like cap lamps as well. The aim of the project is to avail miners the opportunity to enjoy day light as well as enjoy its application at night via luminescent tubes. 1.1 PROBLEM IDENTIFIED Miners often spend prolonged periods in the mine tunnels ranging from hours to days; these tunnels are naturally dark and characterized by slow circulating air levels which is usually saturated with gases from the rocks. Miners in Africa depend largely on their cap lamps for illumination which is not perfectly sufficient for them; others make use of fixed electrical installations which sometimes spark and cause explosions on reaction with flammable gases in the tunnels like methane. All these make their stay in the mines dangerous and quite uncomfortable. This project seeks to help establish some level of visual comfort during both day and night time as well as reduce the dangers attached with electrical installations by harnessing natural light and employing luminescent transparent tubes. 1.2 INTERVENTION As architects, we are charged with the responsibility to solve problems, and so we decided to make these mine tunnels more conducive and safer for these African mine workers who spend a large part of their lives working in these dark mines which happen to be their place of work by which they make a living. Since daylight can be channeled through tubes, we then decided to utilize solar tubes and employ them in introducing sunlight into the mine tunnels. These tubes will be made with transparent luminescent glass which will transport the light via total external reflection to allow natural light to illuminate the interior of the mine tunnel, allowing for proper vision with a good color rendition when compared to other alternative light sources. When the sun is absent, the luminescent tubes produce white light which arises from their exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun. This illumination affords considerable visibility and also good color rendition. This proposal allows for energy efficiency, cost effectiveness and environmental friendliness which constitute sustainability. 2.0 METHOD The method employed in achieving this day and night time illumination is through the use of luminescent transparent solar tubes which operate with the principle of total external reflection which allow them to reflect light within the volume of the tube, thereby creating illumination in the space there-in. The cylindrical tubes are anchored to the roof of the mines and run through the path of the tunnels and are connected to an optical dome which features ray-bender technology of a series of Fresnel lenses which harvest appropriate daylight based on solar position.