An efficient closed loop control system to follow, capture and redirect daylight

Abstract

Generally, one of the key requirements of modern buildings, besides an appropriate heating and ventilation, is to offer and maintain a suitable lighting. In this contribution, a description of a system capturing and re-directing sunlight into open spaces inside the building without affecting the inside temperature (isotherm) is given. The system mainly consists of three principal components: a mirror capturing the light of the sun and reflecting it inside the building via a prism system, a printed circuit board with two photovoltaic sensors for positioning the mirror, and finally, a motor rotating the printed circuit board and mirror. A closed-loop control system to track the movement of the sun is proposed. The results show good tracking behavior.