Solar concentration based indoor daylighting system to achieve net zero sustainable buildings

In this work we examine the important daylighting systems in the last decade and also discuss the potential of some practical viable daylighting systems which can be commercialized in the near future. The available review on daylighting is either related to fiber-based daylighting or light pipe-based daylighting systems. The discussion on solar concentrators and heat management systems for optical fibers is not widely covered in the literature. In this paper, various type of solar concentrator used for collection of sunlight for daylighting is also discussed. Among all, Fresnel lens based solar concentration is gaining interest due to its light weight, cost effective and ease of installation. Computer based programming methods had been used for daylighting in the past to estimate and measure the daylight level into the rooms. However, the real experimental and weather conditions play a vital role for any daylighting system. Although the development of daylighting system is still expensive due to the cost of transmission medium like silica-based fiber as transmission medium, however the research progress in the area of daylighting system would achieve low-cost system in the near future. This paper also aims to provide technical barriers, environment aspects and the future possibilities for development of the daylighting systems more efficiently at the low cost. The selection of a suitable design and geometry for a daylighting system will reduce dependence on electrical loads and also it will help in achieving the net zero building target of the countries in the near future.