Natural Light at Work

This post discusses a report about office lighting printed in the Bee's Sunday Business section on April 26, 2009.



The author, Jim Downing, interviewed Michael Siminovitch, Director of the California Lighting Technology Center at UC Davis.



Mr. Siminovitch talked about current indoor lighting and the future of indoor lighting. He said that buildings (I assume he means new buildings) do a good job of using sunlight to light buildings. However, he also said that "We do a terrible job of what's called 'daylight harvesting'."



Daylight harvesting is a procedure that reduces the use of electrical lighting as daylight increases. When this procedure is used, the amount of glare in an office is reduced.



Siminovitch predicts that offices will be lit to the specifications of the office user. Not only will a light come on when someone enters, as in some offices now, the light will be a type of light that makes you feel comfortable and allows you to be your most productive.

Mr. Siminovitch claims that in 25 years, lighting systems might not be visible. He states that when one enters their home, a path might light up and the walls of a room might light up. He says, "Well, it could be that the wall pane, the wall surface itself becomes a conductive membrane which actually glows."