REDUCING LIGHTING ENERGY CONSUMPTION AT MPCL

Lighting has tremendous potential of saving. Plant lighting is also a major part of
auxiliary consumption of power plant. Efficient lighting system can reduce the
Power plant auxiliary consumption to the considerable level. Considering Go
Green policy and to improve plant efficiency, I like to suggest minor modification in
the plant lighting system which could suppress the auxiliary consumption and
improve the sustainability.
The Power blocks or the turbine Buildings and Electrical Buildings of MPCL are well
closed from all the sides making the area dark and opaque in day timing as well.
This leads to 24hrs lighting requirement which is impacting plant auxiliary
consumption of MPCL. As QATAR have abundant hours of sunshine over the year
(minimum of 8.33 hrs per day to maximum of 13 hrs. per day over the year) **,
thinking of utilizing day lighting or sunshine to illuminate the dark areas of the plant
where it is feasible.
AIM : Turn off Electric lighting during Daytime with the Daylighting concept
Daylighting is the practice of placing windows or other openings and reflective
surfaces so that during the day natural light provides effective internal lighting.
Average monthly hours of sunshine over the year can be seen in the below graph.

Using daylight in your building is a key strategy for passive design. Letting sun into
your building impacts Visual comfort. Effective internal lighting can be provided to
each power block by fitting skylights on turbine or electrical building roof and glass
windows, clerestory windows on side walls by using the concept of passive
daylighting or active daylighting
The concept of Passive daylighting is a system of both collecting sunlight using
static, non-moving, and non-tracking systems (such as windows, sliding glass doors,
most skylights, light tubes) and reflecting the collected daylight deeper inside with

elements such as light shelves. Passive daylighting systems are different from
Active daylighting.
Active daylighting is a system of collecting sunlight using a mechanical device to increase the
efficiency of light collection for a given lighting purpose. Active daylighting systems having active
systems that track and/or follow the sun, and rely on mechanical mechanisms to do
so.
Like most things, daylighting has advantages and disadvantages. But by becoming
skilled at understanding the technical components of daylighting, you can make
sure to maximize the advantages and minimize disadvantages.

Passive daylighting

Active daylighting

Fixed placement

Rotating mirrors

No supplemental help

Solar powered GPS control

Heat gain

Dual diffuser heat trap

Glare and Hot spots

Evenly distributed light

Midday efficiency

Captures low sun angles

Minimal impact

Maximum effectiveness

Measures Used in Daylighting Design

Based on these measures, lighting designers use some additional metrics like
daylight factor and daylight autonomy to help them optimize and communicate the
quantity and quality of daylight within a space. This is important because the
availability of daylight can change a lot throughout the day based on sky conditions.
Daylight Factor
The actual illuminance levels in a space from daylighting can vary greatly a due to
the cloud cover and position of the sun. To deal with these highly variable sky
conditions, some building codes and design briefs use daylight factors as the design
criteria instead of illuminance on the working plane.

Daylight factors are expressed as the percentage of natural light falling on a work
surface compared to that which would have fallen on a completely unobstructed
horizontal surface under same sky conditions. The daylight factor is analyzed at a
point, but these values are often averaged across an entire room or visualized on a
grid.
A daylight factor of 5% on an internal surface means that it received 1/20th of the
maximum available natural light.
Daylight Autonomy (DA) and Useful Daylight Illuminances (UDI)
Daylight Autonomy (DA) is the percentage of working hours when lighting needs are
met by daylight alone. It is measured by comparing daylight illuminance on a
workplane to the minimum requirement over time. This is a very popular metric and
can tell you how often lights need to be on to meet specific illumination
requirements.
Useful Daylight Illuminances (UDI) also measures a percentage of time that a space
receives adequate daylight, but it also quantifies when the light levels are too high
and too low. UDI is based on three standard bins (which broadly line-up with
comfortable illumination levels cited above).

Less than 100lux is insufficient daylight

Between 100 lux and 2000 lux is useful daylight
More than 2000 lux is too much daylight and can result in visual and thermal
discomfort

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngH84kSVwDM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=013dq91sIoo