Ever hear of “Passive” Light? You have now.

There’s a new term floating into the popular lighting lexicon. It’s called “passive” lighting. Essentially passive lighting has become the catch all phrase for all technology that bring sunlight into interior spaces. Everything from a bay window to a fiber optic skylight can be considered passive lighting. The one key differentiator is passive lighting uses no electricity (or other man-made energy source) to create light. This makes the concept different from daylight harvesting.

So what are some examples of passive lighting?

Windows-Nothing ground breaking here, common windows are probably the oldest example of passive lighting. Yet intelligent design and consideration of exposure makes window placement key for effective light.

Skylights-Also not a very new concept, skylights bring more natural light in by turning the ceiling plane into a lighting fixture. These can have installation and maintenance issues. However, when well-installed these can make an interior feel more connected with the world outside and bathe interior spaces with amazing light.

Tubular Skylighting- A well-known manufacturer for this system is a company called Solatube. Installing a bubble shaped translucent dome on your roof allows light to penetrate. It’s then reflected through a tube and delivered where it’s needed inside the home or commericial space.

Fiber Optic Daylighting-Brought to you by companies like Sunlight Direct, this system uses similar roof-mounted light receptacles and then filters the light through fiber optic cable, delivering to it’s destination.

These solutions aren’t perfect for every situation and they require a well designed overall lighting scheme to be effective. I spoke to one Daylight tubing manufacturer at the last Light Fair and his direct words on his own product were, “Well, you don’t do this for ROI or cost savings.” That gives you an idea of just how expensive this system is, and if you intend to also use your space in the evening or at night, then you still need a full electrical lighting compliment, so it cannot replace electric lighting in most applications.

It’s not that I don’t think these systems can be great, it’s that I question their effectiveness when pitted against their relative cost. Anyone have any success stories? Glorious failures? The comment section awaits.