ETH Zurich has put an artificial sun into operation. In the room of a new laboratory, the sun shines at the push of a button, just as it does at midday in the Sahara or in January in Berlin.
Arno Schlueter, Professor of Architecture and Building Systems, said that this could be used in experiments to test how efficient elements such as a façade or building technology are under different climatic conditions.
The heart of the laboratory, called the “Zero Carbon Building Systems Lab”, is an artificial sun consisting of 875 LED chips. These emit light in various solar spectra, from visible light to the infrared range. The artificial sun is attached to a pivoting arm, which allows it to imitate the path of the sun.
We can recreate solar radiation from almost anywhere in the world, along with humidity and temperature
Optimizing energy consumption
The walls, floors and ceilings of the laboratory can be replaced with prototypes. This allows them to be tested on site and quickly developed further. The researchers want to use them, for example, to create façades that can react to the sun
“which, for example, let in as much solar radiation and therefore heat as possible in winter, but block the solar radiation in summer,”
explained Schlueter.
In this way, the energy balance can be optimized, as less heating is required in winter and less cooling in summer.
