For our second day trip, we had the opportunity to visit a sustainable organic wine farm.
It was incredibly interesting to learn about all the sustainable practices they have developed and applied to their wine making process. However, what I found most fascinating was how they provided light to their cellars.
We learned that the small clear caps poking out of ground on the patio are responsible for taking in the needed sunlight. Connected to these caps is a system of mirrors, contained in metal pipes, which concentrates and guides the light to the 1st and 2nd level cellars underground. From what I could see, this was able to provide more than enough light for the cellars even though it was quite cloudy outside.
I believe that out of everything we saw, this detail with stick with me the most and I will remember it in a year. I have always loved the idea of using natural light in place of electric lights, both because of the look/feel of it and the energy efficiency of it. However, prior to this experience I thought the only way to use natural light to illuminate a space was through normal windows. Now that I know about this new technique I am excited to see how I may apply it in future projects for school and in my future career.
Swanson School of Engineering 