Daylight integrated indoor VLC architecture: An energy-efficient solution

In an indoor space, visible light communication (VLC) can form a promising enhancement of future illumination infrastructures with communication functionalities. This illumination infrastructure consumes 20% of the total energy consumption in the world. In this perspective, daylight integration with indoor VLC system is a promising area of research to conserve a considerable amount of energy. This paper deals with the design and practical realization of an energy-efficient indoor VLC system through daylight integration. Dimming control mechanism using continuous current reduction topology is adopted to design the transmitter section of the VLC system. Thrust has been given to accomplish the required communication performance in terms of the bit error rate and illumination performance in terms of average horizontal illuminance and short-term flicker severity. Both the communication and illumination performances have been evaluated under five different daylight conditions. At maximum ambient daylight condition, 37.29% of total energy has been saved, while the bit error rate lies in the order of 10⁻¹⁰. Simultaneously, satisfactory illumination performance in accordance with international guidelines has been achieved.