Context: Recently, Ministry of Science & Technology has decided to promote a unique Start-up in Daylight Harvesting Technology. 
About Daylight Harvesting

• It is a method of saving the energy costs associated with lighting. It makes use of the available sunlight.
• The solar energy spectrum has 45% energy as visible light and this can be used to harvest building illumination for about 9-11 hours a day.
• It is one of the most advanced techniques used in sustainable lighting designs for contemporary buildings.
• It automatically dims or adjusts the brightness of light in response to the amount of natural light available in a space.

Utilising natural daylight coming through the windows or skylights minimises the amount of energy used in artificial lighting.

• The daylight harvesting system employs light sensors, also known as photocell sensors, to detect the prevailing light level in the environment.
• It then sends the intensity of light received to a controller, which is connected to the lighting control system. The control system in turn adjusts the electric lights automatically according to the measured light level.

Key Benefits

• a) Reduced carbon footprint, 
• b) Improve building energy efficiency and 
• c) reduces electrical lighting energy consumption.
• d) Provides Comfort and Convenience

What is the Government doing to promote Daylight Harvesting?

• The Technology Development Board(TDB) under the Ministry of Science and Technology will provide Rs 5 crore as support to a startup called Skyshade Daylight Private Limited for developing Daylight Harvesting Technologies.
• This startup has already developed several technologies which harvest huge quantities of sunlight for a building.This helps in reducing electrical lighting energy consumption by 70-80 per cent, besides reducing air-conditioning needs.