Austrian Village Set to Buy Sunlight
Source: http://new.mn.ru/english/issue.php?2005-4-30
Austrian Village Set to Buy Sunlight
The inhabitants of the mountain village of Rattenberg, Austria, get
no sunshine for four months of the year because of the Stadtberg
Mountain, which keeps the village in its shadow from November to
February. The residents suffer from poor health and depression.
However, their sufferings will soon come to an end
Doctor Peter Erhard, who treats the 455 inhabitants of Rattenberg,
says that the lack of sunshine makes more and more people fall ill
every winter, while the residents of the neighboring villages, who
enjoy sunshine all year round, are full of energy and seldom fall
ill. A study showed that Alpine villagers, many of whom see no
sunlight in the fall and winter, complain of weariness and
overweight; they also find it hard to concentrate and suffer from
moderate or deep depression. It also became known that the residents
had been gradually leaving their region for places that get sunshine
all year round. The problem of migration has alarmed the Austrian
government and the European Union.
As a result of a discussion with the inhabitants of Rattenberg, it
was calculated that bringing sunshine to their village would cost two
million euros. The residents agreed to pool the money together;
funding has also been promised by the EU and the local authorities.
Having raised the impressive sum, the community turned to the firm
Bartenbach LichtLabor.
The laboratory decided to apply in Rattenberg its heliostat
technology, which provides for the usage of a multitude of
computer-controlled sun reflectors.
One of its banks of 30 square mirrors (each 2.5 x 2.5 meters) will be
installed not far from the sunny town of Kramsach.
Computer-controlled motors will tilt the mirrors so that they
continuously track the sun's position. Another bank of mirrors,
located in Rattenberg, will catch the reflected light to flood it
onto the village.
It is impossible of course to lighten up the whole village - that
would require a mirror 10 times larger than the village itself.
However, it is within the power of the Bartenbach laboratory to bring
sunshine to selected streets, neighborhoods, and facades.
In spring and summer, the reflectors will be turned with their backs
facing the sun to avoid confusion with genuine daylight.
According to Dr. Markus Peskoller, when the reflector system proves
efficacious, similar ones can be put up in many other places. "We can
help inhabitants of other mountain villages to see the light," he said. MN
Austrian Village Set to Buy Sunlight
The inhabitants of the mountain village of Rattenberg, Austria, get
no sunshine for four months of the year because of the Stadtberg
Mountain, which keeps the village in its shadow from November to
February. The residents suffer from poor health and depression.
However, their sufferings will soon come to an end
Doctor Peter Erhard, who treats the 455 inhabitants of Rattenberg,
says that the lack of sunshine makes more and more people fall ill
every winter, while the residents of the neighboring villages, who
enjoy sunshine all year round, are full of energy and seldom fall
ill. A study showed that Alpine villagers, many of whom see no
sunlight in the fall and winter, complain of weariness and
overweight; they also find it hard to concentrate and suffer from
moderate or deep depression. It also became known that the residents
had been gradually leaving their region for places that get sunshine
all year round. The problem of migration has alarmed the Austrian
government and the European Union.
As a result of a discussion with the inhabitants of Rattenberg, it
was calculated that bringing sunshine to their village would cost two
million euros. The residents agreed to pool the money together;
funding has also been promised by the EU and the local authorities.
Having raised the impressive sum, the community turned to the firm
Bartenbach LichtLabor.
The laboratory decided to apply in Rattenberg its heliostat
technology, which provides for the usage of a multitude of
computer-controlled sun reflectors.
One of its banks of 30 square mirrors (each 2.5 x 2.5 meters) will be
installed not far from the sunny town of Kramsach.
Computer-controlled motors will tilt the mirrors so that they
continuously track the sun's position. Another bank of mirrors,
located in Rattenberg, will catch the reflected light to flood it
onto the village.
It is impossible of course to lighten up the whole village - that
would require a mirror 10 times larger than the village itself.
However, it is within the power of the Bartenbach laboratory to bring
sunshine to selected streets, neighborhoods, and facades.
In spring and summer, the reflectors will be turned with their backs
facing the sun to avoid confusion with genuine daylight.
According to Dr. Markus Peskoller, when the reflector system proves
efficacious, similar ones can be put up in many other places. "We can
help inhabitants of other mountain villages to see the light," he said. MN
posted by impresario | 7:43 AM
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