Lighting

Lighting is vital for a colony. A colony might have a limited number of windows, so lighting would be required permanantly. Plants in greenhouses might need to be lit artificially to supplement natural light. Rovers must have headlamps for driving at night or during dust storms.

Nice, concise smmrauy. You are quite right, the best and the most frugal are not the same at least, not yet.LED lighting technology has been advancing rapidly. There have especially been major gains in efficiency in the past year. Cost is also coming down.I have seen two LED lighting units in the lab that are hands-down winners over incandescent, halogen and fluorescent in terms of the quality of the light produced, intensity, and the variability (dimming without a red shift). One unit is a reading lamp. The other is an uplighter equivalent to a 480 watt halogen, using a fraction of the electricity. This won't be available to buy until patents are filed, but what they do for art books, tapestries and paintings has to be seen to be believed.At my blog you will find out why each type of lighting currently doesn't look quite right. You will also learn what improvements are coming.

Uses

Illumination

The primary use of lighting is illumination of a settlement. A well-lit environment is vital for the morale and safety of the residents.

Agriculture

Most plants require more sunlight than is available on the martian surface. Dust storms can also obscure the sun for months at a time. Artificial lighting is needed to at least augment the natural light.

Health

The proper wavelengths of light are needed by humans to produce Vitamin D.

Certain lights, emulating natural sunlight, are used to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Open Issues

• How much light is needed for day-to-day activity? Humans have two types of vision, color and low-light. Once the vision has adjusted to low light, the average human is able to function well in the light of the full moon, but without the ability to see in color.
• How much exposure time is needed for the skin to produce enough vitamin D?