Apr 01, 2025 12:00:00

This is what happens when you try making 'artificial sunlight' with DIY

Victor Pougon, a software engineer from France, has created a DIY 'artificial sunlight' that allows you to enjoy soft sunlight streaming in through your window even at night or on a bad weather day, and has published the finished product and the assembly process on his blog.

I tried making artificial sunlight at home | Victor Poughon

https://victorpoughon.fr/i-tried-making-artificial-sunlight-at-home/

The trigger for Mr. Pugon to create artificial sunlight was the following YouTube movie.

Building a realistic artificial sun (for dark winter days) - YouTube


In this video, YouTuber Matthew Parks recreates sunlight with a parabolic reflector.

The finished product looks like this.

However, huge parabolic reflectors take up a lot of space, so Pugon came up with the idea of arranging multiple LEDs and lenses in a grid to create a compact, low-heat artificial sunlight source.

In designing the system, Pugon had four goals for the artificial sunlight:
- Parallel light rays that reproduce sunlight reaching from far away.
-

The color rendering index (CRI), which is an indicator of how well natural light is reproduced, should be of high quality, preferably 95 or above.
-Realization or reproduction of Rayleigh scattering .
-Very powerful light.

First, Pugon created a 3D model of the lens and then had a company create the lens out of acrylic resin.

The finished lens is below. Mr. Pugon evaluates it as a very satisfactory finish.

Additionally, we designed the printed circuit board (PDB).

Similarly, the custom PCB I had a contractor make is below. 'It's great to be able to design an electronic board on a computer and then receive it by mail a few weeks later, fully assembled, with no soldering required,' said Pugon.

I used commercially available LEDs and created the frame and light shade using a 3D printer, and all the parts were complete.

Artificial sunlight under construction.

It's finished.

In the video below, you can see the artificial sunlight turned on in the middle of the night. 'It's kind of cool to see the lens flare effect thanks to the lens grid array,' Pugon said.



The specifications of this artificial sunlight are as follows:

Lens side length	30mm
Effective focal length	55mm
Array Size	6 x 6 = 36 LEDs
Overall size	180×180mm

The total cost, including the cost of the prototype and shipping the ordered parts, came to 1,000 euros (about 160,000 yen).

'The finished piece sits on my desk and gives off a soothing, soft white light. It was definitely an amazing experience and I'm very proud of the result,' said Pugon.