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Products - July 2007

All products featured here have been screened and approved by our partners at BuildingGreen. Click here for more information on product evaluation and criteria. If you have an interesting product to showcase, please contact our products editor, Mark Piepkorn, at greensource-products@buildinggreen.com.

Compiled by Mark Piepkorn

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LightLouver
The low-profile LightLouver Daylighting System combines daylighting and solar control by using highly reflective fixed louvers to redirect incoming sunlight from any angle onto a room’s ceiling, providing uniform ambient light. Installed like lightshelves (above the vision glass on tall windows), a one-foot-tall section will reflect daylight about 14 feet into a room. They reflect approximately 76 percent of direct overhead sunlight or about 54 percent of available light when it’s cloudy. These units range from 14 inches to 48 inches high, and up to 68 inches wide; multiple units can be combined to cover larger areas. LightLouver LLC; Boulder, CO. www.lightlouver.com; 303-444-8773

Solar Access Design Tool
The SunEye from Solmetric is a hand-held design tool for field-assessing solar access using digital optics and an onboard computer—taking the guesswork out of siting passive solar buildings and solar devices. The sophisticated but easy-to-use unit actually shows obstructions by time of day and month and allows the user to simulate removing (or adding) trees or structures to assess the solar impact. Monthly, annual, and multi-skyline averages can be calculated in the field or uploaded via USB to a PC for further analysis. (A Mac interface is on the way.) Solmetric also makes extensive use of recycled materials and components in manufacturing the devices. Solmetric Corporation; Bolinas, CA. www.solmetric.com; 877-263-5026

Solar Tracking Skylights
Solar Tracking Skylights are self-contained, photovoltaic-powered active daylighting systems for low-slope roofs. A dome-protected array of mirrors tracks the sun across the sky to boost daylighting intensity and duration, especially during early-morning and late-afternoon hours when the sun is low. Light throughput can be up to four times greater than a standard skylight in northern latitudes. And here’s a nice twist: The mirrors can also provide shade during summer to reduce unwanted heat gain. Solar Tracking Skylights Inc.; Chicago. www.solar-track.com; 773-296-4200.

High-Performance Wood Windows
The custom-engineered Zo-e-shield glazing system is available on select windows and doors from Weather Shield. Its Value R6 windows are triple-glazed and argon-filled, with two low-e surfaces and low-conductive warm-edge spacers. Taking it up a couple of notches, Value R10 uses a krypton/argon gas mix. These boast some of the lowest U-factors listed by the National Fenestration Rating Council—as low as 0.16 for commercial fixed windows and 0.17 for residential. Tinted and specialty glass may be specified to meet solar heat-gain requirements and structural or safety needs; options for reduced sound transmission are also available. Weather Shield Manufacturing Inc.; Medford, WI. www.weathershield.com; 715-748-2100 or 800-477-6808

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Solarfin Shading System
Solarfin, from Colt International in the United Kingdom, is a controllable fin shading system that installs horizontally or vertically on a building’s facade. The louvers follow the sun’s path—they can pivot 120 degrees—optimizing daylighting, minimizing heat gain, and overcoming the potential for too much or too little shading that comes with fixed systems. A number of automated control systems are offered, including the Girasol passive thermo-hydraulic system, which operates with differential temperatures from the sun—no electricity needed. The system is available in over 20 standard profiles. Colt has a number of U.S. distributors; call or see its Web site for the nearest one. Colt International Ltd.; Hampshire, United Kingdom. www.coltgroup.com; 00-44-2392-491-402

Building-Integrated Photovoltaics
RWE Schott offers ASI Glass solar modules for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) facades and roofs. The semitransparent Thru line does double duty: solar panels are also windows and skylights, offering 10 percent daylighting (rejecting 90 percent of solar heat) while generating 3.9 peak watts of electricity per square foot. Opaque modules are offered with a variety of appearances, including white. The panels can be used with most standard framing systems. The electrical leads are integrated into the panel edges. RWE Schott Solar Inc.; Roseville, CA. www.us.schott.com; 916-774-3000 or 888-457-6527

SageGlass
A tinted exterior glazing product, SageGlass blocks solar heat gain while providing glare control and preserving views. It incorporates durable thin-film ceramic coatings and uses 0.28 W/ft2 to switch the glass from clear to a tinted state and 0.1 W/ft2 to maintain a darkened state. Used with typical clear glass to fabricate an insulated unit, the tinting reduces the visible transmittance from 62 percent to 3.5 percent, while reducing the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) from 0.48 to 0.09. SAGE Electrochromics, Inc., Faribault, MN. www.sage-ec.com; 507-331-4848

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