High Performance Skylights

In 2003, the Building Research Laboratory at the University of Oregon instituted a challenge: design a classroom that incorporates all the known benefits of natural daylight, that cuts energy use by 85%, and that costs no more than an average classroom. The result was a cutting edge classroom for the Mt. Angel Abbey School in Eugene.

The most striking feature of this project is a large skylight which allows the classroom to be illuminated entirely with natural light, despite its location in the cloudy Northwest. A large opening was necessary to meet required light levels (20-40 footcandles by national and international standards) on overcast days, “But that means the rest of the time, it's too big,” says G. Z. "Charlie" Brown, a University of Oregon professor and co-designer of the classroom. To balance conflicting lighting requirements, a CPI ControLite Dynamic Glazing System skylight was employed. The ControLite system utilizes a succession of integrated ‘rota-blade’ louvers that adjust to capture and distribute light evenly throughout a space.

ControLite is not the only company deploying integrated skylight shading systems,however a particularly nice feature of ControLite is that the louvers can rotate independently of one another. Because the blades rotate independently, they can be configured to optimize the amount of diffuse light entering a space throughout the day regardless of the sun’s angle.

Nysan, another company in the high-performance skylight field, has a similar louver system; though it is not sandwiched between panes of glass and is available in a variety of different slats including flexible, rolled-edge, wood and aluminum. An interesting function of Nysan’s system is the ability to completely black out a room using louvers that interlock. Nysan worked with daylighting masters, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, to manufacture motorized fabric roller shades for the California Academy of Sciences.

A third company on the market in skylight shading technology is Warema, who worked on the acclaimed Genzyme Headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “The offices are flooded with natural daylight and create a pleasant atmosphere, thus increasing the wellbeing and contentment of its users” (Genzyme Project Report). In typical building applications, Warema’s skylight shading technology utilizes roller blinds instead of the louvers favored by ControLite and Nysan. These blinds have the ability to shade and black out rooms, but cannot capture and diffuse light as effectively as louvers. For small scale projects, these have notable benefits.

We all feel better in naturally lit spaces. Sick people heal faster, school children’s test scores rise, and stress is alleviated by spaces lit by the sun and with connection to the environment. Now, with new skylight technology being used in buildings like Mt. Angel School we are able to provide quality daylit spaces at a competitive cost and considerable energy savings.

SOURCES
ControLite:
Carter, Steven. “Green Buildings Start To Sprout Cash for Classrooms Education.” The Oregonian.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006. Accessed: Nov. 3, 2009. http://www.cpidaylighting.com/cpi/pdf/CPInews2%20GREEN%20Mt%20Angel%20Sc... pg. 2

CPI Daylighting ControLite Brochure:
http://products.construction.com/swts_content_files/2598/3230_086300-CPI...

Nysan:
Nysan Website:
http://www.nysan.com/skylightsystems.html

Nysan black-out louver option:
http://www.nysan.com/sunlouvers/assets/index.html

Warema:
Warema-Genzyme Project Report:
http://www.warema.com/en/References/Genzyme/Genzyme_Headquarter.pdf

Warema shading systems
http://www.warema.com/en/Products/Skylights/Skylight_Roller_Blinds.htm