SolarBlade is the latest creation from Division 12 Product Labs. SolarBlade is a combination of our aluminum louver shutter combined with our DEKO Cassette and EcoScreen high performance fabric. It is truly an Engineered Daylighting Solution.
Daylight Harvesting
The concept of SolarBlade is to harvest the natural daylight into the room. This then offsets the amount of electricity needed to properly light a space which then reduces energy consumption. An ideal showcase for an Engineered Daylighting Solution.
This sustainable concept of harvesting natural daylight is a major goal for any LEED project. However, the USGBC has recognized the draw back of such harvesting. Here is a quote from their website: “Glare control is perhaps the most common failure in Daylighting strategies. Large windows provide generous amounts of daylight. If not controlled, properly, this daylight can produce unwanted glare and affect interior lighting quality. Measures to control glare include light shelves, louvers, blinds, fins, and shades… Glare control is required for each window.”
Daylight Harvesting refers to systems that use natural daylight to offset the amount of electricity needed to properly light a space, in order to reduce energy cosumption. This sustainable strategy works well with one major drawback.
From the USGBC site is the explanation of Daylighting. “Glare control is perhaps the most common failure in Daylighting strategies. Large windows provide generous amounts of daylight. If not controlled, properly, this daylight can produce unwanted glare and affect interior lighting quality. Measures to control glare include light shelves, louvers, blinds, fins, and shades… Glare control is required for each window.”
SolarBlade has directly answered the requirements of Daylighting by the USGBC. The upper louvers bounce the light deep into the room, while the lower shades with high performance reflective shade cloth nearly eliminate the glare. The upper louvers are made out of aluminum. They come in clear anodized or white. There are 2 louver sizes 2 ½” and 3 ½”. These manual louvers are controlled by a tilt rod at the inside edges of the shutter. As a shutter louver there is an unobstructed view through the blades (unlike horizontal blinds with the sloppy looking ladders and cords) These aluminum louvers bounce natural light deep into the space.
Two Purposes
SolarBlade has two purposes. One – to harvest natural daylight by bouncing the sunlight off its 2 ½’ or 3 ½” blades deep into the space . And second to reduce the Glare caused by this Daylight Harvesting.
DEKO Cassette
You have seen the upper louver or blade system. Now lets look at the lower portion. SolarBlade offers a roller shade installed in a square cassette called the DEKO that matches the louvers with its design and finishes in aluminum or white. The cassette conceals the brackets, motorization cords and connectors.
1-3-10 RULE
Now lets’ look at what causes glare so we can remedy it. To help understand the cause of glare, let’s look at the 1-3-10 Rule. The graphic on the left shows the light levels without sun protection. The closest object has a light level of 187, The secondary object light level is 1485. That is nearly 8 times more. The furthest object is over 25 times more. Not within the 1-3 -10 rule. The graphic on the right with the sun projection easily falls within the 1-3-10 rule. Basically, the idea is to balance out the light levels. This can achieved with solar shades.
EcoScreen Fabric
The best performing fabric is our highly reflective metalized sunscreen fabric called EcoScreen 8400. Here color matters little as the metalized backing takes over. Comparing the light VS the dark color we see excellent performance. The light color reduces Glare by 82% and allows 45% Heat Gain. The dark color reduces Glare by 95% and allows 42% Heat Gain
SolarBlade is custom made to your exact dimensions. It is as attractive as it its functional. It is the ideal Engineered Daylighting Solution.