Sustainability

SUSTAINABILITY

...“The window is the first line of defense for energy savings”
Jan Berman - Founder, MechoShade Systems

Our View

 In order to sustain energy, we must look for ways to optimize natural energy; we have unlimited quantities of sunlight and wind at our disposal.  If natural resources are used correctly we can reduce our dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels that power much of today’s energy requirements. Currently, fossil fuels are consumed in enormous quantities and exhaust large amounts of pollutants into the air we breath, further damaging the planet we live in.

In commercial buildings the concept of daylighting is being embraced – using natural light through skylights and windows to diminish the dependence on interior electric light, which consumes 38% of the electricity requirements.  When allowing natural light to penetrate deep into interior spaces, while eliminating glare and heat gain (or loss) via an effective window management system, we are now making the first significant contribution to energy conservation and thus real energy savings!

Think about it – Typically windows make up over 50% of most commercial building surfaces. Heat gain penetrating through the glass should be paramount to any energy sustainability plan with daylighting considerations in order to optimize return on investment (ROI) made in lighting systems, HVAC controls and ventilation.  In today’s economy, increasing energy efficiency to reduce operating costs has become paramount in maintaining a building’s asset value.

...Why automated solar shades?

Humans thrive with natural daylight! It is the backbone of green building and according to studies by the California Energy Commission, proper daylighting strategies are beneficial for nearly every human endeavor. Workers are more productive, students concentrate better, patients recover quicker and stores register more sales.

The challenge becomes –

 how do we maximize natural daylight?
– reducing the dependence on artificial lighting (30-40% of Total energy cost!)
Minimize heat gain or heat loss?
– more efficient energy control of HVAC systems  (40% of Total energy cost!)
Eliminate glare?
-More comfortable and productive occupants (priceless!)

        …All while maintaining a view to the outside!!

Solar shades respond favorably to all the above.

In new building design, green build is calling for glass that is neutral in color with natural light transmittance and where heat and glare is controlled. The glass industry has responded with high performance Low-E products that use a super thin metallic coating to allow natural light in while reducing heat transfer by 40 to 70%. Solar shades, when deployed, will maintain the view to the outside while reflecting the heat gain away, allowing for natural light transmittance and controlling the glare!

Green and intelligent, automated features can increase energy-efficiency and overall financial performance in both new and existing buildings. Intelligent, automated features enhance the performance of green buildings by enabling systems to interact with each other, to respond to changes in the environment, and to track performance in real time.

Motorized shades that use software-based control systems designed to automatically adjust shade position incrementally to the angle position of the sun, have achieved reduction in buildings’ lighting energy costs of up to 70%

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