Light control manufacturer Lutron Electronics has partnered with Mermet, a manufacturer of solar screen fabrics, to introduce the Basketweave E Screen with KoolBlack technology at Greenbuild 2012 in San Francisco. The company has also announced its new Sensor Layout and Tuning Service to assure that wired or wireless Lutron daylight sensors and occupancy sensors help projects achieve energy-savings goals.
Conventional dark-colored shade fabrics absorb energy and increase the solar heat gain in the space, wasting energy and creating an uncomfortable environment. This limits the use of dark screen fabrics in green or sustainable building design where heat reflection is specified in a shading solution. The new KoolBlack technology solves this problem by utilizing innovative heat reflecting properties that enable the dark fabric to reflect more solar heat. The technology increases the energy efficiency of dark, solar-shade fabrics to levels comparable with light colors, reducing solar heat gain coefficients up to 23% and contributing to LEED certification. It provides exceptional glare control and allows
superior view through, comfortable work environments, and elegant street-side aesthetics while saving energy. Constructed in a 2 x 2 basket weave pattern and available in a wide array of colors, the new Basketweave E Screen with KoolBlack technology offers an ideal cost-saving solution for commercial automated shading applications.
In addition, installing occupancy sensors and daylight sensors can be an inexact science, and sensor fine-tuning is best performed after the space is fully occupied, furniture is in place, and the HVAC system is balanced to the environment. Projects that include the new Lutron Sensor Layout and Tuning Service offer building owners and facility managers the assurance that the Lutron-provided sensors will be installed and calibrated to perform as intended.
“Lutron has developed its Sensor Layout and Tuning Service to ensure that Lutron Lighting Energy Management Systems achieve their energy savings goals through properly placed and tuned sensors, and establishes one-party ownership before, during, and after construction," said Scott Hanna, Vice President, Service Solutions at Lutron.
The Sensor Layout and Tuning Service is a three-step process. A Lutron service representative will analyze reflected ceiling plans for the project and design a detailed sensor layout based on an agreed-upon sequence of operations. Prior to, or during system startup, Lutron may advise the installing contractor regarding sensor relocation in the event that conditions in the space deviate from the original drawings
Lutron will provide up to two additional on-site service visits post-startup within the first calendar year from the time the building is turned over, to fine-tune sensor calibration.
Related Stories
| Jan 4, 2011
6 green building trends to watch in 2011
According to a report by New York-based JWT Intelligence, there are six key green building trends to watch in 2011, including: 3D printing, biomimicry, and more transparent and accurate green claims.
| Jan 4, 2011
LEED standards under fire in NYC
This year, for the first time, owners of 25,000 commercial properties in New York must report their buildings’ energy use to the city. However, LEED doesn’t measure energy use and costs, something a growing number of engineers, architects, and landlords insist must be done. Their concerns and a general blossoming of environmental awareness have spawned a host of rating systems that could test LEED’s dominance.
| Jan 4, 2011
LEED 2012: 10 changes you should know about
The USGBC is beginning its review and planning for the next version of LEED—LEED 2012. The draft version of LEED 2012 is currently in the first of at least two public comment periods, and it’s important to take a look at proposed changes to see the direction USGBC is taking, the plans they have for LEED, and—most importantly—how they affect you.
| Jan 4, 2011
California buildings: now even more efficient
New buildings in California must now be more sustainable under the state’s Green Building Standards Code, which took effect with the new year. CALGreen, the first statewide green building code in the country, requires new buildings to be more energy efficient, use less water, and emit fewer pollutants, among many other requirements. And they have the potential to affect LEED ratings.
| Jan 4, 2011
Furniture Sustainability Standard - Approved by ANSI and Released for Distribution
BIFMA International recently announced formal American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approval and release of the ANSI/BIFMA e3-2010 Furniture Sustainability Standard. The e3 standard represents a structured methodology to evaluate the "sustainable" attributes of furniture products and constitutes the technical criteria of the level product certification program.
| Dec 28, 2010
Project of the Week: Community college for next-gen Homeland Security personnel
The College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill., began work on the Homeland Security Education Center, which will prepare future emergency personnel to tackle terrorist attacks and disasters. The $25 million, 61,100-sf building’s centerpiece will be an immersive interior street lab for urban response simulations.
| Dec 17, 2010
Gemstone-inspired design earns India’s first LEED Gold for a hotel
The Park Hotel Hyderabad in Hyderabad, India, was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to combine inspirations from the region’s jewelry-making traditions with sustainable elements.
| Dec 17, 2010
Alaskan village school gets a new home
Ayagina’ar Elitnaurvik, a new K-12 school serving the Lower Kuskikwim School District, is now open in Kongiganak, a remote Alaskan village of less than 400 residents. The 34,000-sf, 12-classroom facility replaces one that was threatened by river erosion.
| Dec 17, 2010
New engineering building goes for net-zero energy
A new $90 million, 250,000-sf classroom and laboratory facility with a 450-seat auditorium for the College of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign is aiming for LEED Platinum.
| Dec 17, 2010
Toronto church converted for condos and shopping
Reserve Properties is transforming a 20th-century church into Bellefair Kew Beach Residences, a residential/retail complex in The Beach neighborhood of Toronto. Local architecture firm RAWdesign adapted the late Gothic-style church into a five-story condominium with 23 one- and two-bedroom units, including two-story penthouse suites. Six three-story townhouses also will be incorporated. The project will afford residents views of nearby Kew Gardens and Lake Ontario. One façade of the church was updated for retail shops.
