Solar research cottage moved to Innovation Park
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/solarcottage.jpg” caption=”The Solar Skylight research and marketing development team stands with the solar research cottage donated by VELUX Canada and now located at McMaster Innovation Park. Adrian Kitai, professor of engineering physics, is flanked by Master’s of Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation students Salman Bawa (left), Mazin Batarfi (right), and Raaid Batarfi (far right).”]
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There was cottage traffic of a different kind last week, as drivers on the QEW and Highway 403 between Oakville and Hamilton caught a glimpse of a cottage to be used for testing solar technology being moved to McMaster Innovation Park.
The 18-foot long, 13-foot wide and 13-foot high wooden structure was donated by VELUX Canada, a leading global manufacturer of skylights, Sun Tunnel Skylights and solar thermal products, to a group of engineering researchers at McMaster who will use it to test a unique translucent solar skylight that can help control interior building temperature and generate electricity while still allowing natural light to shine through.
“We needed some way to test the solar skylight under real weather conditions so we can get investors interested,” explained Adrian Kitai, professor of engineering physics at McMaster. He is working with three graduate students in the Master's of Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation program – Salman Bawa, Raaid Batarfi and Mazin Batarfi – to refine the technology and develop a business plan.
VELUX originally built the cottage to test a new line of skylights under Canadian weather conditions.
“Our skylights proved that they could stand up to Canada's weather and we were left with a building that we were no longer using,” said Nels Moxness, the company's president. “Professor Kitai got us interested in his solar skylight project and we thought that he and the research community could make good use of it.”
The cottage features a sloping roof pitched at different angles on each side and eight installed skylights. While testing of the solar skylight is one of the primary research projects that will use the building, the facility is available to other researchers at McMaster and in the community.
The unique skylight being developed by Kitai and the three students looks like a standard thermopane window. Inside, however, is a patented arrangement of narrow strips of solar cells and prisms that both concentrate sunlight to generate more electricity and reflect it to allow light through.
The skylight self-adjusts to the position of the sun and weather conditions to provide the optimal light/electricity balance for greatest interior comfort. For example, at dusk and dawn, 80 per cent of sunlight is allowed through for greater interior light and the rest is converted to electricity. During the day, the percentage is reversed to allow 80 per cent of sunlight to be converted to electricity. Electricity generated by the solar skylight can help meet a building's electrical needs or be fed into the electrical grid.
The technology is being designed for use in homes and on a larger scale for commercial and industrial buildings as atrium skylights or exterior glass curtain walls.
Aesthetic appeal was an important element in designing the solar skylight and panels.
“We found that many architects and developers shy away from incorporating solar technology into buildings because it is not particularly aesthetically appealing,” said Kitai. “The idea behind the solar skylight is to provide solar panels that look attractive, fit in with modern building practices, and still provide a high rate of electrical conversion while allowing natural light to pass through.”
The research cottage is now located in the parking lot on the west side of Longwood Road South near Highway 403.
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