« Back to Facilities Management News Home
Lake Forest, Ill. — Feb. 17, 2016 — The gym at San Benito High School in Hollister, Calif., serves a number of different functions — including sporting events, daily lunch periods, and school assemblies — and thus requires varying light levels.
When it came time to replace the gym’s 40-by-40-foot skylight, Henrik W. Malinowski, senior project manager, Aedis Architects, specified one that could give off the right amount of light for every event: CPI Daylighting’s IntelaSun skylight.
“IntelaSun is a unique product; very few companies make anything similar,” Malinowski said. “It offers features like sun control, with the ability to darken the skylight. Because the intelligent daylight panel is sandwiched between two panels, it makes for an easy and clean installation.”
IntelaSun Controlled Daylighting is a dynamic shading system that adjusts based on the angle of the sun and user-controlled settings. IntelaSun effectively balances light levels and eliminates solar heat gain and glare throughout the day. The system can be programmed to be fully automated or it can be operated manually from a wall-mounted control.
When completely open, the light transmission in the gym is 66 percent, while closing the blades reduces the light transmission to a mere 3 percent.
“We were specifically drawn to its ability to darken rooms via built-in ‘intelligent blades,' ” Malinowski said. “San Benito will use this feature a lot during video projections and other events where room darkening is desired.”
Environmentally sustainable, IntelaSun improves efficiency by lowering peak loads and utility costs. The key to the dynamic system is a series of rotating internal louvers called SolaBlades. The SolaBlades are completely shielded from the weather and outside elements, sandwiched between two panels, thus minimizing maintenance and maximizing lifespan.
Beyond the daylighting benefits, the IntelaSun skylights helped the high school renovation project stay on budget.
CPI Daylighting offers new and innovative daylighting products, including skylights, wall lights, and canopies for any commercial, industrial, and institutional application, with complete services from manufacturing to design and installation. For more information, visit www.cpidaylighting.com.
