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PR FOR PLANET EARTH A REPORT ADVOCATINGFOR SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLESUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTPOLYCARBONATE SKYLIGHTSADD LIGHT & SAFETY TOPOST BRANDS WAREHOUSEENEREF INSTITUTE EXAMINES HOW A LARGE FOOD WAREHOUSEEMPLOYED SKYLIGHTS TO IMPROVE THE WORKSPACE.Honey Bunches of Oats, made by PostSpread across 45 acres, the building isConsumer Brands, is among the topone of the largest warehouse and dis-three most popular cereal brands intribution facilities ever built in Salt Lake.the US, and Post’s optimism for theirAmericans spend 10 billion on cerealfuture is apparent by the newly con-each year, and Post Consumer Brands,structed, one-million-square-foot Salta company founded in 1895, hopes thisLake City warehouse the companynew facility will help them capture aoccupied in October 2017.larger share of the cereal market.RESEARCH COMPILED AND PROVIDED COURTESY OF ENEREF INSTITUTE WWW.ENEREF.ORG COPYRIGHT ENEREF INSTITUTE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE WORD IS GETTING OUT.THEY ARE BEING SPECIFIEDMORE AND MORE.ents a large surface to captureJ E F F K E A T E Aladdin Industries Presidentand transmit sunlight, even whenpattern of ridges and ribs, as wellas the taller dome shape, pres-the sun is low in the sky.To eliminate condensation build-IMPORTANCE OFLIGHTING IN LARGECOMMERCIAL FACILITIESof Aladdin Industries, recom-water to the building exterior,mended VELUX Dynamic Domes,In any facility, lighting decisionswhile a one-piece frame ensuresa new daylighting technologymake a great impact on the oc-watertightness. Though winterdesigned to bring a considerablecupants’ health, wellbeing andtemperatures in Salt Lake Cityamount of daylight into buildingssafety. But when the facility isdrop below freezing, loss of heatover the entire course of the day.through the skylights is prevent-skylights. Jeff Keate, Presidentup, a wicking system evacuatesas large as the new Post warehouse, the impact of those deci-“The architect got a bonus. He’ssions is multiplied.going to get more light than heed by an impenetrable, thermally-broken water barrier.expected,” said Keate. Aladdin isIncreasingly, warehouse facilityDuring the summer months, Ke-a custom skylight manufacturermanagers understand that natu-ate said that with the 36-footand distributor.ceiling height, “Light is a muchral daylight from skylights andwindows not only saves energy,Keate noted that throughout mostbut also impacts our biologicalof the year, sensors in the ware-metabolism. Research shows thathouse shut off the electric lightshuman performance in prop-in the morning—and the lightserly day-lit facilities is noticeablyremain off for the whole day.improved. Daytime alertness isalso mediated by light exposureto our eyes. With proper naturaldaylighting, managers reportlower absenteeism and fewerproduct defects in warehousesand factories like Post’s. Indeed,when human performance resultsare included, the return on investment for skylights is significant.DYNAMIC DOMESMAXIMIZE LIGHT FOR AFULL DAY OF DAYLIGHTTo bring natural interior daylightinto the Post facility, the architect specified 312 polycarbonateThat’s because the Dynamicbigger factor than the fact thatthere might be a little bit of heatcoming in. But the domes stillhave a good shading coefficient.They’re not going to create hotspots and make anybody insidefeel uncomfortable.”Dome is designed to maximizelight collection with a taller,steeper dome base that allowsfor more light collection earlyand late in the day. The geometry ensures a lower angle ofincidence, where more sunlightis refracted into the warehousethan is reflected outward. The20% MORE DAYLIGHTFROM INNOVATIVE DOMESHAPED DESIGNTo capture the maximumamount of daylight, the skylighthas a diffused white, upwardfacing prismatic dome beneath aclear, smooth outer dome shell.AS PART OF OUR RIGHT TO DAYLIGHT CAMPAIGN,Eneref Institute interviewed participants in the planning and implementation. Intervieweesincluded Jeff Keate, President of Aladdin Industries; Jared Brooks, Senior Project Managerfor Big-D Construction; Kerry Emanuel, MIT hurricane expert and; Ted Trautman, Ph.D.,Covestro Technical Director.RESEARCH COMPILED AND PROVIDED COURTESY OF ENEREF INSTITUTE WWW.ENEREF.ORG COPYRIGHT ENEREF INSTITUTE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

POLYCARBONATE SKYLIGHTSKeate recommended DynamicDomes with polycarbonate toBig-D Construction to avoid theneed for fall protection devices.SPECIFYING POLYCARBONATEFOR HIGHER IMPACT RESISTANCE.regulations for fall protection oraccident in skylights. Due to itsstrength, polycarbonate may notVELUX determined that theirKeate reported that his companyrequire the excess investmentsdome-shaped skylight systemrecommended Dynamic Domesthat acrylics could need tocould achieve the greatest lu-with polycarbonate (instead ofmeet fall protection guidelines,men output with this configura-the more common acrylic) to theincluding the installation of steeltion, which allows for 100% lightgeneral contractor, Big-D Con-screen mesh.diffusion and 20% more day-struction, to avoid the need forlight harvesting.According to a study by LTI,Dynamic Domes can harvest 56more minutes of sunlight perday than the previous VELUXsystem—potentially saving 340hours of energy annually.fall protection devices.“I’m comfortable saying polycarbonate has 10 times the tough-“Polycarbonate has been testedness of impact-modified acrylic,”and has an OSHA-approved ratingexplained Ted Trautman, Ph.D.,and was strong enough to meetCovestro Technical Director.that criteria,” Keate explained.Covestro is the largest supplier“Their spec was fairly broad.”of polycarbonate to the US sky-OSHA (Occupational Safetylight market.and Health Administration)In fact, due to the increas-“We studied it quite extensivelymandates the safety require-ing force of storms attackingto make sure that there weren’tments of rooftop skylights.the coastal areas of the Unitedany potential problems with it,”Polycarbonate offers muchStates, it is prudent to specifysaid Aladdin President Jeff Ke-better impact resistance thanpolycarbonate, rather thanate. “Honestly, it’s one of the bestacrylic and polycarbonate is alsoacrylic, skylights. As demonstrat-designs I’ve ever seen.”much more likely to meet OSHAed by recent hurricanes, stormsRESEARCH COMPILED AND PROVIDED COURTESY OF ENEREF INSTITUTE WWW.ENEREF.ORG COPYRIGHT ENEREF INSTITUTE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

NEW DAYLIGHTING TECHNOLOGYTo bring natural interiordaylight into the Postfacility, the architectspecified 312 polycarbonateskylights.will continue to grow in intensity,energy of 50 ft.-lbs., while acrylicIt is typical to replace skylightsand so will their damages. Kerrygives a much lower impact en-with roof retrofits. While noEmanuel, MIT hurricane expert,ergy at only 2 ft.-lbs.skylights last forever, the 15-to-20-has calculated that Atlantic hurricanes have become 60% moreyear potential lifespan of UV-THE UV-ABSORBING“CAP LAYER” IN THEPOLYCARBONATE EXTENDSTHE SKYLIGHTSLIFECYCLE TIMEter fire protection. According toTo increase the service life ofFactory Mutual (FM) approvedVELUX Dynamic Domes, thetesting, acrylic is more flammableInstrument Impact test, whichpolycarbonate glazing has a UV-than polycarbonate with a burnmeasures the impact of a high-absorbing “cap layer” that nearlyrate of 2.5 inches per minute,speed wooden 2x4. Polycarbon-eliminates sunlight damage towhereas polycarbonate burns at 1ate demonstrates a total impactthe polycarbonate.inch or less.powerful in the last 10 years. Themaximum wind speeds of thesestorms have increased by 25%.The strong impact resistanceof polycarbonate is due to itschemical structure. One test usedby the plastics industry to mea-means that they could be replacedduring the next roof retrofit.Compared to standard acrylic,polycarbonate also offers bet-v11-6sure polymer toughness is thecapped polycarbonate skylightsRESEARCH COMPILED AND PROVIDED COURTESY OF ENEREF INSTITUTE WWW.ENEREF.ORG COPYRIGHT ENEREF INSTITUTE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FAST, SIMPLE SKYLIGHTINSTALLATION IN POSTWAREHOUSE FACILITY“In the VELUX skylights, youhis satisfaction with the results oftake the dome off, then flashthe skylight installation.Located about 15 miles fromon it,” he explained. “That’s adowntown Salt Lake, the newmajor difference.”it, and then put the dome backone year. Owned by LandmarkPARTICIPANTS SATISFIEDAS DYNAMIC DOMES’POPULARITY SPREADSWest LLC, the building has thickAladdin President Jeff Keate,concrete walls, with R-30 roofwhose company has been specify-insulation and Firestone 60 miling skylights since 1962, expresseding that was constructed injor contractors in town that haveused some quantity of the Dynam-900,000-square-foot facility isa concrete, tilt-up panel build-“We’ve got four or five of the ma-ic Dome. So, the word is gettingout, and they are being specifiedmore and more,” he said.TPO. Circulation fans maintain acool and comfortable temperature. The space is heated but notair-conditioned.Jared Brooks, Senior ProjectManager for Big-D Construction,reports that the installation ofskylights in the Post facility wasa simple process.THESciBox:FLEXIBLE YETSTRONG“The skylights come as a unitalready attached to the curb.We cut the holes in the roof witha big gas cut-off saw and slidthe skylights over the hole andThe strong impact resistance of polycarbonateis due to its chemical structure.screwed them down to the deck.That’s it,” he said. “Not a realcomplicated installation.”For safety, a scissor lift operatorstood underneath to catch thesheet of decking as workers cutthe 4-by holes in the deck.“To complete one skylight, I’d sayit’s 10 to 15 minutes from cuttingthe hole to having it screweddown in place,” said Brooks.VELUX skylights come with asophisticated flashing systemto eliminate any potential leaks,which Brooks managed duringThe strength of polycarbonate comes from covalent bondswithin the phenyl group (benzene ring). The phenyl groupattracts molecules, providing flexibility and low mobility to theskylight, ensuring high thermal resistance and transparency.With previous polycarbonate technologies, UV radiationcaused electrons to detach from their chemical position.Because these electrons reacted to UV light (at wavelengthsnear 330 nm, around the center of the UV spectrum), thepolycarbonate was vulnerable to erosion.By nullifying the effects of UV deterioration, the new, thin,highly concentrated polymer layer, co-extruded and fused ontoa solid polycarbonate, prevents the polycarbonate from hazing,allowing more light to pass through.the installation process.RESEARCH COMPILED AND PROVIDED COURTESY OF ENEREF INSTITUTE WWW.ENEREF.ORG COPYRIGHT ENEREF INSTITUTE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

LEAD BYEXAMPLE.THE NATURAL INTERIOR DAYLIGHT INITIATIVEIS A CAMPAIGN TO PRESERVE OUR NATURALRESOURCES AND PROMOTE NICER LIGHTINGIN OUR HOMES AND BUILDINGS.E N E R E F I N S T I T U T E launched the Natural Interior Daylightinitiative to champion solutions in line with our mission, thatdeliver sound ideas to significant market influencers. Theinitiative is designed to encourage responsible behaviorwithin public and private organizations, municipalities andcorporations by offering common sense solutions that canachieve effective results.Our Natural Interior Daylight Virtual Campus is the repositoryfor our Advocacy Reports and Web Forums.Visit eneref.org.LEAD OTHERS. INFLUENCE CAUSE. DRIVE CHANGE.eneref.org