May 25, 2012

SOURCE Awards Winners Announced

Cooper LIghtingCooper Lighting has announced the winners of the 35th Annual SOURCE Awards national lighting design competition. The winners were recognized at LIGHTFAIR International 2012 in Las Vegas, NV. Five professional awards and six student awards were presented.

Top honors in the Professional Commercial Category went to Focus Lighting, Inc., New York, N.Y., and the design team of Paul Gregory, principal designer; Michael Cummings, principal lighting designer; Christine Hope, senior lighting designer; Scott Hay, lighting designer; and Dan Nichols, project manager for the lighting of The Chandelier lounge and bar located at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. In addition, Focus Lighting, Inc. was also honored with an Award of Recognition for the lighting of the Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, located in Los Angeles, Calif. The design team for that project included Paul Gregory, principal lighting designer; Juan Pablo Lira, senior lighting designer; Hilary Manners, lighting designer; and Kenneth Schutz, project manager.

In the Professional Residential Category, top honors went to Robert Singer, president, and Jason Diaz, lighting designer of Robert Singer and Associates, Inc., Basalt, Colo. for the lighting design of a townhome located in Vail, Colo.

Two Honorable Mention awards were presented, one in the Commercial Category and one in the Residential Category. Denver-based RLN and the design team of Rachel Petro Fitzgerald, lighting designer; AnneMarie Dienstbach, project manager; Marc Herndon, lead interior designer; Sarah McGarry, interior designer; and Kristian Barowsky, technical support assistant were honored for the lighting design of the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney, LLP located in Denver, Colo. In the Residential Category, Christopher M. Thompson, principal; James L. Sultan, senior lighting designer; and Kimberly D. Taylor, lighting designer of Seattle, Wash. based Studio Lux, LLC received an Honorable Mention award for their work on the Indian Wells Residence, an 11,030 square foot home located in Indian Wells, Calif.

In the Student Category, students in the design, architectural, lighting and engineering disciplines enter conceptual lighting design installations. Six awards were given: one Winner, two Honorable Mentions and three Awards of Recognition. The team of Francis D’Andrea, Derek Sommers and Austin Weller from the University of Cincinnati picked up the winning honor for their conceptual lighting design project of an upscale health spa titled Full Disclosure. Also from University of Cincinnati, Jennifer Sullivan was awarded an Honorable Mention award for her project of a retail cosmetics store called Orchard Beauty, Orchard Road. In addition, Ali Patterson from Ball State University was honored with an Honorable Mention Sustainable Design Award for her project of a Mountain Spirit Healthcare Facility.

An Award of Recognition honor was presented to the team of Nicolas Payan, Anna Pogorelova and Lawrence Rocha-Benavides from the University of Cincinnati for their COSMOS restaurant while Melina C. B. Pereira, from the University of Cincinnati also won for her Chicago Convention Center – Fulton Square Building Renovation lighting design. Kristin Millican from Mississippi College also received an Award of Recognition for her art gallery project titled A Site Gallery.

The University of Cincinnati students were under the direction of Brian Davies, associate professor at University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. Millican was under the direction of Mandy Berdami, assistant professor and program coordinator of interior design at Mississippi College and Patterson was under the direction of Thelma Lazo-Flores, PhD, assistant professor in interior design at Ball State University.

Professional winners Focus Lighting, Inc. and Robert Singer and Associates, Inc. received a $2,000 monetary award. Student winners D’Andrea, Sommers and Weller split a $1,500 award and Sullivan and Patterson were given $500 for their Honorable Mention awards. All winners were presented with a crystal trophy and offered an invitation to attend a complimentary class at the SOURCE, Cooper Lighting’s state-of-the-art education center located at the company’s headquarters in Peachtree City, Ga. The students’ instructors are also invited to attend a class. All winners received national and local publicity.

The annual competition, which focuses on furthering the understanding, knowledge and function of lighting as a primary element in design, requires the primary and predominant use of Cooper Lighting products. Cooper Lighting has held this competition since 1977.

Entries are judged on the blending of aesthetics, creative achievement, technical performance and the degree in which the lighting met the project constraints and design concept goals.

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March 30, 2012

30 Building Product Manufacturers Pilot New Health Product Declaration

Thirty leading building product manufacturers have begun a two month Pilot Program to test and improve the Health Product Declaration (HPD) Open Standard, a voluntary format for disclosing product content and related health concerns that are typically not reported even when a product, or a building, is certified “green.”

The Health Product Declaration Working Group, a volunteer organization comprised of experts from the community of designers, specifiers and building owner/operators, is administering the program. The working group developed the HPD Open Standard format, which made its debut at Greenbuild 2011.

The companies participating in the Pilot Program manufacture a diverse array of building products, including structural components, finishes, and office systems. Each has agreed to complete an HPD for as many as three products, and to provide the HPD Working Group with feedback. The Working Group will evaluate and synthesize the feedback, and revise the draft HPD into a final version that will be officially ratified and made available to the public later this year.

During the Pilot Program, HPD Working Group members are providing the manufacturers with a reference guide, webinars and technical collaboration with the goal of refining the HPD Open Standard to provide information to customers that is reliable and actionable, through a process that is reasonable and fair to all manufacturers. The companies will also receive support from the Pharos Project, a project of the Healthy Building Network, which will provide automated access to its extensive chemical and materials library through its web-based Pharos System.

For more information on the HPD, the HPD Working Group and the Pilot Program, visit http://www.hpdworkinggroup.org.

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March 19, 2012

Energy-efficient Pella windows and doors part of sustainable schools

Pella Impervia WindowsPella Windows and Doors will be included in new LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum schoolhouses built in Arizona in 2012, as a partner in the Green Schoolhouse Series.

Three distinctive designs will replace portable classrooms or community centers in Phoenix area school districts. Construction of a 6,291 square-foot classroom and community-center building for Roadrunner Elementary School is now underway in west Phoenix. Two more Phoenix area schoolhouses are slated to break ground in 2012.

ENERGY STAR-qualified Pella Impervia fiberglass windows, donated by Pella will be featured in Green Schoolhouse Project schools. These energy-efficient windows will not crack, shrink, or warp even in extreme weather conditions, like the heat of Arizona.

In addition, EFCO aluminum storefront and door systems are to be used at the school entrances. EFCO doors are designed for use in schools and provide expansive floor-to-ceiling storefront glazing to provide dramatic entrances. EFCO entrance systems are welded to provide solid construction and low-maintenance longevity.

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February 20, 2012

High school students learn about new technologies at Uponor

Uponor Tour

Wes Sisco, training manager at Uponor Academy, explains the concept of crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) tubing to students from Sibley High School.

On Feb. 14, more than 60 pre-engineering students from Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights, Minn., visited the Uponor North American headquarters in Apple Valley, Minn., to learn about new innovations in radiant heating and cooling, plumbing and fire sprinkler systems, using crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) tubing.

The students’ visit was in conjunction with a push to encourage more science and technology education in Minnesota schools. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who visited Uponor on Jan. 11 to promote business innovation, also spoke in an online column about the importance of technical schools and the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) network in Minnesota.

“We have a long, strong history in education and training at Uponor,” says Wes Sisco, training manager at Uponor Academy. “Reaching out to students is one of our top priorities because it helps support the next generation of professionals coming into the workforce.”

The student outreach program at Uponor invites students from local high schools as well as vocational and technical schools to learn about the innovations and benefits of PEX-based radiant heating and cooling, plumbing and fire sprinkler systems. To learn how your school can get involved, contact Wes Sisco at wes.sisco@uponor.com or Steve Swanson, customer trainer, at steve.swanson@uponor.com.

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February 1, 2012

Polyera solar cell technology hits 9.1% efficiency

Polyera Corporation has achieved a certified, world-record 9.1% efficient polymer/fullerene organic solar cell using its newest proprietary ActivInk® PV2000 semiconductor material. The device performance was certified by Newport Corporation’s PV Cell Lab.

The high efficiency of this material represents a substantial breakthrough in the development of organic solar cell technology for large-scale manufacturing of low-cost, lightweight, flexible, and optically semi-transparent solar modules. And because this technology uses an inverted cell architecture, solar panels are easier to manufacture and have a longer useful life.

Polyera’s active layer materials can  be deposited using a significantly broader range of film thicknesses without lowering cell efficiency, improving yields and further simplifying manufacturing. Polyera’s materials can also be processed at low enough temperatures to be compatible with a wide range of simple printing processes and common, inexpensive plastic substrates like PET or PEN.

Polyera will be launching a series of organic solar cell active-layer inks, to be commercialized under the trade name ActivInk® PV.

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December 8, 2011

Tool helps architects specify glass

PPG Industries has announced that its Architectural Glass Configurator is now available as a downloadable desktop widget for Windows and Mac computers. The desktop widget is the latest in a series of mobile and Web-based tools PPG has introduced recently to make it easier for architects to research and specify products whether they are traveling, in the office or at home.

The glass configurator helps architects to identify the best architectural glass for their projects by enabling them to view and compare the aesthetics and performance data of every PPG glass product, including high-performance tinted glasses, ultra-clear STARPHIRE(R) glass, and energy-efficient passive and solar control, low-emissivity glasses such as SUNGATE(R) and SOLARBAN(R) products. The online tool has been used more than 200,000 times since it was launched in 2010, and it currently attracts more than 10,000 visitors per month.

By downloading the configurator widget directly to their computers, architects can access and compare glass products even when they don’t have Internet access. To download the widget, architects must download the YAHOO!(R) Widgets application, and then download the WinZip file for the PPG Glass Configurator Widget by clicking on “IDEASCAPES TOOLS” on the home page and then on “Glass Configurator Widget” in the list that appears.

You can  watch demonstration videos of all the online glass specification tools available from PPG on YouTube.

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November 28, 2011

New Engineering Center for Mitsubishi HVAC

MitsubishiMitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating (Mitsubishi Electric) has opened an industry-first Engineering Center in Duluth, GA. The Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating Engineering Center is the only dedicated facility in the U.S. geared toward developing split-ductless and variable-refrigerant-flow (VRF) technology solutions specifically for the North American market.
   “Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating’s parent corporation, Mitsubishi Electric, Tokyo, realizes there is enormous potential in the North American market for products based on split-ductless and VRF technology,” said Bill Rau, senior vice president and general manager, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating.
   The Engineering Center houses Mitsubishi Electric application support, as well as the company industry and government relations departments. By housing these groups in a single building, Mitsubishi Electric can accelerate domestic product development.
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November 21, 2011

Sika Supports Solar Decathlon Teams

SikaSika Corporation has donated building materials to the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 in support of EMPOWERHOUSE and ENJOY House. The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon challenges 20 collegiate teams from around the world to design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and attractive. This year’s college teams displayed their homes on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. from September 23 to October 2.

ENJOY House by Team New Jersey members Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and New Jersey Institute of Technology incorporates a new way of approaching high-performance, energy-efficient residential design. The house utilizes precast, concrete insulated panels and passive solar strategies to reduce heating and cooling loads. Sika Corp. donated G410 roofing membrane and adhesive, along with accessories and metal to waterproof the precast concrete deck. The Precast Concrete was produced utilizing Sika’s Viscocrete technology, Air Entrainment and a new product – Sika Watertight Concrete Powder. This combination resulted in a High Performance and Waterproof concrete structure. All of the precast panel joints, windows and doors were sealed utilizing various Sika sealants. The team effort included precast concrete produced by Northeast Precast, the applicator/installer Dumar Services, LLC with Martin Dubois leading the team, and the General Contractor Skanska Construction.

EMPOWERHOUSE is a community-based approach to building affordable, net-zero housing that addresses all aspects of domestic life. This superefficient, solar-powered house was designed and built by architecture and engineering students from Parsons The New School for Design, the Stevens Institute of Technology and the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy. In addition to technical support, Sika AG subsidiaries donated G410 roofing membrane and adhesive, sealants for windows and concrete, admixtures that included a high range water reducer and air entrainment, and a new product – Sika Watertight Concrete Powder. The Sika Sarnafil applicator/installer was Delta Contracting Services led by Chris Dubois.

ENJOY House’s design was aimed at creating an affordable, functional, energy-efficient precast concrete house suited to the climate of New Jersey and intended for a couple that retires to the New Jersey shore. In addition to being ADA accessible, the house incorporates evacuated solar thermal tubes that heat domestic hot water and provide pre-heating for the hydronic radiant floor; high-performing, energy-efficient windows; a photovoltaic system with a daily output of 36 kWh, and energy recovery ventilators and dehumidifiers that keep cool air inside the house while providing fresh air from outside.

The EMPOWERHOUSE team is working with community partners, including Habitat for Humanity Washington D.C. and the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development, to bring EMPOWERHOUSE beyond the National Mall. The team is constructing a second house in the D.C. neighborhood of Deanwood. After the Solar Decathlon, the two houses will be joined together to create a two-family home, and will be a model for affordable, net-zero housing that can be replicated around the globe.

Entrants must create a house that is affordable, attractive, and easy to live in; maintains comfortable and healthy indoor environmental conditions; supplies energy to household appliances for cooking, cleaning, and entertainment; provides adequate hot water; and produces as much or more energy than it consumes

This is the second participation in such an event for Sika Corporation. In 2009, Sika Sarnafil sponsored a team from the University of Florida, one of only two U.S. participants in the biannual global competition.

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November 11, 2011

Manufacturers optimistic about HVACR industry

AHR ExpoDespite wide-spread concern about the global economy, manufacturers appear to be very optimistic about the economic outlook for the HVACR industry. According to a recent survey of more than 1,000 AHR Expo exhibitors worldwide, nearly three fourths (72%) of the total respondents expect a ‘better year’ (59%) or a ‘much better year’ (13%) in 2012 compared to 2011. Twenty four percent replied that sales would be the ‘same’, while only four percent are expecting a ‘worse year’.

The fact that 72 percent of respondents expect a better year in 2012 is up six percent from last year’s survey that found 66 percent of respondents were expecting 2011 to be better than 2010. Actually, all categories of predictions for 2012 were up from 2011 forecasts, including those for a ‘much better year’ (13% vs. 9%) and ‘better year’ (59% vs. 57%). Likewise, only four percent predicted a ‘worse year’ in 2012 compared to seven percent in 2011.

Another very positive survey finding is that an impressive 82 percent of respondents expect sales to increase in 2012, with 29 percent anticipating increases of more than 10 percent. An additional 36 percent said sales would increase between five and 10 percent, while 17 percent expect sales to increase less than five percent. Eighteen percent expect sales to ‘stay the same’.

This overall optimistic 2012 outlook may be due in part to the fact that 76 percent of the respondents believe there is ‘pent-up industry demand’ for new products. This compares to the 61 percent that felt there was pent-up demand in 2011, which is an indication that their customers are getting ready to buy more new equipment.

Another encouraging survey finding is that 72 percent of the exhibitors plan on introducing new products at the 2012 AHR Expo in Chicago, January 23 – 25. This is up sharply from the 62 percent of companies that said they were introducing new products at the 2011 event. This also indicates that many exhibitors expect their customers to come ready to buy.

Other major findings of the survey were:

  • The industry segments where they expect the strongest demand for their products in 2012 are Light Commercial (24%), Heavy Commercial (13%), Industrial (26%), Residential (26%) and Institutional (11%)
  • The industry categories where they expect the strongest demand for products are New Construction (37%), Replacement (36%) and Renovation/Upgrade (26%).
  • The geographical marketplaces where they expect the greatest demand are domestic (71%) and international (29%).
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October 27, 2011

Report reveals community colleges lacking notification systems

SiemensIn times of crisis on a college or university campus, the ability to quickly communicate safety information to students, faculty and visitors is critically important. According to a recent study of Clery Act reports by Siemens Building Technologies division, analysis revealed that among institutions of higher learning, community colleges were least likely to have the integrated, multi-modal systems necessary to quickly reach the largest number of people when crisis strikes.

The Siemens-commissioned study Detailed Analysis of U.S. College and University Annual Clery Act Reports evaluated information submitted to the Federal government as part of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). The study analyzed data from a sample of 77 U.S. colleges and universities to provide deeper insight into which types of institutions have the most advanced mass notification systems and how these differences manifest themselves geographically.

To make these determinations, the study classified the communications platforms into four types: At Your Side (text messaging, email, etc.), Indoor (public address system, digital signage, posted notices, etc.), Outside (outside public address system, warning sirens, blue light towers, etc.) and Extended (social media, CCTV, etc.). The institutions were then placed into five maturity levels that reflected the integration of different types of technology and the number of methods used in a notification system. None of the schools were ranked in the top level. Some of the report’s findings include:

  • Community colleges are the least likely to have layered emergency communication plans, using mostly At Your Side methods
  • Public universities tend to have the most sophisticated plans, including three or more types of communications platforms
  • Overall, schools in the South have the most advanced notification plans with multi-modal systems that include three or more types of communications platforms

As a follow up to their initial study, Siemens plans to analyze this year’s Clery Reports scheduled for release later this month. To download a copy of Detailed Analysis of U.S. College and University Annual Clery Act Reports, please visit the Siemens website.

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