Sunshades for Environmental Well-Being
Aluminum extrusion based sunshades provide shading and glare control and are noncombustible. These extrusions also avoid red-list material for student and environmental well-being, further promoted through maintenance of natural daylight and increased views to optimize student performance and health.
Aluminum sunshades further reduce cooling loads to optimize building energy efficiency. Aluminum extrusions offer recyclability and positive life cycle benefits.
Kawneer Company, Inc
Value in Extrusions
Energy efficient design reduces lighting and energy costs. As with other elements of extrusion design, maintaining natural daylight and views help to improve employee retention and satisfaction, while decreasing absenteeism.
By providing shading and glare control, aluminum sunshades increase the usable space adjacent to windows, while also reducing energy costs.
Aluminum sunshades and light shelves offer optimized daylighting and glare control to reduce lighting and cooling energy use. Even with high efficiency LED lighting, lighting still accounts for a major portion of building energy loads. Daylight harvesting offers a key efficiency measure for reducing this energy load. In fact, LED lighting has made daylight responsive controls more effective, controllable, reliable, and cost effective.
Courtesy of Kawneer Company, Inc; © Gordon Schenk
Extruded sunshades can also incorporate PV panels, combining energy generation with energy saving.
Extruded aluminum light shelves can facilitate “throwing’ light into areas deeper in the building, while extruded sunshades and louvers can help balance daylighting with reduced glare and sun loading.
While building systems providers often offer sunshades and light shelves as part of their product offerings, the low tooling cost and short manufacturing times with extruded aluminum make custom louvers and sunshades an option as well.
Educational Case Studies
Read more about how educational institutions incorporate extrusions to improve student experiences.
Project: King Open / Cambridge Street Upper School & Community Complex
Cambridge, MA
Type: New
Architect: William Rawn Associates in association with Arrowstreet
Architecture & Design
Notable: Net Zero Energy
LEED Platinum Certification
USGBC Green Building of the Year – 2019
American Architecture Award – 2020
Photos: © Robert Benson Photography. Used by permission of Arrowstreet and/or William Rawn Associates
Project: Tidewater Community College Student Center
Norfolk, VA
Type: New
Architect: CannonDesign, with Ballou Justice Upton
Notable: LEED Silver
Products: Entrances, Curtain Wall, Sun Shades – Kawneer
Photos: Kawneer Company, Inc., © Progress Photo
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