Cottage Rolls into McMaster to Test Solar Technology

June 30, 2010

This was cottage traffic of a different kind.  Drivers on the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 403 between Oakville and Hamilton were doing a double-take as a ‘cottage’ to be used for testing solar technology was moved to McMaster Innovation Park.

The 18-foot long, 13-foot wide and 13-foot high wooden structure was donated by VELUX Canada Inc. of Oakville 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 but still allow 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.

The research cottage began its journey at about 9:30 a.m. from VELUX’s offices near the QEW/403 interchange in Oakville, just east of the Ford plant.  The 38 kilometre trip to Hamilton took about 45 minutes.  The research cottage is now located in the parking lot on the west side of Longwood Road South close to Highway 403.

VELUX is a leading global manufacturer of skylights, Sun Tunnel Skylights® and solar thermal products.  They 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, president, VELUX Canada.  “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 solar skylight being developed by Kitai and the three students looks like a standard thermopane window. However, inside 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 solar 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 wall.

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 appealing aesthetically,” explains Kitai.  “The idea behind 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 as well as allow natural light to pass through.”

Contour Transport of Grimsby, which specializes in transporting buildings and oversize loads, was responsible for the move.

The cost of transporting the cottage is being shared by Horizon Utilities, the City of Hamilton, VELUX Canada, McMaster University, McMaster Innovation Park, and the Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation.