Renewable Energy Hub

Pythagoras Makes Skylights that Also Make Solar Power

The unusual (philosophy M.A.) founder of Pythagoras Solar, Gonen Fink will be among the speakers at Intersolar 2010 in San Francisco this week. His start-up has designed a nearly transparent, yet fully solar glass using patent-pending optics, for use as an energy efficient skylight (and starting next year, a window wall) that also produces electricity.

Just the thermal efficiency alone would make it a good day-lighting option, blocking all direct solar radiation, to reduce building heating and cooling costs.

It is ideal for use as a skylight because it also provides better day-lighting compared to other BIPV or building-integrated photovoltaics (being essentially transparent), limiting lighting costs by replacing fluorescent lighting while looking like a regular skylight that provides real natural daylight.

But the real clincher is that it produces solar power more like that of regular solar panels, at 13 watts a square foot, than the usual building-integrated PV (BIPV). (more…)