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Sol Actevo Active Sun Energy Efficiency

crowie

Hi, I thought all the ECO friendly architects out there might be interested in seeing a new and simple sun control product that I have been designing and prototyping all year that I plan to introduce into the residential housing market early next year.

Basically its a pair of veranda posts that telescope upwards to enable the home owner to control the level of sunlight and therefore heat that enters their house.

We have taken an old idea, the patio/porch/veranda situated on the south (or north depending on your hemisphere) side of your house, added a modern twist by incorporating technology to transfer it into a dynamic solar efficient panel that can reduce home owner's energy consumption, whilst at the same time improving the indoor/outdoor interface that modern houses have, and also giving the house a variable "architectural" appearance from a regular veranda for summer to a reverse skillion for full winter sun penetration.

The underlying technology is not new; it has been developed in the highly competitive garage door opener industry. We are taking home automation from one area, the garage door and transferring it to another, the patio/veranda/porch whilst embracing the home automation trend with ECO benefits customers are now expecting.

As modern home owners embrace the "indoor/outdoor" lifestyle along with home automation our product will improve the comfort and "livability" of the house. So not only will people save energy they will also improve their living environment with a space that is comfortable to relax and unwind.

Anyhow that's my contibution to saving the planet, as a reformed mechanical engineer I was surprised by the lack of simple dynamic products on the market that could make such a massive difference to the energy consumption of a house and so I designed one, blah blah etc. Any any feedback as to why it won't work etc will be greeted with a good stoush. And I would love to hear from someone who feels that something like this can really be a positive for new homes that aren't "Mc Mansions"

Cheers

Jason
www.solactevo.com.au

 
Dec 1, 06 5:52 am
treekiller

Jason- typically I'd be labling your product pitch as spam (and there is always a risk that the powers that be will delete this thread anyways), but you've intregued me.

Telescoping verandas for the residential market????? Can you post some pics of what the system looks like?

Active shading devices aren't new to the high performance big building side of architecture... tell us more.

Dec 1, 06 9:28 am  · 
 · 
crowie

Hi,
Basically what you have is a hinge connection at the wall where you veranda connects to the house and then the posts are a steel RHS section with a C section internally that is powered up by a motorgearbox. So the whole panel pivots around the house.
My main driver has been to develop something that is super cheap to get the masses interested. Currently I'm on the second generation prototype so it's not quite a production unit. I really feel that not enough is being done to passively heat new homes, so by creating something that incorporates home automation and a interesting design feature, the passive heating will come as a by product.
If Icould figure out how to attach a sketch I could show you what I mean.

Cheers Jason
www.solactevo.com.au

Dec 1, 06 3:03 pm  · 
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Chili Davis

Jason, the idea sounds novel enough, but I'm having a dificult time envisioning this product. The site really doesn't give any information beyond what you've provided here. My first thought was one of those retractable sun shades installed on mobile homes and campers. When you mentioned garage door technology, I pictured a three-season porch with an overhead door. Then you said it was hinged at the wall with some sort of pneumatic rod to activate it, I pictured some sort of operable bries solie. Do you have any images of your prototypes you could post in this thread?

Dec 1, 06 3:17 pm  · 
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crowie

I guess a pivoting Bries solie is a fair description except instead of louvers it's a solid insulated panel to give summer cooling. The mechanism could be best described as taking a sectional garage door opener, connecting the powerhead to the underside of the veranda and then sliding the whole unit into a steel column that is the veranda post, so it's pleasing to the eye. That way all the running gear is proven, and cost effective, spares available etc. I guess I find retractable awings, and blinds not really a long term solution to sun control.
Can someone tell me how to attach an image?

Cheers

Jason

Dec 1, 06 3:33 pm  · 
 · 
crowie

I added a page to my site under the heading of "how does it work?" where I stuck a 3D CAD file showing the two extreme positions. The dashed lines represent where the posts would be.

Cheers

Jason
www.solactevo.com.au

Dec 2, 06 12:45 am  · 
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