UK launch for daylight enhancing Active Skylights

Energy saving, people friendly, daylight enhancing Active Skylights are now available in the UK for the first time.

The Ciralight UK active skylights work by capturing available light and driving the light down into the building for up to ten hours a day, reducing energy consumption, improving people performance and providing environmental gains.

The active skylight is housed in a rooftop plastic dome and uses a GPS controller and a microprocessor that tracks and calculates the position of the sun. Light is reflected from a mirror array downwards through the roof via a highly reflective light well.

Ciralight UK is the sole UK distributor of the US developed Active Skylight that is, quite literally, brand new to the UK.

They have already been successfully launched into northern continental Europe, including Belgium and the Netherlands, and are widely used across the US in commercial buildings, such as offices, factories, retail stores, and public facilities, including schools.

“Our active skylights allow artificial lights to be turned off during daylight hours reducing electricity bills and ensuring a longer life for lights and light fixtures,” said Steve Parkinson of Ciralight UK, set up in 2011 from a base on Hedon Road, east Hull.

“It’s also been proven that people work better under natural daylight compared to artificial light which means better staff morale, and fewer accidents and errors.

“Helping to reduce energy consumption can also mean reduced carbon emissions, a reduced carbon footprint and greater sustainability.”

As the Ciralight product is built to convey light not heat, temperatures inside the building remain the same, making them ideal for refrigerated spaces such as cold stores or ice arenas.

Compared to conventional skylights and light tubes, the company says there are other advantages.

“Passive skylights are often too bright in summer or too dim in winter and are unable to amplify the light,” said Steve.

“Light tubes have similar difficulties with passive lighting and despite reflecting light from the roof down a tube and into the building space below, they can’t track the sun as it moves around the sky.”

Although they are called Suntrackers in the US, the product has been rebranded for the UK market due to its ability to enhance natural light on cloudy days.

The active skylights are also relatively more effective in less sunnier climates, such as the UK.

“The marginal difference between the results of a typical skylight and out active skylights is far greater in northern latitudes than in more southern areas with greater sunlight,” added Steve.

While they have many uses, they are not suitable for every application, and can’t be used on multi-story buildings.

They have already been installed in a number of buildings in Europe such as Amsterdam International Airport and Caterpillar’s HQ in Belgium. In the US clients include the likes of IKEA, Office Depot and Boeing.

Closer to home, Ciralight UK has engaged a number of technical sales agents, as it targets architects, contractors and building and property firms.

“It’s more a question of who we are not talking to than who we are talking to, and we have had a great endorsement of the product from our local council,” added Steve.

The company has just agreed a sale to Hull City Council for its KWL building, which houses the council’s fleet of maintenance vehicles at Stockholm Road. This follows a successful pilot installation in Ings Road Library, Hull.

The Ciralight UK business is the culmination of a number of years foundation work including business trips back and forth to Ciralight Group’s HQ in Corona, California.

“I have spent some time ensuring that the business is set up properly to build on Ciralight Group’s success in its home market and in Europe. It seemed like a no brainer to me and I was amazed that the product wasn’t already available in the UK.”