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N atural
lighting systems
bring abundant daylight indoors,
reducing energy needs
Daystar Systems, LLC uses free, abundant sunlight to
illuminate retail stores, warehouses, manufacturing plants, big box
stores, schools, government buildings, homes, hospitals, offices,
and more, by tapping into one of the most accessible, renewable
energy sources available — the sun.
The Daystar Natural Lighting System provides brilliant, even
illumination with extraordinarily high FC output, regardless of building
size, and produces a more pleasing and much better quality of light.
The system is thermally efficient and leak resistant, and its powerful
light-harvesting method extends the amount of daylit hours. More
light is collected and dispersed in the early morning and late afternoon
than with any other type of daylighting system, translating to fewer
hours per day that electric lights are needed.
In the mid 1990s, a building owner and a metal building
erector who could not find what they wanted available anywhere set
out to build what has become “new-to-the-market” technology. Over
a period of three to four years, the founders developed the Daystar
System, as it is known today, and in 2001, brought it to market.
High-performance
natural lighting
The Daystar system
gathers sunlight in a specially
designed, inverted parabolic
dome. Once the sun enters
the light chamber, its rays are
amplified by the ultra-reflective
lining as it works its way down to
the ceiling lens. There, the highly
concentrated light is diffused in a
very broad pattern by side light
panels, effectively increasing
the spread of light far beyond
conventional products.
In addition to brightness,
there are many other benefits associated with the Daystar Lighting
System:
• Energy efficiency: The superior illumination power of the
skylights allows buildings to be lit during daylight hours
without electricity, thus reducing HVAC loads created by
artificial lighting. Energy costs for lighting and cooling can
be cut by as much as 80 percent.
• Energy conservation: Using sunlight as a renewable energy
source has a positive impact on the environment. Buildings
that rely on Daystar skylights can help reduce global
demand for fossil-fuel energy and the subsequent harmful
emissions.
• Health: Sunlight has a positive influence on physical and
emotional health.
• Productivity and morale: Worker attitude and morale
improve when workplaces are illuminated with natural
light, which results in increased productivity and reduced
absenteeism.
• Merchandise appeal: Color distortion and glare often
result from artificial lighting. Daystar’s full-spectrum light
maximizes the range of product appeal and labeling with
vivid illumination.
• Building value: Incorporating skylights can enhance a
building’s overall value, and clients can immediately see the
savings in energy costs.
Skylight systems for any building type
Daystar skylight systems are specially engineered to meet
most roofing specifications and applications. They come in 4-foot
by 4-foot, 2-foot by 4-foot and 2-foot by 2-foot sizes, with more
than 150 curb styles to fit shingle, metal or membrane commercial
roofs with pitches from 0 to 12/12. Each system is offered as a
package, complete with a fully illustrated installation manual, and the
skylights are designed for installation by both do-it-yourselfers and
construction crews. Every package contains all materials necessary
for the job, including a roof dome; a light shaft, which can be up
to 12 feet long and comes pre-fabricated with corners attached; a
ceiling lens; a curb kit; a flashing kit; rib caps; mastic; foam tape; and
screws. In addition, Daystar LLC can custom manufacture skylight
systems to meet the specifications for most any building type.
Project showcase
One of Daystar’s most recent projects is the brand-new
Denny’s restaurant located in Joliet, Ill. Six of Daystar’s lights (each
4-foot by 4-foot), four in front and two in the back for employee-only
areas, were installed in order to help the restaurant obtain U.S. Green
Building Council (USGBC)’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED®) Gold certification, and to provide natural daylight
for customers and staff. The Daystar system was coupled with a
daylight harvesting system, which detects the amount of natural light
in each room and lowers the supplemental fluorescent lighting down
to as much as 40 percent. The result was that the utility costs for
the first six months were $10,000 less in the Joliet location than they
were in another, larger restaurant.
Other examples of successful installation projects include:
• A carrot-packing plant in Michigan, which saw
improvement in productivity after installing six 4-foot by 4foot Daystar skylight units.
• A Landmark International truck repair facility, which installed
20 units to reduce energy usage and peak-load penalties,
as well as to reduce its carbon footprint.
• An Ace Hardware store in the South Pacific Islands, which
installed the Daystar systems to reduce its utility costs.
• A warehouse facility in British Columbia, Canada, which
installed 80 Daystar systems in the second of four planned
facilities that are completely daylit. The systems are
coupled with daylight sensors that turn the electric lights off
during the daylight hours. The company expects a four- to
six-year payback on its systems.
• A riding arena for handicapped children that installed 26
units to reduce utility costs, as well as to provide the benefit
of glare-free, pleasant, even illumination for the sake of both
the horse and rider.
• An egg-packing plant, which installed Daystar skylights
above its sorting and inspection area for improved quality
control and productivity.
Denny’s Resstaurant - Joliet, IL
HCK Manufacturers - Arthur, IL
Combating rising energy costs
Working with the client
Daystar LLC works directly with the architect to determine
which materials are needed, and will get involved with the contractor,
if given the opportunity. “We take every opportunity we get to
educate the contractor about installation,” says Kenneth Schlabach,
president. “We also make spacing recommendations and provide
layouts for a particular project after we obtain information about the
building and its lighting requirements.”
For specified applications, Daystar has retained a group
of specialists in the industry, including an architect, an engineer, a
metal building erector, a general contractor, roofing experts, lighting
engineers and others as needed. Furthermore, Daystar provides a
toll-free help line that contractors can call with any questions.
Ten years ago, energy prices were low enough that the payoff
through energy savings alone did not justify natural lighting. However,
in the past few years, energy costs have risen, thus the interest in
natural lighting has grown, according to Schlabach. Government
tax breaks/credits or incentives and penalties from utility companies
make reducing electricity usage very desirable.
Additionally,
“[President]
Obama’s
new
Carbon
Cap plan has already caused an increased interest in a
quality daylight system,” says Schlabach. “In light of these
conditions, Daystar believes it is more important than ever
that the most thermally efficient designs be considered.”
Daystar has one of the most thermally efficient ratings on the market
today.
For more than eight years, Daystar Systems, LLC has
been manufacturing high-performance, natural lighting systems for
homes and buildings. Daystar skylights provide better quality, even
illumination without glare. Ultimately, the units help lower energy
costs by reducing the need for electric lights.
— Corporate Profile
Beachys Bulk Foods - Arthur, IL
14226 Hwy. 4
Campbell Hill, IL 62916
618-426-1868/866-7-DAYSTAR
Fax: 618-426-1888