Ciralight UK reaches for the skies with new product launch
THE sky’s the limit for a new renewable energy company based in Yorkshire following its UK launch of innovative active daylight enhancing skylights.
Ciralight UK based in Hull is the sole UK distributor of the US developed Active Skylight that is new to the UK.
The 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 giving environmental gains.
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.
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 through a highly reflective light well.
“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.
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.
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 Parkinson.
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 in Hull.
