Harness the Potential of Solar Management with GKD Solar Omega Metal Fabric
The intricate geometries and patterns of metal fabric were originally used for conveying, separation and filtration needs. It wasn’t until there was a paradigm shift to using “glazed” facades that the A&D community began to realize the potential of metal fabrics in architectural design.
Because of its unique aesthetics and durability, architects from around the world began to specify metal fabrics as sun shades for facades in the 2000s – letting the sun’s energy into structures during the winter and mitigating it in the summer. Fabrics like Escale, Lago and Sambesi were popular options for sun shade design, and as a result our team wanted to better understand the technical aspects of why and how metal fabrics work best in this application.
In early 2012, GKD began to research how to maximize sun shading properties to produce the most efficient solar management fabric. From this effort, Solar Omega was born.
Designing for Sun Shading
For the first time, GKD has woven vertical flat wire with horizontal stainless steel wire to provide even more efficient solar protection for building façades. This gives the new, innovative Solar Omega solar control mesh more mass at a greater depth and ensures better energy reflection.
Despite its increased mass at a greater depth, the new solution appears just as light as our popular Omega 1510 and 1520 meshes. GKD also engineered the mesh to offer the desired grade of transparency at specific points of the façade. This guarantees the best possible transparency at windows and utilizes daylight while providing maximum shading.
How Does it Work?
GKD Solar Omega creates a solar barrier through a “stacking effect” which optimizes the sun’s position in the sky. As the sun rises higher in the sky, the stacking effects of the horizontal rods shade the façade. As the sun is lower such as the winter months, more solar gain is allowed through the mesh. Adding more “depth” to these horizontal rods increases the amount of shading without obstructing the view straight through the fabric.
Depending on your needs for solar management, individual mesh panels can be made up of segments with differing degrees of openness – all thanks to our innovative and customizable weaving technology.
A Broad Commitment to Sustainability
Solar Omega adds to our expanding collection of sustainable metal fabric products. As a responsible member of diverse communities around the world, our key objectives include sustainability in the broadest sense and protection of the environment.
As a manufacturer we commit to:
- Fostering employee awareness of environmental responsibilities.
- Considering environmental impacts when evaluating new products, technologies and manufacturing processes.
- Implementing conservation of natural resources, pollution prevention and waste minimization.
- Encouraging research of manufacturing and environmental technologies utilizing long-lasting, recyclable, stainless steel mesh.
- Ensuring that products and facilities contribute to a sustainable environment.
- Implementing manufacturing and production processes that protect the environment.
- Utilizing packaging that can be recycled and reused.
With respect to our full product line of stainless steel metal fabrics:
- Stainless steel is a sustainable product.
- Stainless steel used in GKD metal fabrics contains greater than 60% post-industrial and post-consumer content recycled material.
- Recyclability directly correlates with minimization of waste.
- Recycling stainless steel involves no health hazardous materials.
- Utilizing GKD metal fabric is an environmentally responsible and resource- efficient choice.
- Stainless steel does not require a surface coating that can deteriorate and possibly pollute the environment.
- It does not require hazardous cleaning products to maintain and is a low maintenance product once installed.
- It is 100% recyclable, retaining its inherent qualities throughout the recycling process.
Answering the Call
Solar Omega offers a great deal of design and functional flexibility for façades, provides particularly effective solar protection, delivers lower energy consumption in the long term and can significantly increase the energy efficiency of buildings.
To learn more abut this innovative product, and how you can use it in your next project, contact us today.
As your turnkey design and engineering consultants, we are here to assist you through the entire design-build process. Please tell us how to reach you and how we can assist.