One of the greenest buildings in Canada will feature technology developed by a University of British Columbia spinoff company that uses sunlight to light the interior of buildings.
Okanagan College’s Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies in Penticton will feature a lighting system designed by Richmond-based SunCentral Inc.
As reported one year ago in Business in Vancouver, SunCentral is working toward the commercialization of a system developed by UBC professor Lorne Whitehead that uses optics to beam sunlight from collectors on the exterior of a building through small wall openings in the interior to provide natural light.
Founded in 2008, SunCentral now has a staff of 13 employees and has had raised $6.4 million in federal and provincial government funding to bankroll the project.
Since March 2011, SunCentral has raised an additional $3 million in private investment and is on track with a number of demonstration projects, one of which is the Centre of Excellence in Penticton.
The building was built according to Living Building Challenge standards – the highest in the world for sustainability. SunCentral’s lighting system will be fully installed in the building in the next couple of months, according to Tony Formby, SunCentral’s president and CEO.
“There are only about 12 [buildings] in North America that are attempting to achieve this status right now, so that’s a very exciting project for us.”
In June 2011, the BC Technology Industry Association awarded SunCentral the Technology Impact Award for excellence in product innovation.
Formby said Ottawa is now looking for a federal government building in which to implement the SunCentral lighting system.
“They will find a government building that wants to deploy this, and then they will sign a contract with us to purchase it.” •
