Duo-Gard Industries Inc., a leader in architectural illumination and translucent daylighting systems, has announced creation of a technical partnership with Arborlight LLC, custom lighting developers specializing in advanced LED technology. The new alliance will develop LED lighting integration techniques to illuminate translucent architectural materials, including walls, ceilings and panels, with higher energy efficiency, lower cost and custom aesthetics.
The alliance has received partial funding from the University of Michigan's commercialization program, and the first products are currently in prototype stage. "Duo-Gard's expertise in marketing to the architectural and design communities combines with Arborlight's expertise in LED advances to create a combination that will satisfy a broad range in this dynamic market," said David Miller, president.
"Duo-Gard and Arborlight have similar interests and motivation," said Michael Forbis, CEO of Ann Arbor-based Arborlight. "We're both Michigan-based companies involved in clean technology aimed at improving energy efficiency. The integration of our technologies is a natural step in sustainability."
The two companies are working with a light distribution technique -- developed by Arborlight -- which greatly reduces the space required between the lighting and the translucent panels creating walls, ceilings and canopies. The result is a profile of only two inches. Integrated panel lighting and translucent materials will provide diffused natural light during the day with backlit illumination at night.
"LEDs are just coming into their own. New technologies allow us greater control in brightness and thermal management," said Forbis. "In today's buildings, energy is a dominant factor, and daylighting is becoming more critical. Integrating systems that harvest natural light by day and provide illumination at night will become standard in the next generation of buildings."
Forbis said the engineering of these LED systems will combine intensities desired with patterns and colors to satisfy architecture's aesthetic demands.
Miller said Arborlight's LED technologies will also enable Duo-Gard to enhance its illumaWALL line of plug-and-play, color-changing systems for translucent panels. Award-winning illumaWALL by Duo-Gard was named one of the Top Products of 2006 by Architectural Record and Buildings magazines. A long-standing challenge, however, is the four-inch-thick profile required. The alliance's advances will change that to two inches.
The partnership plans to develop other technologies ranging from architectural lighting to functional lighting incorporating a blend of optics and building materials.
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