A full-scale demonstration of a light-redirecting skylight was conducted in the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce. Because cooling loads area major problemin this climate and sunlight is almost always available, we designed a solution around a small skylight that admits and redirects direct sunlight to the ceiling of two separate interior rooms.The geometry of the internal skylight reflector was designed to provide daylight under all seasonal solar conditions, without allowingdirect sunlight penetration to the task areas.The optical materials (reflectors and diffusers) were selected to provide good optical efficiency throughout the year.Initial surveys of the occupants indicated that they enjoyed the variability intrinsic in such a system and that it met their lighting needs well even during the winter.

Significant time and resources by all parties went into determininghow the manufacturer's products could be used properly for thefinal construction. No single party had the ability to design, engineer, and construct the skylight systems.For example, to facilitate construction of the light well, the architect envisioned a process to laminate the specular film to some lightweight substrate material that the contractor could cut at the job site, place on an inclined ceilingplane, and fasten easily. The filmis very thin (0.0025") and requires careful lamination onto a smooth non-porous substrate.Before the construction bids were awarded, we discussed the idea of cutting the substrate (masonite or acrylic) to the final job site conditions, placing the pieces to verify fit, laminating the film to the substrate, then screwing the panels into place.We later learned that the lamination required special mechanical equipment, the cutting could not be accomplished using typical job site tools, the substrate had to be aluminum to accommodate differences in coefficient of expansion, and that one could not drill or cut the panels after the film has been applied.

To obtain a mass-marketable product that can be installed easily in the field, close cooperation by the manufacturer(s) will be essential. For this project, the