An anticipated post-COVID plexiglass surplus could go back into service offsetting peak energy loads. Developers of a modular photovoltaic assembly aim to have the do-it-yourself retrofit kit on the market in sync with the projected schedule for completing nationwide vaccinations.
“As the dividers come down, the solar panels can go up,” says Mala R. Key, a principal with A Ray of Repurposing Solutions Inc., the building products start-up behind the scalable, lego-like concept. “Building owners/managers can realize germs-to-generation functionality that leverages their earlier investment in occupants’ health and safety, accelerates the payback on photovoltaic installations, scores green certification points and reduces carbon emissions. It’s a win win win win paradigm shift.”
The patented design allows building operations personnel to easily snap reclaimed plexiglass into an adjustable frame containing other photovoltaic system components. Key suggests that could be a particularly good fit for community retail malls with expansive roof surfaces, anchor tenants like grocery stores that have little flexibility to curtail refrigeration loads during peak demand periods, and a looming challenge to sustainably decommission a glut of obsolete transparent buffers.
“Of course, our clients are prepared to wait patiently for public health affirmation before they can say good riddance to these smudge magnets, but we’re urging them to start thinking about the possibilities now,” reports Una Abril, senior director with Green & Bear It Property Services Ltd., a third-party management firm for the commercial and multifamily sectors. “Already, we’re seeing some robust reimagining that could be best-in-class game-changers going forward.”
Along with exciting new operational applications for plexiglass, she points to other tenant-facing innovations — such as the dramatic new lobby art set to cascade down the atrium of one prominent downtown office tower. The intricately quilted mosaic has been fashioned from thousands of fabric masks that donors wore on memorable occasions during the past year. Meanwhile, building owners/managers and their design consultants are actively pressuring suppliers for a wider choice of elegant hand-sanitizer dispensers worthy of a sophisticated and discerning occupancy.
“The new normal needs a makeover,” Abril asserts.
