Highlights
- Providers for multi-hued solar panels that would allow a more pleasing aesthetic and making solar energy a viable option when considering the use of renewable energy in urban construction designs
- Designer Renzo Piano’s use of Lof Solar Corp.’s product to design aesthetically pleasing buildings while adhering to “green building” concepts for the new Viadotto Polcevara in Genoa, the Intessa Sanpaolo headquarters in Turin City and the Ex-Michelin redesign in “Le Albere” section of Trento
- Creation of public art pieces in San Francisco Bay, California, and the Tacoma-Seattle International Airport in Washington that are eye-pleasing and energy-efficient.
Intro
Established in 2008, Lof Solar Corp. in 2010 introduced the concept of Environmental-integrated Photovoltaic (EPIV) devices and swiftly became the leading provider and producer of the color solar panel cells, a high-efficiency conversion solar panel product, which has seen wide usage across the world.
Solar cells were in monochrome indigo hues or blacks, due primarily to the different material of the antireflection film coating the cell surface, and because darker colors more readily absorb light, making it easier for photovoltaic energy conversion. The monochromatic nature of the products limited usage of solar cells when function clashed with aesthetic design, an obstacle the company boasts of having broken through, retaining high conversion efficiency while presenting users with different colored solar panels.
The company was able to achieve a breakthrough with its products, which it claimed would bring about a “new era of color” and broaden the allure of solar energy.
Landscape Art for the Seattle-Tacoma Intl. Airport
In 2010, Lof Solar Corp. caught word that the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was putting out feelers for potential collaborators regarding the use of solar power to enhance the airport’s power usage management.
Collaborating with local companies, Lof Solar Corp. provided the solar panels, which were first processed with lamination of two glass panels, then presented to another integrator company for installation.
Considering the proximity of the airport to the “Emerald City,” Lof Solar applied a line of product sharing the city’s nickname when designing a section of solar panels on the outer walls of a building on the outskirts of the airport.
The resulting design – six horizontal banks of green solar panels on the side of the building with the most exposure to the sun-generated enough power to sustain night-time LED illumination, which is very much in line with the prevailing concept of energy conservation and environmentally conscious in Seattle.
In terms of post-sale services, Lof Solar Corp. offered maintenance services only for problems directly pertaining to the solar panels, as the company was the product provider.
The Eelgrass of San Francisco Bay
In another project, located near the San Francisco Bay and completed in 2019, Lof Solar Corp. collaborated with Reed Madden Designs in producing a public art piece, titled “Changing Tides,” using 440 pieces of Lof Solar Corp.’s solar cells across 14 panels, which provided the power to light up 20,000 LED lights.
The piece, adopting the shape and form of eelgrass, hearkened back to the importance of eelgrass in the San Francisco Bay ecology, as eelgrass patches provide safe spawning places not only for fish but also the small creatures that the fish feed on, while the fish, in turn, become food for osprey and other fisher birds across the Bay.
Collaboration with Renzo Piano Across Italy
Following the 2018 collapse of the Viadotto Polcevera, commonly called the Morandi Bridge after its original designer Riccardo Morandi, the Genoese government-contracted designer Renzo Piano for the design and construction of the new bridge.
Piano had used Lof Solar Corp.’s products twice before, in a 2013 redesign of “Le Albere” region in Trento City – the project resulted in the production of 300 kilowatts of power, which served to subsidize a portion of the power usage in the area – and the 2014 design for the Intessa Sanpaolo Bank headquarters in Turin, with panels used for the Turin project producing 185 kilowatts of power.
In his redesign for the new Viadotto Polcevera, Piano installed solar panels, using the company’s “stone elegance” color scheme, with 57,000 solar cells, on either side of the bridge, a design that allowed solar energy garnered throughout the day – approximately around 228-230 kilowatts – to provide night-time lighting.
The company said that due to the crowd coming and going on the bridge, it served to popularize the concept of renewable energy and more importantly, helped expose Lof Solar Corp.’s solar panel products, which came in different sizes and colors.
Product Uniqueness Guarantees Future Market
Due to the uniqueness of its multi-hued solar cell product, as well as its offer for customizability of product, in tandem with comprehensive design services, Lof Solar Corp. is confident of its place on the market.
Selling Points
- Highly efficient conversion rates between solar radiation to electricity, within 2 percent of nominal values.
- Capable of retaining high conversion efficiency even with multi-hued panel surfaces.
- World-wide sales of premium quality products spanning 30 nations across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
- Capable of mass producing excellent products with wide range of colors backed by patents, minimizing project risks.