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Company donates cottage to solar power research An Oakville skylight manufacturer has donated a cottage to McMaster University in Hamilton to be used for testing solar technology. Velux Canada Inc., of Oakville, has donated an 18-foot by 13-foot wooden structure, that is 13-feet tall, to the school. The company that specializes in skylights and solar thermal products, originally used the cottage to test a new line of skylights under Canadian weather conditions. Now, the structure will be used to test a unique translucent solar skylight that can help control interior building temperature and generate electricity, but still allow natural light to shine through. "We needed some way to test the solar skylight under real weather conditions so we can get investors interested," said Adrian Kitai, professor of engineering physics at McMaster, in a news release. He is working with three graduate students in the Master's of Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation program -- Salman Bawa, Raaid Batarfi and Mazin Batarfi -- to refine the technology and develop a business plan. The cottage features a sloping roof pitched at different angles on each side, and eight installed skylights. While testing of the solar skylight is one of the primary research projects that will use the building, the facility is available to other researchers at McMaster and in the community. The solar skylight being developed by Kitai and the three students looks like a standard thermopane window. However, inside is a patented arrangement of narrow strips of solar cells and prisms that both concentrate sunlight to generate more electricity and reflect it to allow light through. The solar skylight self-adjusts to the position of the sun and weather conditions to provide the optimal light/electricity balance for greatest interior comfort. For example, at dusk and dawn, 80 per cent of sunlight is allowed through for greater interior light and the rest is converted to electricity. During the day, the percentage is reversed to allow 80 per cent of sunlight to be converted to electricity. The cottage was transported last Thursday from Oakville to McMaster Innovation Park along the Queen Elizabeth Way and Hwy. 403. Several organizations contributed to the move. 13 · Thursday, July 8, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com MICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVER ON THE MOVE: A solar-powered research cottage created by Velux Canada Inc. is transported on the QEW from Velux in Oakville to McMaster University's Engineering department on June 30.