
The main boardroom of the Novato Unified Education Center in Novato, CA, is a vital part of the City’s community. Not only is it used extensively by the school-board, it is also where the city and planning councils meet. The 35’ square room is crowned by a grid of sixteen 4’square skylights that make up a large portion of the ceiling. Originally, when the education center was built, these skylights were tinted dark bronze to help eliminate sun glare. However, this not only made the room too dark but did nothing to reduce the thermal discomfort that was making it so unbearably hot. To solve the problem, the City turned to roofing experts Division 7.
The solution was to install Acralight International Skylight’s NanoStar™ skylighting, a unique system which incorporates Nanogel aerogel. This translucent granular form of silica aerogel comprises 95% air and is the world's lightest and best insulating solid material. Thirty-nine times more effective than the highest-grade fiber glass insulation, this space age ingredient increased the skylights’ insulating properties from an R value of 1.5 to R-6.5. In addition to providing the vital insulation and solar control, its translucent nature means that the natural daylight is diffused and distributed evenly as soft museum-quality light, without shadows or glare.

The California Board of Energy Efficiency’s report on Daylighting has demonstrated that people’s work performance can be improved by more than 20% when rooms are well lit with natural daylight. The use of translucent Nanogel in this environment not only removes unwanted glare and solar heat but eliminates external distractions while improving concentration and personal well-being.

Nanogel is environmentally friendly and widely specified as an essential component of daylighting in many LEED certified projects. It is also a Silver Cradle to Cradle Certifiedcm material. This stringent independent certification process by MBDC examines a product’s manufacturing characteristics, its ecological impact and recyclability. The aim is to eliminate waste entirely and to create a healthy and sustainable society.
For more information about Nanogel aerogel visitwww.nanogel.com.
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