Norman company targets big-box retailers

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Dec 11, 2006 by David Page

James Patterson started his research "Quantifying Energy Savings of an Active Window" in 1993 at Iowa State University.

His goal was to develop a simple, inexpensive controller to continuously modify shading from building windows. The second phase of the research was to measure the performance of the device by quantifying actual energy saved.

Patterson's research resulted in a patent for the Horizontal Opening Solar Solution, know as HOSS.

Now, Norman-based Sol Inc. is seeking to commercialize the skylight shading system. The initial target market is big-box retailers, said David Orme, Sol's CEO.

The Sol Inc. units manage solar heat gain while maximizing available daylight admitted through skylights. The system was developed to improve profitability by conserving energy and to improve retail display effectiveness.

"The concept was to minimize heat gain and maximize available daylight," Orme said.

Sol has received support from the University of Oklahoma Office of Technology Development. Although Patterson was at Iowa State University when he started the research, he joined OU in 1995.

Sol Inc. was formed in 2003 by Patterson, professor of architecture and associate dean of the OU College of Architecture; Brooks Hull, director of development of the OU College of Engineering; and Robert C. Workman, founder and chairman of BSW International, an architectural and engineering company.

The company then negotiated an exclusive license agreement for the technology with the Iowa State University Research Foundation.

The OU Office of Technology Development provided $75,000 for further research conducted in early 2005 by Patterson and four OU graduate students.

Sol also received funding through the state's Technology Business Finance Program, which is managed for the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology by i2E.

One of the goals of the OU-funded research was to find companies in Oklahoma to manufacture the skylight components.

"We plan to use manufacturers recommended by the Oklahoma Alliance of Manufacturing," Orme said. "We expect to have manufacturing models ready by next spring."

The initial market will be big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart, Lowe's and Home Depot. The HOSS system can be installed in both existing structures and in new buildings.

"We know the technology works because it has been tested as part of the patent process," Orme said.

The units will be manufactured in a plant and then delivered to the building. Each unit weights about 75 pounds and is four feet by six feet.

The HOSS units are expected to cost about $1,000 each, he said. A typical big-box store will need about 175 units. Savings from reduced energy consumption by a big-box retail store is expected to total about $100,000 annually.

"The system will more than pay for itself in two years," Orme said.

Sol selected big-box retailers to minimize marketing cost, Orme said. Just four big-box retailers have more than 10,000 potential buildings.

"We are looking for trials of about 100 sites," he said.

Orme expects demand for the HOSS system to expand.

"If you have one successful application of the technology, there will be other uses such as schools, warehouses and military applications like airplane hangers," he said.

Orme came to Sol with a background in technology manufacturing and will manage the day-to-day operations. He was with Lucent Technologies for 32 years including serving as plant manager of Lucent's Oklahoma City plant. Orme also served as vice president and general manager after Celestica Inc. purchased the plant in 2001.

He later founded Comanche Engineering Solutions, which was one of the Journal Record Innovators of the Year in 2005.

Workman is Sol's chairman of the board, and Patterson and Hull are both directors.

The next phase for the Horizontal Opening Solar solution is developing a prototype for a full-store installation to demonstrate effectiveness.

"The technology is right to the time," Orme said. "Big companies are more sensitive to the environment."

How it works

NORMAN - Sol Inc.'s patented technology modulates the amount of daylight and solar heat through building windows and skylights by the use of a slatted device.

The slats are automatically adjusted every five minutes during daylight hours by a controller. At sunset the controller senses an absence of daylight and closes the slats for the night. At sunrise, the slats are opened and regulated through the day.