Hugh Lowry
Strategic Account Manager, Solar Facades, Elemex
Large commercial buildings account for significant greenhouse gas emissions. Stronger action is needed to meet ambitious environmental targets. One Canadian company has an innovative solution.
Rooftop solar panels are well-known, but what about solar walls? This is the kind of leading-edge technology that Elemex has developed and is proving successful in not only creating greener buildings, but also generating renewable power.
With over 50 years of experience in the building materials industry, Elemex perfected the use of aluminum composite panels, and then created a sintered ceramic facade called Ceramitex. These building exteriors are strong, durable, and resist chemical staining and graffiti.
Design flexibility
Redefining the standard of facade innovation, Elemex created Solstex, a building integrated facade system designed to harness the power of the sun. The company’s proprietary Unity attachment technology allows for seamless integration of different facade panels that come in a palette of colours to allow for design flexibility.
“We wanted to fill a gap in the building industry, while finding ways to address climate change,” says Hugh Lowry, Strategic Account Manager, Solar Facades at Elemex. “Our Solstex panels, which come in custom sizes and shapes, convert sunlight into power that can be used directly in the building or sent to the grid. And with net metering, building owners can receive a credit when they produce excess power, on the weekends for example.”
Lowry adds their system works with rebuilds and new buildings, and in addition to reducing a building’s environmental impact, the return on investment can be realized in 10-15 years.
Learn more about the Solstex technology, and how it can improve your next building project at elemex.com.
