Frank Hasenfratz Centre for Manufacturing Excellence Solar Roof

Kiwi Newton Construction designed and built this state of the art facility for Linamar Corporation.  It is a training facility constructed to reduce energy use.  Linamar returned to Newton Group Ltd. in 2011 to design and install a solar array on the roof to further reduce the environmental impact of the building usage. Also, a reflective white TPO roof cover was already installed on most of the roof. However, in order to even further increase the efficiency of the solar panels, the Newton Group team coated the rocks on the EPDM roof a white colour.  The coated rocks allow an increase of the sun’s reflectivity back up to the solar panels so the sun’s rays are striking the panels from above, but also being reflected back up from the rocks to the panels.

This building capitalizes on other green initiatives such as natural lighting, and therefore has many skylights throughout the structure creating over 40 major obstructions on this approximately 90,000 square foot roof.  This made a traditional crystalline tilt-up panel array option a very small power producer, and very limiting.  A solution was developed using Solyndra solar panels that had the capability to be laid out around obstacles where necessary.  Utilizing these PV panels allowed for 320kW DC of power to be installed, maintaining access to all roof top units and drains with minimum 4-foot-wide pathways.