Prolonged reflections of concentrated bright natural light, or solar glare, can occur from photovoltaic (PV) panels or even buildings made of slightly reflective materials. The latter has dominated the news recently after solar glare from a London skyscraper melted part of the body work of a car parked nearby, scorched a business’ welcome mat and even fried an egg.
London Walkie Talkie Skycraper and Solar Glare
London’s latest high rise building at 20 Fenchurch Street – nicknamed the Walkie Talkie due to it’s concave shape – is being held responsible for reflecting an intense beam of bright light onto the road below.
The solar glare was first brought to media attention on the 2nd September 2013 after a director of a tiling company, who had parked his car in nearby Eastcheap, returned to find parts of the Jaguar had melted.
Since then reports of other damage has come to light: a burnt barbershop doormat, a singed bicycle seat and broken slate tiles. Not satisfied that these accounts demonstrated the heat of beam, one journalist from The Telegraph took a pan to the area and managed to fry an egg despite it being an overcast day.
Considering Solar Glare (and Glint)
The Walkie Talkie is the latest case to highlight the importance of considering the sun when designing and planning a building made of reflective materials such as metal or glass. Not only can solar glare cause an issue, but so can glinting. (Glinting is a smaller reflection that occurs over a shorter space of time). At Pager Power, we can help you with this by undertaking a Glint and Glare Assessment. This bespoke report can be tailored to suit your specific requirements.
To enquire about what we could do to help you, all you need to do is contact us and tell us about your project. We will then provide you with our best recommendation on a way forward. Call +44 (0) 1787 319001 or email info@pagerpower.com.