By Clint Childress, LEED®AP, Market Director – Draper At Home
Window shades allow you to adjust the amount of natural light entering your home. They create a comfortable ambiance and reduce glare, all while ensuring you get the natural light you need.
But for shades to be most effective, they need to be in the right position at the right time. Traditionally, this has been done manually, using remotes or wall switches, scheduling shade movements, or using sensors to allow the shades to react to light conditions.
Circadian rhythms are the natural, internal processes that regulate our sleep-wake cycle and repeat roughly every 24 hours. These rhythms are influenced by external cues like light and temperature. A well-regulated circadian rhythm helps:
Natural light is a major factor in regulating our circadian rhythms, especially in the morning. It helps synchronize our internal clock with nature. Shades are an important tool in getting the balance between natural light and glare and heat reduction right to maximize comfort.
Responding to conditions or trying to anticipate them has worked pretty well for shade control. But we were interested in taking shade control to the next level: making it intuitive and proactive.
There were several thoughts on ways to do that, but the direction we took was inspired by some observations of the natural world. In fact, it all started in my own garden.
I grow sunflowers in our garden, and the window in my home office offers a beautiful view of them throughout the summer. One day as I was contemplating beauty of the many pseudanthia (that’s botanical talk for the head of the sunflower), it struck me how sunflowers get the maximum benefit from the sun: they rotate to follow the sun’s path throughout the day. This behavior is called heliotropism. Thus was born the idea behind TourneSol.
TourneSol is a heliotropic sun-tracking system which, just like sunflowers, follows the sun’s path, gradually adjusting your motorized window shades in unnoticeable increments to match the position of the sun throughout the day and control light levels, reduce glare, and maintain a comfortable indoor temperature. It also brings critical daylight exposure in the morning and creates a sleep friendly environment at night.
TourneSol not only maximizes comfort and wellness; it also helps protect your home and furnishings. TourneSol can set a direct light penetration depth to protect furniture, flooring, musical instruments, and artwork from exposure to harmful UV rays.
Learn more about using the power of the sunflower to create a healthier, more balanced lifestyle and protect your interiors at https://www.draperathome.com/?S=sunflower.
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