Pittsburghers see only 43% of the sunshine possible if all our days were sunny (US Census information, 2000), compared to 68% in sunny San Francisco! Especially with winter coming, bringing light into our homes becomes a priority. Polycarbonate panels continue to pop up in use in lots of creative ways -- bringing light into and through homes as exterior cladding, roofing, and interior wall material. September 2007 Metropolitan Home features a home by Richard Williams (his own) in Chevy Chase, MD, in which he uses polycarbonate panels by CPI Daylighting as both exterior and interior surfaces. Richard raves about their qualities, including UV reduction, thermal-insulation, impact resistance, and ease of installation.
The panels seem to be fairly environmentally friendly, some are even 100% recyclable, and one impact stands out in this climate -- swapping carbon-fuel provided electric lights for natural sunlight!
