Photovoltaic-Enabled Aesthetic Cladding for Smart Buildings

智能建筑的光伏美观包层

• 批准号: 562500-2021
• 负责人: Sivoththaman, Siva
• 金额: $ 3.64万
• 依托单位: University of Waterloo
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=722106
• 关键词: Photovoltaic; Enabled; Aesthetic; Cladding; Smart

In order to meet the energy demand of urban areas with high population densities, greener solutions that efficiently use the available resources are needed. The vertical walls of tall buildings have vast surface areas that can potentially become significant energy harvesting platforms. While the vertical walls are somewhat less optimal for solar panel implementation than roof-tops, they offer a lot larger surface area. At the same time, unlike the roof-tops, the vertical walls must have a pleasing appearance with higher aesthetic standards because of their visibility. The primary goal of this research partnership between the University of Waterloo and GCAT Inc., a major building cladding manufacturer, is to develop aesthetically inspired photovoltaic (PV)-enabled building cladding for smart buildings. The research will develop scalable processes for the embedment of high performance solar cells in building claddings with control over the aesthetics of the final product while also maximizing the PV output. Exploiting various physical phenomena of thin films and nanostructures, techniques will be developed to modify glass sheets used in standard solar panels, enhance optical thin films, and incorporate nanoscale plasmonic structures, while also maintaining maximum possible transparency. The color and texture perceived by the viewer will be a key aesthetic parameter that needs to be controlled in these building-integrated PV devices. Realization of certain colours, especially lighter ones where a broader wavelength range of photons get reflected, will inevitably come with some penalty on the energy output of the PV panel. A key aspect of this project is the development of processes that lead to an optimized photovoltaic-architectural performance. Prototypes of PV-incorporated cladding will be demonstrated following the different techniques and evaluated for architectural compatibility. This research, coupled with the rapidly declining PV prices seen in recent times, will contribute strongly to reduce the carbon footprint particularly in urban areas, and opens up commercially viable opportunities for the building industry.

为了满足人口密度高的城市地区的能源需求，需要有效利用可用资源的绿色解决方案。高层建筑的垂直墙壁具有巨大的表面积，可能成为重要的能量收集平台。虽然垂直墙对于太阳能电池板的实施来说不如屋顶那么理想，但它们提供了更大的表面积。同时，与屋顶不同，垂直墙必须具有令人愉快的外观，具有更高的美学标准，因为它们的可见性。滑铁卢大学和GCAT公司之间的这种研究伙伴关系的主要目标，一家主要的建筑覆层制造商，正在为智能建筑开发具有美学灵感的光伏（PV）建筑覆层。该研究将开发可扩展的工艺，用于在建筑覆层中嵌入高性能太阳能电池，控制最终产品的美观性，同时最大限度地提高光伏输出。利用薄膜和纳米结构的各种物理现象，将开发技术来修改标准太阳能电池板中使用的玻璃板，增强光学薄膜，并结合纳米级等离子体结构，同时保持最大可能的透明度。由观众感知的颜色和纹理将是一个关键的美学参数，需要在这些建筑一体化光伏设备控制。实现某些颜色，特别是较浅的颜色，其中更宽波长范围的光子被反射，将不可避免地对PV板的能量输出产生一些影响。该项目的一个关键方面是开发过程，从而优化光化学建筑性能。将根据不同的技术演示PV-结合包层的原型，并评估其建筑兼容性。这项研究，加上最近光伏价格的快速下降，将大大有助于减少碳足迹，特别是在城市地区，并为建筑业开辟商业上可行的机会。