Photovoltaic-Enabled Aesthetic Cladding for Smart Buildings

为了满足人口密度高的城市地区的能源需求，需要有效利用现有资源的更绿色的解决方案。高层建筑的垂直墙有广阔的表面积，有可能成为重要的能源收集平台。虽然垂直墙对太阳能电池板的安装不如屋顶那么理想，但它们提供了更大的表面积。同时，与屋顶不同的是，垂直墙由于其可见性，必须具有美观的外观和更高的审美标准。滑铁卢大学和主要建筑覆层制造商GCAT Inc.的这项研究合作的主要目标是为智能建筑开发受美学启发的光伏(PV)建筑覆层。这项研究将开发可扩展的工艺，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，同时最大化光伏输出。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片，增强光学薄膜，并纳入纳米级等离子结构，同时保持最大可能的透明度。观众感受到的颜色和质地将是这些建筑集成光伏设备中需要控制的关键美学参数。实现某些颜色，特别是较浅的颜色，其中更宽的波长范围的光子被反射，将不可避免地伴随着光伏面板的能量输出的一些损失。该项目的一个关键方面是开发能够优化光伏建筑性能的工艺。包含光伏的覆层的原型将按照不同的技术进行演示，并对架构兼容性进行评估。这项研究，再加上近年来光伏价格的迅速下降，将有力地减少碳足迹，特别是在城市地区，并为建筑业打开商业上可行的机会。

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.