TÜV Rheinland offers certification for building-integrated PV
Germany’s TÜV Rheinland has defined safety and quality guidelines for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules to bring more transparency to the market.
Reflective coating to reduce solar tile temperatures
Australian scientists have tested different reflective coatings in solar tiles and have found that they could improve the performance of building-integrated PV devices by up to 6.6%. They are currently working with building product manufacturers to bring their tech closer to commercial production.
New solar tiles from Germany
Creaton and Autarq have developed a modular solar tile for complex rooftops. The product is reportedly compatible with all common PV inverters.
New photovoltaic tiles from Estonia
Estonian startup Solarstone has developed two solar tiles with an efficiency of up to 19.5% and an operating temperature coefficient of -0.41% per C. It recently secured €10 million in funds to expand sales across Europe.
Solar window generates electricity, thermal energy
A research team in Hong Kong has built a solar window that can generate power on the external side via a luminescent solar concentrator and thermal energy on the internal side via transparent solar absorbers.
Semitransparent dye-sensitized solar module for BIPV applications
Scientists in Italy have developed a module with an area of 0.2 sm and an efficiency of 2.7% in outdoor conditions, with a tilt angle of 60 C. They designed it by considering the trade-off between low losses and device sturdiness.
Designs, control strategies for PV-integrated shading devices
Photovoltaic shades in buildings offer energy efficiency and electricity generation, but an international research group says their commercial viability will depend on the control strategies used to optimize performance.
Hungarian start-up launches solar tile with output of 167W per m²
Developed by Hungarian manufacturer Terràn, the Generon solar tile is based on concrete support and weighs is in at 5.7kg.
New solar tiles from Denmark
Danish BIPV specialist Dansk Solenergi has added two more tiles to its product range – an 18.15%-efficient dark grey panel and a 16.7%-efficient terracotta product. Both panels have an operating temperature coefficient of -0.34% per degree Celsius.
Photovoltaic forced ventilated facade for applications with air source heat pumps
Scientists in Spain have designed a BIPV forced ventilated facade that can be used as support for heating and a domestic hot water (DHW) building system based on air source heat pumps (ASHPs). In the proposed system configuration, the heat pump is expected to cover building heating demand at all times, regardless of the performance of the solar array.
