| Work Detail |
A Swiss research team has published a review of the technologies used to manufacture colored building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) panels, analyzing the competitive characteristics of more than a dozen products, as well as success factors to drive market development.
Researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) examined colored crystalline silicon photovoltaic module technologies, suppliers and success factors on the way to meeting the needs of architects and real estate developers with visually appealing building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems.
The review analyzed the methods used by manufacturers to produce colored modules, along with the costs, challenges and advantages. The study was conducted in the context of the teams work on other EU- and Swiss-funded research projects, including recent work on a new BIPV illumination colorimeter for module manufacturers.
Color can be added to conventional photovoltaic modules in several ways, for example using colored coating glass using screen printing or digital ceramic printing. Manufacturers can use colored polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), or polyolefin elastomer (POE) encapsulants. They can add semi-transparent active layers, structured coatings, patterned adhesive sheets adhered to the cover glass or directly to the cells during manufacturing, or even add color to the modules at a post-manufacturing stage.
The research team describes some of the manufacturers that have adopted these techniques, including European companies such as Kameleon Solar, Kromatix, Megasol Energy, Onyx Solar, 3s Swiss Solar Solutions and Freesuns. They use coloring techniques from Solaxess, Kromatix and Glas Trösch. Other companies mentioned are the American Sistine Solar and the Chinese Advanced Solar Power. In total, there are sixteen color BIPV technology providers with details on products, power density, estimated power losses and indicative prices.
Standardization and other success factors
Standardization is one of the challenges of BIPV technologies, colored or not. It is a triple challenge, because the panels must not only comply with IEC standards, but also construction standards, such as EN 135011, and safety glass standards. Since colored BIPV involves companies from both the photovoltaic and glass industries, it may require some additional collaboration.
“In our view, it should be a joint effort of all stakeholders in the PV and construction sector, in particular PV module manufacturers and façade manufacturers, which use safety glass. This joint effort will increase the supply and volume and reduce the cost of colored photovoltaic facades,” Swiss researcher Antonin Faes told pv magazine .
The researchers emphasize that BIPV can compete on cost with classic high-quality building cladding materials, as an alternative cladding that provides the added benefit of electricity generation.
The review includes an analysis of success factors such as reliability and stability of color solutions, safety, and methodologies for quantitative color characterization. For example, it recommends “meticulous testing” of any new encapsulant and coating to ensure no color changes or other forms of degradation occur, but also to establish safety from fire risks.
Other success factors are the selection of mid- and low-rise buildings and early consideration of the impact on the bill of materials and installation processes.
In conclusion, the team noted the need to continue addressing power loss issues associated with color PV, but closed with a positive outlook on the “overall environmental and economic advantages” of BIPV and its potential to increase available surface areas. for energy production.
Looking ahead, Faes said the group has recently seen growing interest in colored BIPV, noting that it has been ten years since CSEM launched the first white PV module. “The topic is very interesting, since it is located on the border between the objective productivity of the photovoltaic system and the subjective emotional representation of the architect,” says Faes. |
