| Work Detail |
Swiss retailer Lehner Versand is generating 24.5% of its building’s energy needs thanks to a renovation project that added 109kW of solar PV capacity to its façade. The photovoltaic array has a sequin-like effect, thanks to screen-printed glass modules and a novel curtain wall substructure.
Swiss solar project manager Felix & Co Windgate has added 109kW of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) capacity to the façade of a property owned by Swiss retailer Lehner Versand, as part of a wider renovation project that increased the building’s height by 12 metres.
The extension consisted of 866 m2 of screen-printed coloured glass modules supplied by Ertex Solar, an Austrian module manufacturer. The new active solar façade has a sequined appearance thanks to the curtain wall substructure and the coloured glass panels. “By incorporating different inclinations in the façade elements, the building envelope is elegantly designed. This also creates an aesthetic play of light, giving the structure a natural vitality and rich colouring,” a Windgate spokesperson told pv magazine .
The building already had a rooftop plant with conventional silicon solar panels, which combined with the new installation now provide 114,560 kWh annually, or 24.5% of the buildings needs, according to a statement from the 2024 Schweizer Solarpreis.
According to Windgates spokesperson, this type of installation with modules installed on the south, east and west facades has practical advantages, especially in winter. "Generally, the energy efficiency of façade systems is lower than that of rooftop installations, due to the less favourable angle of incidence of sunlight compared to rooftop PV modules. However, there is one significant advantage: the less pronounced angles of sunlight in winter are used more efficiently, which improves the reliability of energy supply in winter and increases self-consumption," they noted.
The project team achieved the sequin effect by varying the tilt direction of the modules installed in the curtain wall substructure. It was a solution developed, designed and manufactured by Ecolite, a Swiss building materials company. The brackets, which hold the panels at four different angles, were supplied as pre-assembled substructures and fixed to steel spans on site.
“Our task was to adapt an existing suspension system to the requirements of the Lehner Versand project so that the large spans between the vertical steel beams of the extension could be bridged and the suspension for the tilted PV modules could be correctly mounted on them in terms of expansion and statics,” Samuel Bregenzer, founder and managing director of Ecolite, explained to pv magazine .
The project recently received the Schweizer Solarpreis 2024 award in the building renovation category. |
