Field Performance Monitoring of Energy-Generating High-Transparency Agrivoltaic Glass Windows
Currently, there are strong and sustained growth trends observed in multi-disciplinary industrial technologies such as building-integrated photovoltaics and agrivoltaics, where renewable energy production is featured in building envelopes of varying degrees of transparency. Novel glass products can...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Technologies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/11/4/95 |
| _version_ | 1797583158555705344 |
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| author | Mikhail Vasiliev Victor Rosenberg Jamie Lyford David Goodfield |
| author_facet | Mikhail Vasiliev Victor Rosenberg Jamie Lyford David Goodfield |
| author_sort | Mikhail Vasiliev |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Currently, there are strong and sustained growth trends observed in multi-disciplinary industrial technologies such as building-integrated photovoltaics and agrivoltaics, where renewable energy production is featured in building envelopes of varying degrees of transparency. Novel glass products can provide a combination of thermal energy savings and solar energy harvesting, enabled by either patterned-semiconductor thin-film energy converters on glass substrates, or by using luminescent concentrator-type approaches to achieve high transparency. Significant progress has been demonstrated recently in building integrated solar windows featuring visible light transmission of up to 70%, with electric power outputs of up to P<sub>max</sub> ~ 30–33 W<sub>p</sub>/m<sup>2</sup>. Several slightly different designs were tested during 2021–2023 in a greenhouse installation at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia; their long-term energy harvesting performance differences were found to be on the scale of ~10% in wall-mounted locations. Solar greenhouse generated electricity at rates of up to 19 kWh/day, offsetting nearly 40% of energy costs. The objective of this paper is to report on the field performance of these PV windows in the context of agrivoltaics and to provide some detail of the performance differences measured in several solar window designs related to their glazing structure materials. Methods for the identification and quantification of long-term field performance differences and energy generation trends in solar windows of marginally different design types are reported. The paper also aims to outline the practical application potential of these transparent construction materials in built environments, focusing on the measured renewable energy figures and seasonal trends observed during the long-term study. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:32:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-af292546734e4d968673a86a3d41b797 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7080 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:32:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Technologies |
| spelling | doaj.art-af292546734e4d968673a86a3d41b7972023-11-19T03:13:21ZengMDPI AGTechnologies2227-70802023-07-011149510.3390/technologies11040095Field Performance Monitoring of Energy-Generating High-Transparency Agrivoltaic Glass WindowsMikhail Vasiliev0Victor Rosenberg1Jamie Lyford2David Goodfield3ClearVue Technologies Ltd., Perth 6005, AustraliaClearVue Technologies Ltd., Perth 6005, AustraliaClearVue Technologies Ltd., Perth 6005, AustraliaEnvironmental Technology Centre, School of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, Murdoch University, Perth 6150, AustraliaCurrently, there are strong and sustained growth trends observed in multi-disciplinary industrial technologies such as building-integrated photovoltaics and agrivoltaics, where renewable energy production is featured in building envelopes of varying degrees of transparency. Novel glass products can provide a combination of thermal energy savings and solar energy harvesting, enabled by either patterned-semiconductor thin-film energy converters on glass substrates, or by using luminescent concentrator-type approaches to achieve high transparency. Significant progress has been demonstrated recently in building integrated solar windows featuring visible light transmission of up to 70%, with electric power outputs of up to P<sub>max</sub> ~ 30–33 W<sub>p</sub>/m<sup>2</sup>. Several slightly different designs were tested during 2021–2023 in a greenhouse installation at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia; their long-term energy harvesting performance differences were found to be on the scale of ~10% in wall-mounted locations. Solar greenhouse generated electricity at rates of up to 19 kWh/day, offsetting nearly 40% of energy costs. The objective of this paper is to report on the field performance of these PV windows in the context of agrivoltaics and to provide some detail of the performance differences measured in several solar window designs related to their glazing structure materials. Methods for the identification and quantification of long-term field performance differences and energy generation trends in solar windows of marginally different design types are reported. The paper also aims to outline the practical application potential of these transparent construction materials in built environments, focusing on the measured renewable energy figures and seasonal trends observed during the long-term study.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/11/4/95building-integrated photovoltaicssolar windowsagrivoltaicsrenewable energy |
| spellingShingle | Mikhail Vasiliev Victor Rosenberg Jamie Lyford David Goodfield Field Performance Monitoring of Energy-Generating High-Transparency Agrivoltaic Glass Windows Technologies building-integrated photovoltaics solar windows agrivoltaics renewable energy |
| title | Field Performance Monitoring of Energy-Generating High-Transparency Agrivoltaic Glass Windows |
| title_full | Field Performance Monitoring of Energy-Generating High-Transparency Agrivoltaic Glass Windows |
| title_fullStr | Field Performance Monitoring of Energy-Generating High-Transparency Agrivoltaic Glass Windows |
| title_full_unstemmed | Field Performance Monitoring of Energy-Generating High-Transparency Agrivoltaic Glass Windows |
| title_short | Field Performance Monitoring of Energy-Generating High-Transparency Agrivoltaic Glass Windows |
| title_sort | field performance monitoring of energy generating high transparency agrivoltaic glass windows |
| topic | building-integrated photovoltaics solar windows agrivoltaics renewable energy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/11/4/95 |
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