From drawing board to façade: innovative breakthroughs in building materials with integrated solar panels

BIPV: from theory to practice

Building materials such as roof tiles and facade panels with integrated solar panels will be essential to meet more ambitious climate targets. But there are still some challenges between theory and practice, mainly in the design and production process of building elements. These must combine high energy production with high flexibility in colour and shape. In addition, cost efficiency (and hence automation) is of prime importance. Unlike highly standardised solar cells and panels, BIPV elements need to be tailored to unique building situations and conditions. This requires more customised, flexible and local production – and a streamlined workflow between architects, material suppliers and BIPV manufacturers.

Stefan Dewallef, Product Development Manager at Soltech –

With further digitalisation and flexible automated tools, including those of BIPV4ALL, BIPV products can be produced locally in Flanders with a healthy margin to serve both local and international markets.

3 projects to accelerate the breakthrough of BIPV

The BIPV4ALL project explored a digital workflow that simplifies the entire BIPV design and manufacturing process. This workflow connects different construction phases and stakeholders: from architects and their building owners to engineers and manufacturers of tailor-made building materials. A digital platform provides architects at their drawing board with the tools to simulate and optimise energy efficiency, and then automatically generates technical drawings that can be used almost immediately (after review by Soltech engineers) as a technical building instruction plan at the production facility where the BIPV products can be manufactured.This reduces the cost of design and installation, reduces construction errors and improves the feasibility of BIPV projects, as architects work with ‘feasible’ shapes from the start.

Maaike Berckmoes, director of Facade Engineering VK – part of Sweco –

By digitally connecting BIPV design tools with the production of the final project-specific BIPV module, we are creating an automated workflow that increases the possibilities of BIPV architectural design while optimising energy yields and installation costs. This provides more opportunities throughout the design process (from feasibility study to implementation) to implement BIPV in buildings.

In addition, the project investigated an innovative concept to enable better performance and efficiency in conditions of partial shading. Indeed, a flexible layout of BIPV also poses technical challenges: the effect of shading has to be taken into account in the design, through a technical redesign of the panel. New technologies for glass tinting have also been explored, addressing the aesthetic limitations of current BIPV systems and ensuring that BIPV materials are almost indistinguishable from other building materials.

Jonathan Govaerts EnergyVille/imec –

With this research into aesthetic and technical improvements to BIPV, the technology will eventually become more widely applicable and easier to model (impact of shape, location, shading, etc. on efficiency). We are pleased to have been able to bring the findings of this research one step closer to the market through this project.

Lastly, the project worked on improvements in the production process of BIPV modules. Automation offers solutions to the main challenges of the current production process, namely high labour costs and operator dependency. The automated ‘bussing tools’ developed in this project connect the different solar cells together, eliminating the need for manual soldering. This reduces production time, lowers production costs and increases reliability. This not only makes BIPV systems more affordable, but also more attractive to architects and building owners.

Further distribution

For the valorisation of the results of this project, there is important support from EDIH-EBE (European Digital Innovation Hub – Energy in the Built Environment). EDIH-EBE supports (SME) companies in their access to digital technologies through Meet-the-Expert sessions, which are often free of charge. In addition, EDIH-EBE supports companies in finding investors, internationalisation and technology validation in a test infrastructure provided by the EnergyVille partners (Test Before Invest).