Onbeperkt Wonen: Living independently in a stimulating residential environment for young people with a mild intellectual disability

“In which way can the design of the residential environment contribute to the social self-reliance of young people with a mild intellectual disability?” We are facing a huge challenge in the Netherlands: we have to build up to ‘1 Million Homes’ by 2030. But such a huge assignment raises the question if those new dwellings will be inclusive...

Computational toolkit for early-stage cost assessment and optimisation of BIPV façades

Reduction of energy consumption and to increase its generation is necessary, as the population lives in urban settlements consume three-quarters of global resources, and these numbers are continually growing. Building-integrated photovoltaic panels (BIPV) which would assist for the resolution of the problem can be applied by replacing the façade...

Modelling and Demonstration of a Bifacial PV Curtain for Building Applications

Global energy demand is on the rise. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2018, the building sector alone constituted 28 % of all energy-related CO2 emissions. In an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of the building sector, the European Union has decreed that every new building from 2021 must be a nearly zero energy...

Energetic performance of a combined double skinfaçade with photovoltaic modules placed atvarious locations

There is a 95% certainty that human activity is the dominant cause of observed warming since the mid-20thcentury [1]. Burning fossil fuels for energy is the dominant cause of greenhouse gas emissions. 32% of the Dutch energy supply is consumed by the built environment. The façade is the largest area of the building envelope. Consequently, the...

Performance assessment and optimization of a HVAC system integrating a BIPV/T system: Model development and application to the Deep Performance Dwelling of TeamMTL for the Solar Decathlon China 2018

European policy makers have established a set of 20-20-20 targets for the year 2020 in the energy sector, goals based on security of supply, competitive markets and sustainability. The 3 key objectives include a 20% reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) and CO2 compared to 1990 levels (and up to 80% by 2050), a 20% improvement in energy efficiency...

Colored PV modules based on Interference Filters

Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) has the potential to play a major role in the ongoing transition towards nearly zero energy buildings. However, the BIPV market is still a niche market, representing only 1% of the global PV share. One of the main barriers that hinder the deployment of BIPV is the lack of aesthetic flexibility. Architects...

Analysis on the Solar Mobility Hub: a technical approach

In the process of replacing carbon based fuel with renewable energy, into the energy generation cycle of the world, mobility is considered to be one of the important sectors in which enormous progress can be implemented. Business tycoons are introducing electric vehicles which fascinates people. However, there is yet a stabilized solution to be...

Optimization of a Luminescent Solar Concentrator: Simulation and application in PowerWindow design

PowerWindow, a built-in Luminescent Solar Concentrator (LSC), is composed of a window glass with thulium doped coating and a CIGS PV-cell strip attached to one glass edge. LSCs can absorb part of the incoming sunlight and re-direct it to the edges, where PV-cells can produce electricity. Light transport efficiency is then determined by several...

BIPV Modules Characterization: A Comparison Between Thin-film and Crystalline Silicon Modules for BIPV Applications

The building sector contributes to 36% of the total CO emissions in Europe. Solar energy is considered one of the most promising solutions to reduce CO2 emissions from building-related energy demands. Building-integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) have acquired special interest due to their dual purpose of generating clean energy and act as a...

Design Optimization of Bifacial Photovoltaic Noise Barriers Using a High Granularity Energy Yield Modelling Approach

Integration of bifacial photovoltaic module with a noise barrier (PVNB) has emerged as one of the promising innovation in the building integrated PV (BIPV) system application. By having the advantage to absorb both the light incident from the front and the rear side of the cell, bifacial PV module is suitable for a vertical installation...

Building Integrated Photovoltaic and Leasing Facades: Exploring financial and technical conditions for BIPV technologies integration into a Product Service Leasing façade system

Compliance with energy zero buildings is forcing the buildings to transform into energetic plants, which combined with the need for a circular resource conscious economy, seeks for revised forms of a technical energy efficient façade and innovative business models. Due to this, BIPV technologies implementation in the façade are studied under the...

Development of a photovoltaic ceramic roof tile

Two important barriers in adopting rooftop PV are the (perceived) lack of compatibility with current (tiled) roofs and the poor aesthetics of roof-mounted PV panels. This has led to the idea of PV roof tiles, which could take away these barriers. The Delft-based company FlexSol Solutions has the unique capability of curving highly efficient...