Smart Glass Coatings for Innovative BIPV Solutions

Roman Trattnig, Gianluca Cattaneo, Yuliya Voronko, Gabriele C. Eder, Dieter Moor, Florian Jamschek and Thomas Buchsteiner
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Roman Trattnig: Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH—MATERIALS, A-8160 Weiz, Austria
Gianluca Cattaneo: Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique, PV-Center, CH-2002 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Yuliya Voronko: Österreichisches Forschungsinstitut für Chemie und Technik, A-1030 Vienna, Austria
Gabriele C. Eder: Österreichisches Forschungsinstitut für Chemie und Technik, A-1030 Vienna, Austria
Dieter Moor: Ertex Solartechnik GmbH, A-3300 Amstetten, Austria
Florian Jamschek: Ehoch2 Energy Engineering e.U, A-6423 Mötz, Austria
Thomas Buchsteiner: Fassaden Design Technik GmbH, A-8973 Schladming, Austria

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: The glossy appearance of the cover glass of a photovoltaic module is mainly responsible for giving the module a mirroring effect, which is often disturbing in the case of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) façade applications. In this work, an innovative approach is presented to reduce the glare of BIPV modules by applying surface coatings to the front glass of the module. Three different glass coating technologies, applied on the outer surface of the photovoltaic module, were investigated: inkjet printing, screen printing, and sol-gel spray coating. The coatings, applied by these technologies in three different colours (grey, anthracite, and terracotta), were characterized with respect to their adhesion, light transmission, and reflection. Their chemical and physical stability after stress impact (condensed water resistance and chemical resistance against acids and salt-fog) was also investigated. The durability of these coatings was further evaluated after performing environmental simulations with artificial sunlight (xenon weathering) on coated glass. Additionally, accelerated aging tests (damp-heat testing, temperature cycling) were performed on the test modules to assess their performance stability. For those coatings, where no stress-induced changes in colour or the optical appearance of the module surface were detected, the potential for the architectural integration of the modules into building facades is high. A minimum glare of less than 0.1% of the specular reflection could be achieved. On the basis of the results of the optical characterization and the durability tests, grey screen-printed BIPV solar modules were installed in a demonstrator test façade. The high electrical performance, resulting in only a 10–11% performance decrease compared to the noncoated reference modules, perfectly showed the suitability of screen-printing in future applications for coloured and glare-reduced BIPV installations.

Keywords: BIPV; facade; coating; glare reduction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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