16 Feb 2012

Concrete Walls To Generate Electricity

In a new development link up, German companies Heliatek and RECKLI, working together could place organic solar panels onto concrete building facades.

This new development project could enable architects to go one step further in the development of green buildings by designing energy harvesting technology into them at the concept stage, thereby creating zero emission buildings without the need to mount panels elsewhere that might have a negative visual impact.

In the agreement Heliatek will provide the organic solar PV technology, while RECKLI will provide expertise in their manufacture of elastic moulds for concrete building facades.

The aim is that the new system, when it is developed will allow vertical concrete walls of buildings to become solar energy harvesting area by integrating Heliatek's organic solar panels directly onto concrete façade blocks. This new Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) solution will combine energy harvesting to reduce a building's carbon footprint with a discrete, aesthetically pleasing, visual appearance.

The Heliatek organic photovoltaic technology lends itself to this applications. It is light-weight, thin, and efficient. The efficiency results from the fact that the solar cells have been designed to operate over a wide range of real world conditions. They are also able to operate over a wider temperature range than other solar PV technologies.

One major problem with conventional solar panels is that their efficiency falls with increasing temperature. The Heliatek organic solar technology, provides an almost constant level of efficiency up to temperatures of around 80 °C. This means that the panels can be integrated onto the concrete without any need for ventilation.

Thibaud Le Séguillon, CEO of Heliatek, said: "Today, vertical walls are rarely used for solar energy gathering, despite the fact that the vertical building walls offer a much larger installation area than roof tops that are the focus of today's solar building installations. Several factors such as unpleasant design, high system prices and limited performance potential are the reasons why vertical solar installations are not widespread. By integrating our ultra-light, ultra-thin solar panels directly onto the blocks of the concrete façade, the installation costs will be reduced along with the visual impact as the panels become a discrete part of the facade.”

Dr. Bernd Trompeter, Managing Director of RECKLI, added, "By 2020, an EU directive will require new buildings to be nearly zero-energy as part of the drive to be green and so, having every wall being an active producer of solar electricity will be a major contributor to achieving truly green buildings.”

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