Building integrated photovoltaic at NEST – Preliminary test bedding results

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary results on the visual and energy assessment of colored photovoltaics modules installed at the Meet2Create unit of the NEST pilot- and demonstration site at Empa in Dübendorf. The installation contains mono-crystalline PV modules with three different types of front glass (float, silk and satinated) and three different patterns printed on them (shutter, curve and ornament). Each printed PV module and three unprinted reference modules are monitored separately over a period of one year. With float glass, the visual appearance is dominated by reflections of the environment, an disturbing effect that does not appear with the matte and brighter satinated glass, where the colored print pattern remains visible across all viewing angles. Interestingly, the energy output is relatively similar. Compared to the unprinted reference PV modules, the losses with float, silk and satinated glass are 68, 75, and 72% respectively. While the different print patterns do not yield a significant difference. Satinated glass is thus an interesting alternative to the common float and structured front glass when visual appearance and energy efficiency matters.