Heat regulation in the built environment

HEAT-BLOCKING SOLAR PANELS

More than a third of the total annual energy consumption in the EU is related to the built environment.
To meet our climate goals and achieve a sustainable, climate-neutral built environment, we need to reduce energy consumption and increase on-site green energy generation.

For on-site energy generation, the use of building-integrated solar photovoltaics (BIPV) is a popular and promising solution.
BIPV combines high-power solar energy harvesting with design elements that fit perfectly into a building’s roof and/or facade.
This improves aesthetics and acceptance but also broadens the scope of solar panels.

Because BIPV solar panels are integrated into the building envelope, they suffer from overheating more than standard solar panels.
This can lead to reduced output, as well as a shortened lifetime.
To solve this problem, we at Sunovate are developing heat-blocking solar panels with increased power and a longer lifespan.

The pigmented encapsulants in the solar panels block infrared radiation without affecting the portion of the solar spectrum that is converted.
This reduces overheating of BIPV, thereby increasing the annual output and lifetime of the solar cells.

Copyright Sunovate

Sunovate consists of the Dutch and Flemish applied research organizations
TNO (locations at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven and at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen) and
IMEC (locations in Hasselt and Leuven), two universities,
University of Hasselt (UHasselt ) and KU Leuven, and four companies Everlam, Yparex, Glass for Glass and Soltech.
The project is supported by the Interreg program Flanders-the Netherlands, the Dutch government and the provinces of North Brabant (NL) and Limburg (NL and VL).

INTERREG

Project SUNOVATE was funded within the Interreg V program Flanders-Netherlands, the cross-border cooperation program with financial support from the European Regional Development Fund.

More information: www.grensregio.eu