Heat management in the built environment

Heat Blocking Films in Solar Panels

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

For on-site energy generation, building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is a popular and promising solution. BIPV combines solar energy harvesting at high power output with design elements that fit perfectly into a building’s roof and/or façade. Hereby the aesthetics and acceptability are improved but also the application area of solar panels is broadened.

Overheating can be problematic for BIPV as well as standard solar panels, leading to reduced power output, but also to a reduced lifetime. To solve this problem, we develop within project SUNOVATE heat blocking solar panels with increased power output and lifetime.

The pigmented encapsulants within the solar panels block infrared radiation without impacting the part of the solar spectrum that can be harvested by crystalline silicon PV. This reduces overheating of BIPV and hereby increases annual power output and the solar panels lifetime.

Copyright Sunovate

Sunovate brings together the Dutch and Flemish applied research organizations TNO (sites at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven and at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen) and IMEC (sites 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 programma Vlaanderen-Nederland, the Dutch government and the provinces of Noord-Brabant (NL) and Limburg (NL and VL).

More information: SUNOVATE.

INTERREG

Project SUNOVATE is 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 

Copyright Soltech NV

EEN OPEN INNOVATIEMODEL VOOR GRENSOVERSCHRIJDENDE SAMENWERKING

TNO is een van de partners in de Publiek Private Onderzoekssamenwerking Solliance en is de formele projectcoördinator. Naast de Solliance onderzoekspartners ECN.TNO, imec, Universiteit Hasselt (B) en FZ Jülich (D), doen ook ZUYD (NL) RWTH Aachen (D) en HELMO (B) mee. Dertien particuliere bedrijven in de waardeketen nemen deel als gefinancierde partners, terwijl andere bedrijven zijn aangesloten als gebruikers of leveranciers. Acht publieke en private stakeholders van de drie nationaliteiten ondersteunen het project via een adviescommissie. Een volledige partnerlijst is te vinden op www.rollingsolar.eu.

INTERREG

Het project Rolling Solar wordt uitgevoerd in het kader van het Interreg programma Euregio Maas Rijn (ROLLING SOLAR | Interreg Euregio Maas-Rijn (interregemr.eu). Het wordt gefinancierd via het Europees Fonds voor Regionale Ontwikkeling (EFRO), en ook financieel ondersteund door de provincies Noord-Brabant (NL), Vlaams-Brabant en Limburg en Luik (B), en door het Nederlandse ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat Beleid.