Under German government plans, the share of energy consumption from solar sources is to be increased more than threefold by 2030. That will only be possible with the use of technological innovations – for instance photovoltaics (PV), the widespread use of which has long been possible with panels mountable not only on roofs but on building façades. However, the huge PV potential of façades is still not being exploited.
The SolarEnvelopeCenter collaborative research project funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action aims to change this: under the leadership of Fraunhofer ISE in Freiburg, renowned industrial enterprises and research centers are currently working on standardized solutions for simple, quick and cost-effective integration of PV systems into building envelopes. On board is also the consultancy firm Drees & Sommer SE with headquarters in Stuttgart. The project started in January 2023 and is scheduled to be completed end of 2025.
Christian Luft, energy management expert at Drees & Sommer said: “While it is possible to mount photovoltaic panels on any roof with relatively little effort or expense, conventional PV modules are generally unsuitable for façades. They can only be integrated with an unreasonable amount of technical effort and high costs.” The figures speak for themselves: “In order to achieve the target of 200 gigawatts of solar energy by 2030, we have to quadruple the installed PV capacity. Without photovoltaic façade systems, this cannot be done. The crux of the matter is that we currently lack the standardized planning tools to make the mounting of photovoltaic systems both technically practicable and cost-effective.”
The aim of the SolarEnvelopeCenter research project and the network of industry and research partners involved is to change this. Work is currently in progress on the development of standardized solutions for the integration of PV systems into building envelopes. Dr. Helen Rose Wilson, who heads the project at Fraunhofer ISE, explained the targets of the research project: „Up to now, PV façades have mainly consisted of customized solutions involving a lot of hard work for all parties involved. Our research is intended to highlight practical solutions, some of which are standardized, that users can then combine and develop further according to the requirements of the project.”
Academic support for the project is being provided by the solar energy research institute Fraunhofer ISE and the Saarbrücken-based German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). Solar energy specialists and manufacturers are represented by the German section of the International Solar Energy Society (DGS), and the photovoltaic systems provider IBC SOLAR. The role of the architectural firm wulf architekten and the real estate consulting firm Drees & Sommer, both headquartered in Stuttgart, is to ensure that the standards developed can be applied in practice in the construction industry.
The SolarEnvelopeCenter research project is scheduled to be completed in two years. Plans are afoot to publish some of the findings of the research in a guideline from the German Association of Engineers (VDI) to stimulate widespread use and accelerate the integration of photovoltaics into building envelopes.
The SolarEnvelopeCenter consortium will appear together in public for the first time at the BIPV Forum in Bad Staffelstein in Germany on February 28, 2024.
For more information please see our press release and the following link BIPV-Forum (in German)