Newton Fund - Embedded systems for Integrated Photovoltaics in Rural Buildings: E-IPB

Forty percent of the world's energy is consumed by the building sectors. China has the largest building

construction output in the world, which constitute to 25% of carbon emissions. As such, net zero buildings/low

energy buildings are of a high priority with governments to help reduce their carbon emission levels. The

incorporation of solar energy elements into buildings is a way forward to address this issue. This enables

generation of electricity at the point of use, minimising thermal load while maintaining light efficacy within the

building envelope. This project will demonstrate technical and commercial viability of lightweight glass on glass

optical device integrated PV systems with a targeted efficiency enhancement of 2%. This will be achieved

through an integrated model for different low cost PV technologies, manufacturing new prototypes and

integrating/retrofitting the system with building envelopes. In addition to this, technology viability will be

carried out for harsh climatic conditions in China and the UK through accelerated lifetime tests for enhancing

durable and reliable products.