A novel design and analysis of 3D Building Integrated Concentrating Enhanced Photovoltaic Thermal system: BICEPT
Lead Research Organisation:
Heriot-Watt University
Department Name: Sch of Engineering and Physical Science
Abstract
Given the threat posed by global warming, it is accepted widely that the potential photovoltaic renewable energy can be realised by (i) increasing their efficiencies, thus making them more viable; and at the same time to giving effective attention to minimising and (ii) using the heat generated in addition to electrical energy. Currently PV cells convert only typically 15 to 18% of the solar radiation into electricity, while the rest of the available energy is lost as heat or reflection. A key barrier to the widespread adoption of photovoltaics is achieving economic viability and reducing losses that occur due to increased temperature. One route towards enhanced efficiency is the use of a solar concentrator, as the area of the expensive photovoltaic cells can then be is reduced. Production of greater output per unit solar cell area can be achieved when solar radiation is concentrated on the photovoltaic via low cost reflecting/refracting materials. Many conceptual practical design, operation and control issues require further research to determine the most successful means by which solar concentration can be deployed for photovoltaics. One innovative approach has been to use the low concentration compound parabolic reflectors which enable the capture of a large part of the diffuse solar radiation in addition to the direct component. This is a particularly suitable approach in the climatic conditions in northern Europe, however, optical efficiency for 2D concentrators are limited to 85%, which can be inproved by developing 3D systems. A PV/T collector typically consists of a PV module at the rear of which an absorber plate (a heat extraction device) is attached. The purpose of the absorber is twofold. Firstly it cools the PV module and thus improves its electrical performance, and secondly it collects the thermal energy produced, which would otherwise been lost as heat to the environment. This collected heat could be used for low temperature applications such as domestic hot water production or space heating. In order to promote this type of solar system, it will be necessary to translate the basic concepts into efficient and functional technological components, and associated performance should be evaluated in a reliable manner. Electric energy production with photovoltaic/thermal solar hybrid system can be enhanced with the employment of concentrating devices. Concentrating PV operates at a relatively higher temperatures compared to the flat plate PV module, thus concentrating PV/T with overall efficiencies of 68% would be more appropriate for building integration enabling its efficiency improvement and domestic applications.This project will develop a non-tracking concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T) system with optimised performance, which will be suitable for building faade/roof integration. As no tracking is required it is possible the cost of this system to reduce by two-fold, which makes more attractive for building integration. This will be undertaken through a new three dimensional design of a compound elliptical-hyperboloid concentrator of concentration ratios of 6.25 through a set of computation simulations together with controlled and outdoor tests. This design will enhance the optical efficiency of the concentrator unit and hence improve the overall electrical and thermal efficiency of the concentrating PV/T system. A prototype system will be made and indoor controlled characterisation will be undertaken at the HWU. Based on the process refinement one kWp system will be manufactured to characterise at outdoors test conditions. In addition, an integrated Optical, Heat transfer and Electrical (OHE) model will examine the PV/T system to optimise its performance.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Tapas Mallick (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Al Siyabi I
(2018)
Multiple Phase Change Material (PCM) Configuration for PCM-Based Heat Sinks-An Experimental Study
in Energies
Castellanos J
(2015)
Modelling an off-grid integrated renewable energy system for rural electrification in India using photovoltaics and anaerobic digestion
in Renewable Energy
Mammo E
(2012)
Performance analysis of a reflective 3D crossed compound parabolic concentrating photovoltaic system for building façade integration
in Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications
Roy A
(2020)
Perovskite Solar Cells for BIPV Application: A Review
in Buildings
Sarmah N
(2011)
Development and Indoor Characterisation of a Low Concentrating Dielectric Photovoltaic Concentrator
in ISES Solar energy Conference
Sellami N
(2013)
Optical efficiency study of PV Crossed Compound Parabolic Concentrator
in Applied Energy
Sellami N
(2010)
Optical performance modelling of an atypical 3-D Cross Compound Parabolic Photovoltaic Concentrator using ray trace technique
in UK PVSAT Conference, Southampton
| Description | One innovative approach has been used in this project is to use the low concentration 3-d compound parabolic reflectors which enable the capture of a large part of the diffuse solar radiation in addition to the direct component. The focus of this research was to develop a solar concentrator which is compact, static, translucent and, at the same time, able to collect maximum solar energy. A novel geometry of a 3-D static concentrator has been designed and coined the Square Elliptical Hyperboloid (SEH) to be integrated in glazing windows or facades for photovoltaic application. The SEH concentrator is optically optimised for different incident angles of the incoming light. The optimised SEH concentrators are obtained by investigating their different non-dimensional parameters such as major axis over minor axis of the elliptical entry and the height over side of the exit aperture. Evaluating the best combination of the optical efficiency and the acceptance angle, results confirm that the 4x SEH built from dielectric material, working with total internal reflection, is found to have a constant optical efficiency of 40% for an acceptance angle equal to 120 degree (-60, +60 degree). This enables capture of the sun rays all day long from both direct beam light and diffuse light making it highly suitable for use in northern European countries. A higher optical efficiency of 70% is obtained for different dimensions of the SEH; however, the acceptance angle is only 50 degree. The optimised SEH concentrator has been manufactured and tested indoor and outdoor conditions at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh; the experimental results show an agreement with the simulation results thus validating the optical, electrical and thermal model. In addition, a heat exchanger was designed and integrated with the rear of SHE system to investigate combined photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) use. Series of incident solar radiation intensity and fluid flow conditions revealed that use of PV/T for SEH system enables to increase overall efficiency by reducing the solar cell operating temperatures. This research produced seven peer reviewed journal article (four in press and three are review ongoing), six conference article and one book chapter. |
| Exploitation Route | We have developed an IP, generated a UK patent and a spin-out company called "Solar Concentrator Limited" is being developed for commercialisation of the technology. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy |
| Description | In this project a novel low concentrating photovoltaic system was developed, fabricated and tested for UK climatic condition to achieve triple benefit from the system: (i) generate electricity at the point of use, (ii) reduce overall "U" values of such systems and (iii) penetrating adequate lighting within the building envelope. During this project, the novel design of the concentrator is is covered by UK Patent application number 1122092.8 entitled "Energy Device and filed on 21 December 2011 and PCT/GB2012/053221 entitled "Optical Concentrator and associated Photovoltaic devices. An establishment of the spin-off company is being set and commercialisation plan is ongoing. |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Description | EPSRC India BURD Programme |
| Amount | £1,400,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/J000345/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2011 |
| End | 06/2015 |
| Description | Embedded systems for Integrated Photovoltaics in Rural Buildings: E-IPB I |
| Amount | £800,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 71208-481703 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2017 |
| End | 03/2019 |
| Description | Joint UK India Virtual Clean Energy Centre |
| Amount | £5,000,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/P003605/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2016 |
| End | 09/2020 |
| Description | Supergen solar challenge - I |
| Amount | £2,400,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/K022156/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2013 |
| End | 10/2017 |
| Description | UK India smart grid and energy storage programme |
| Amount | £950,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/K03619X/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2014 |
| End | 01/2017 |
| Description | joint research |
| Organisation | Fraunhofer Society |
| Department | The Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering (IBMT) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | development of concentrated solar cells |
| Collaborator Contribution | material optimisation of the CPV devices |
| Impact | joint publications and seminars, EU proposal applications |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Title | Butterflies as Photovoltaic Concentrators |
| Description | An optical concentrator is described that comprises an element associated, 5 in use, with a photovoltaic panel, the element comprising or having applied thereto a series of spaced nano-particles in the form of or optically equivalent to pterin containing beads. By way of example, the element may comprise a coating applied, in use, to a photovoltaic panel, the coating comprising pterin containing nano-beads. |
| IP Reference | GB1509621.7 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | 2015 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | This has huge potential of developing low cost solar power technology where weight power ratio is a key concern. |
| Title | Construction Block with Photovoltaic Device |
| Description | This invention relates to a construction block for use in a building, the block preferably being of transparent, light transmissive form, and which includes a photovoltaic device to permit the generation of electricity. The use of transparent, typically glass, blocks in buildings to form internal partitions whilst allowing light to pass through the partitions, or in the formation of sections of external walls which allow the transmission of light therethrough is well known. Such blocks are sometimes of solid glass form, but other arrangements in which the blocks are of hollow form are also known, such arrangements being advantageous in that they are of reduced weight and material cost. The incorporation of photovoltaic cells into or onto building structures to allow the generation of electricity is also well known. By way of example, large photovoltaic panels are often located upon or incorporated into the roofs of buildings or are mounted upon the external walls of buildings. Arrangements are known in which photovoltaic panels or cells are incorporated into glass blocks, alongside rechargeable batteries or the like and electrically operable light emitting devices such as light emitting diodes to form a solar powered light which may be incorporated into a structure, for example in the walls or floors thereof. However, in arrangements of this type, the panels or cells and other components substantially prevent the passage or transmission of light completely through the block, and so such devices are unsuitable for use in the formation of light transmitting wall or floor sections. Large solar cells are usually of opaque form and so incorporation of such panels or cells into a transparent block would prevent the block from allowing the transmission of light from one surface thereof to another. Clearly, therefore, the incorporation of large solar cells into transparent blocks intended for use in the construction of a light transmitting region or section of a wall, floor or partition is not appropriate. Arrangements are known in which solar collector devices are used to allow smaller dimension photovoltaic devices to be used and so allowing a quantity of light to pass completely through the block. Such arrangements allow the generation of electricity whilst being suitable for use in the construction of a light transmissive partition. Where used in part of an exterior wall of a building, it is desirable for a transparent block to not only allow the transmission of light between opposing surfaces thereof in order to achieved the desired function of admitting light to the building, but also for the block to be of good thermal insulating properties so as to avoid significantly negatively impacting upon the overall thermal insulating properties of the building in which they are used. Known arrangements are of relatively poor thermal insulating properties and so are unsuitable for use in such applications. It is an object of the invention to provide a block suitable for use in such applications and in which at least some of the disadvantages associated with known blocks are overcome or are of reduced effect. According to the present invention there is provided a block comprising an input wall and an output wall spaced apart from the input wall, a void being formed between the input wall and the output wall, wherein the input wall has a plurality of projections formed integrally therewith, the projections extending toward the output wall and serving to disrupt convection currents forming in the void, at least one of the projections comprising a solar concentrator which has a photovoltaic device mounted thereon. The projections preferably stop short of the output wall, but arrangements are possible in which they extend substantially to the position of the output wall, being spaced therefrom only by a sufficient distance to permit the mounting of the photovoltaic device thereon. It will be appreciated that in such an arrangement, as the photovoltaic device is mounted upon a solar concentrator, it need not be of large dimensions. Consequently, a significant quantity of light is able to pass the photovoltaic device, passing from the input wall to the output wall, and so the block is suitable for use in applications in which it is desired to allow light to enter a building, whilst still allowing electrical energy to be generated. By providing projections which disrupt the formation of convection currents in the void, the thermal insulating properties of the block are enhanced. The projections preferably extend to positions spaced from the input wall by at least 25% of the spacing between the input wall and the output wall. Preferably, they extend to positions spaced from the input wall by 30-60% of the said spacing. Such an arrangement is advantageous in that the formation of convection currents is significantly disrupted, in use, by the projections. At least one of the input wall and the output wall preferably has a peripheral wall formed integrally therewith, the peripheral wall extending towards the other of the input wall and the output wall. Preferably, peripheral walls are associated with both the input wall and the output walls, the peripheral walls engaging one another to space the input wall and the output wall apart from one another, the input wall, the output wall and the peripheral walls together defining the void. The peripheral walls may be cold fused to one another. However, if desired, other securing techniques may be used. The projections may be arranged in a regular array. However, other patterns may be used, if desired. When viewed from the input wall, the parts of the block formed with the solar concentrator(s) and photovoltaic device(s) will appear as dark spots or regions. By appropriate positioning of the projections, a desired visual appearance may be achieved. For example, the dark spots may be arranged to give the appearance of dark lines. If desired, certain of the projections may have no photovoltaic device associated therewith. Instead, they may have a coloured element associated therewith, with the result that the block appears to have coloured spots or regions thereon or therein. Again, by appropriate location of the projections, a desired visual appearance may be achieved. The outer face of the input wall may be shaped to include domed regions aligned with the projections. The domed regions may serve to increase the angle of incidence with which light is able to enter the projections. The output wall may be patterned to provide a desired visual effect. By way of example, it may be textured to provide an obscure glazed effect. Alternatively, through the use of coloured elements mounted upon the projections the block may give the effect of a series of coloured spots or pixels. Where a plurality of photovoltaic devices is present, they are conveniently connected together, and output conductors from the devices are preferably arranged to pass from the block, for example through an opening formed in the output wall or between the input and output walls. The projections may take a range of forms. Where serving as solar concentrators, they are preferably shaped in such a manner as to define an input side of, for example, substantially circular or elliptical shape and an output side of, for example, substantially square or rectangular shape. Whilst the aforementioned shapes are convenient, other shapes may be used. By way of example, the input and/or output sides may be of polygonal shape such as being of hexagonal shape, or they may be of non-regular shape. The photovoltaic device is preferably of substantially the same dimensions as the output side. The input sides of adjacent ones of the solar concentrators are preferably spaced apart from one another. |
| IP Reference | GB1705840.5 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | 2017 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | Our technical impact has been very strong on the glass block industry wherein we have completely transformed a standard construction material into an innovative energy solution. Prototyping of our first product Solar Squared is in progress and we hope to complete it by August this year. Further new designs of the product are being developed for the next round of prototyping. Socially we have presented our product to the public, researchers and school children visiting the Environment & Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter. We have also participated in the stakeholder workshop on BIPV technologies organized by BRE. Through this workshop we have introduced our product to existing BIPV manufacturers and gathered their feedback, understand the wider challenges BIPV industry faces and unlock routes for future developments. The Solar Squared unit will improve the performance of a widely used building material (glass block). The function of architectural glass blocks is to allow daylighting, and lower artificial lighting loads. Thus, Build Solar have reduced the active cell area of the PV, while still pulling back efficiency and yield by concentrating incoming light. The power density at standard tests conditions is analogous to approx. 25 Wp/m2. This compares well with amorphous silicon and organic photovoltaics which also have a similar power density. With the addition of the concentrators and solar cells in the block, internal convective air currents are reduced which in turn improves the thermal insulation performance of the block versus the standard hollow version. The traditional glass block has a U-Value =2.8 W/m2 K. Solar Squared Glass Block aims to reduce this by up to 50 %. The improvement of U-Value to 1.4 W/m2 K will result in thermal energy savings of 0.51 kWh/annum/block. This equates to Year 1 savings of 69,700 kWh, the equivalent of 6 houses' energy demand. By year 4 this is 4,056,114 kWh or 347 houses (based on U-Value improvement from 2.8 to 1.4 W/m2 K, Year 1-unit sales of 136,400 units, year 5 unit sales of 7,937,600 units and an average UK household energy usage of 11,700 kWH p.a.). The CO2e savings equate to 24t CO2e saved in Year 1 rising to 1,425t CO2e by Year 4 (based on UK grid CO2e grid electricity of 0.35156kg CO2e/kWH, BEIS Carbon Factors 2017). The price per tonne of carbon saved equates to ?73k in Year 1 falling to just ?11k per tonne by Year 4. Assuming full market adoption to 114m glass blocks this results in carbon savings of over 20,000t per annum. The concentration concept is not new and has been proven in other concentrating solar technologies. In the case of Solar Squared, the team at Exeter have chosen a relatively low power concentrator which magnifies by a factor 3 - 6. This allows the concentrating lens to have a wide angle of acceptance (ca. half acceptance angle 35°), meaning that contrary to typical high concentration application which need dual axis tracking, a vertically installed south facing Solar Squared array should be able to receive light for at least 7 hours a day. The Energy Payback Time of the system can be as low as 3yrs which is comparable to current rooftop PV technologies, something that current BIPV struggle to deliver. The Energy Return On Investment of Solar Squared is targeted to be less than 5 years with an estimated equivalent carbon footprint of 20g CO2e/kWh energy generated. Based on the BEIS toolkit for valuation of energy use the Year 4 energy savings have an NPV of?619,280 and an annualized NPV. |
| Title | OPTICAL CONCENTRATOR AND ASSOCIATED PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES |
| Description | Disclosed is a transmissive optical concentrator comprising an elliptical collector aperture and a non-elliptical exit aperture, the concentrator being operable to concentrate radiation incident on said collector aperture. The body of said concentrator may have a substantially hyperbolic external profile. Also disclosed is a photovoltaic cell employing such a concentrator and a photovoltaic building unit comprising an array of optical transmissive concentrators, each having an elliptical collector aperture; and an array of photovoltaic cells, each aligned with an exit aperture of a concentrator, wherein the area between adjacent collector apertures is transmissive to visible radiation. |
| IP Reference | WO2013093487 |
| Protection | Patent granted |
| Year Protection Granted | 2013 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | In the agriculture sector, notable glass industries, and solar PV market |
| Company Name | BuildSolar Limited |
| Description | Company Profile: Build Solar are a recent spin-out from the University of Exeter (June 2017), following five years of solar concentrator research led by Dr. Hasan Baig and Prof. Tapas Mallick. The company seeks to develop and commercialize innovative construction materials by embedding advanced photovoltaic technology into them. These construction materials also classed as Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) replace an element of the building skin/ facade and easily integrate within the built environment. Build Solar's first patent pending product "Solar Squared" transforms the widely used Glass Blocks into a multifunctional product that provides electricity, daylighting and improved thermal insulation. Typical Glass Blocks are used on the exterior walls of a building to provide daylighting and privacy to the indoor environment. However, the void inside these glass blocks leads to thermal losses and hence higher U-Values. Solar Squared incorporates a plurality of glass projections inside this hollow space serving to disrupt convection currents forming in the void and cutting down thermal losses leading to lower U-values. Further, the shape of these projections allows for concentration of incoming solar radiation. Connecting small sized solar cells along these projections simultaneously generates more electricity per unit solar cell area and provides privacy to the indoor environments. The front face of these projections can also be varied to incorporate better aesthetics within the product. Aimed at the commercial and public construction sectors our current product Solar Squared provides all the standard benefits of using glass blocks for building exteriors such as daylighting, protection, and structure but also generates electricity in the form of solar energy and offers enhanced thermal insulation. Predicted that the BIPV Market will grow from about $3 billion in 2015 to over $9 billion in 2019, and surge to $26 billion by 2022. We want to be a part of this exciting market opportunity and aim to capture at least 5 % of this market in the coming five years through our innovative solutions. Having solar energy collection integrated into the building envelope as part of the design replaces conventional building envelope materials with a smart and multifunctional technology that not only serves it original purpose but also has a financial payback through electricity generation and energy savings. The incorporation of the PV technology within the building structure prevents PV system theft which is increasingly problematic in both developed and developing countries. Onsite energy generation (OSG) will reduce energy losses associated with transmitting power from a far and reduce dependency on grid infrastructure. Coupled with the increasing availability of building scale battery storage technology, our technology has the potential to be an important part of the emerging distributed OSG clean energy system. As an organization we have applied a lean manufacturing strategy for the development of our product. We have tied up with existing glass block manufacturer to produce our innovative glass block henceforth avoiding any further emissions and environmental impacts by deploying a completely new production setup. We have also tied up with existing solar cell manufacturers to produce our unique solar cell technology. This way we have avoided almost 70% of carbon emissions that would happen if we were to completely manufacture our entire product. While the product has been in technological development for last one year, the commercial business is relatively young and still essentially a start-up so has no financials. Build Solar aims to develop several construction materials that integrate solar technology, partly mitigating the negative environmental effects of rising building energy consumption. Further, the company aims to develop a network of international partnerships construction companies that sell, distribute, and install construction materials. Personnel: Dr. Hasan Baig (Founder & CEO-Build Solar) leads new product and new market activities. He obtained his PhD (2015) in Renewable Energy from the University of Exeter, UK. For his research Hasan won the Impact Award in the Sustainable Futures category at the university of Exeter in 2013. Over the years Hasan has worked extensively on design and manufacture of several Building Integrated Solar Concentrator technologies. He presented the company profile at the Cleantech Innovate UK and the BRE BIPV stakeholders workshop this year. Hasan is managing the overall operations and networking with many stakeholders towards building the company's future directions. Prof. Tapas Mallick, Scientific Advisor and Chairman for the company is a World leader in BIPV technology. He is currently the Chair in Clean Technologies, Environment & Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, UK. He has brought in grant funding of more than 350,000 GBP in the research for Building Integrated solar technologies at the University of Exeter. Tapas is communicating the company profile through his own scientific networks and seeking opportunities to collaborate on a scientific scale through any potential grant funding opportunities. Jim Williams is a Non-Executive Director and commercialization manager at Build Solar. He has a background in product development, manufacturing, and retail of consumer outdoor goods. He is continuously in touch with the glass block industry partners and investors to bring in more interest towards the company. |
| Year Established | 2017 |
| Impact | 60% of global carbon emissions are caused by buildings. Our vision is to challenge this adversity through the concept of Net Zero Energy buildings, meaning the total amount of energy used on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site. BUILD SOLAR aims to commercialize innovative photovoltaic solutions by combining them with traditional construction materials and transforming buildings from energy consumers to power generators. Through a series of its products, the company is poised to become a major key player in the building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) industry. The BIPV market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 16% between 2016 and 2024 and the global market is currently valued at $7 billion. To catch up with this growing industry and gather further momentum BUILD SOLAR is currently faced with several obstacles including lack of education about these technologies among architects, standard product specifications, building regulatory, manufacturing costs and lack of well-trained installers. Aimed at the commercial and public sectors, our first product Solar Squared provides standard benefits such as daylighting, protection, and structure alongside electricity generation and better thermal insulation. The company has established a route to market within the UK market through Glass Block Technology Limited, one of the major glass block sellers, distributors, and installers in Europe. The company will build a network of partnerships with similar glass block companies to access international markets in the future. We have already patented our technology through the following UK patent "Construction Block with Photovoltaic Device, PATENT APPLICATION NUMBER 1705840.5". Our technical impact has been very strong on the glass block industry wherein we have completely transformed a standard construction material into an innovative energy solution. Prototyping of our first product Solar Squared is in progress and we hope to complete it by August this year. Further new designs of the product are being developed for the next round of prototyping. Socially we have presented our product to the public, researchers and school children visiting the Environment & Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter. We have also participated in the stakeholder workshop on BIPV technologies organized by BRE. Through this workshop we have introduced our product to existing BIPV manufacturers and gathered their feedback, understand the wider challenges BIPV industry faces and unlock routes for future developments. The Solar Squared unit will improve the performance of a widely used building material (glass block). The function of architectural glass blocks is to allow daylighting, and lower artificial lighting loads. Thus, Build Solar have reduced the active cell area of the PV, while still pulling back efficiency and yield by concentrating incoming light. The power density at standard tests conditions is analogous to approx. 25 Wp/m2. This compares well with amorphous silicon and organic photovoltaics which also have a similar power density. With the addition of the concentrators and solar cells in the block, internal convective air currents are reduced which in turn improves the thermal insulation performance of the block versus the standard hollow version. The traditional glass block has a U-Value =2.8 W/m2 K. Solar Squared Glass Block aims to reduce this by up to 50 %. The improvement of U-Value to 1.4 W/m2 K will result in thermal energy savings of 0.51 kWh/annum/block. This equates to Year 1 savings of 69,700 kWh, the equivalent of 6 houses' energy demand. By year 4 this is 4,056,114 kWh or 347 houses (based on U-Value improvement from 2.8 to 1.4 W/m2 K, Year 1-unit sales of 136,400 units, year 5 unit sales of 7,937,600 units and an average UK household energy usage of 11,700 kWH p.a.). The CO2e savings equate to 24t CO2e saved in Year 1 rising to 1,425t CO2e by Year 4 (based on UK grid CO2e grid electricity of 0.35156kg CO2e/kWH, BEIS Carbon Factors 2017). The price per tonne of carbon saved equates to ?73k in Year 1 falling to just ?11k per tonne by Year 4. Assuming full market adoption to 114m glass blocks this results in carbon savings of over 20,000t per annum. The concentration concept is not new and has been proven in other concentrating solar technologies. In the case of Solar Squared, the team at Exeter have chosen a relatively low power concentrator which magnifies by a factor 3 - 6. This allows the concentrating lens to have a wide angle of acceptance (ca. half acceptance angle 35°), meaning that contrary to typical high concentration application which need dual axis tracking, a vertically installed south facing Solar Squared array should be able to receive light for at least 7 hours a day. The Energy Payback Time of the system can be as low as 3yrs which is comparable to current rooftop PV technologies, something that current BIPV struggle to deliver. The Energy Return On Investment of Solar Squared is targeted to be less than 5 years with an estimated equivalent carbon footprint of 20g CO2e/kWh energy generated. Based on the BEIS toolkit for valuation of energy use the Year 4 energy savings have an NPV of?619,280 and an annualized NPV. BUILD SOLAR is a recent startup and an outcome of more than five years of Solar PV research at the University of Exeter. Since its launch at the Cleantech Innovate UK in April this year it has managed to raise a lot of interest from several construction companies and media. Some of the notable articles can be found below. Build Solar in the Press • Solar power glass bricks generate energy while letting in light, Reuteurs, November 28th, 2017 • Watts new in glass blocks, Royal Institute of British Architects September 8th2017 • Researchers develop solar glass blocks to power houses, PV Magazine August 24th2017 • Could This Glass Brick Be the Solution to Solar Energy's Design Problems?, Architectural Digest August 23rd2017 • Revolutionary glass building blocks generate their own solar energy, Inhabitat August17th2017 • University of Exeter creates energy generating glass bricks, BIM+Chartered Institute of Building August 23rd2017 • Solar blocks could replace solar panels on buildings, TreeHugger, August17th2017 • These solar glass bricks let in light while generating energy, Curbed August 23rd2017 • Is This Solar Power Tech the Future of Glass Blocks?, Architect-Journal of American Architects, August17th2017 • How to Leverage Glass Block Construction to Achieve LEED Certification, Architizer August 31st2017 • These solar glass blocks would make great skylights for your solar roofs, Techcrunch August18th2017 |
| Website | https://www.buildsolar.co.uk |
| Company Name | Solar Concentrator Limited |
| Description | Establishment of the company is ongoing |
| Year Established | 2014 |
| Impact | Its just been developing |
| Description | UK India Workshop on integrated renewable energy and hydrogen |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | We organised UK Indian workshop on integrated renewable energy and hydrogen generation where solar energy generation and utilisation and heat recovery through phase change material was discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |