Archinect
anchor

Photovoltaic Cell Panels

JohnProlly

So i'm sitting here at my desk, adding Photovoltaic arrays to the roof of this project we're doing in Costa Rica and wondering if there have been projects in the past where the PV Arrays are used in the design of a building; not just plopped on at the end.

Anyone have any resources?

 
Jan 23, 06 10:04 am
Hasselhoff

#1 I thought you were talking about putting PV on a cellphone to charge it, which would be sweet.

#2 I don't remember the name of the building, but there were some apartments in CA I think and the PV was used as part of the cladding. So it was this cool blue detailing, but also generated power. Sorry I can't give you more details. I believe I saw it in the Architectural Record. If you subscribe, you can search their website.

Jan 23, 06 10:27 am  · 
 · 
Janosh

Pugh and Scarpa... both the Umbrella House and the Colorado Court project.

Jan 23, 06 11:07 am  · 
 · 
JohnProlly

Yeah duhhh I completly forgot about those. Thanks!

Jan 23, 06 11:15 am  · 
 · 
stephanie

has't arthur erickson done some more PV-intrgrated design work?

Jan 23, 06 11:30 am  · 
 · 
pecovat

Hasselhoff, to answer your #1: Solar Style

Looks pretty sweet to me

Jan 23, 06 12:23 pm  · 
 · 
Hasselhoff

That's pretty cool.

Jan 23, 06 12:37 pm  · 
 · 
rutger
Houten fire station

by
Philippe Samyn

Jan 23, 06 3:01 pm  · 
 · 
TWINE

Can you make sculpture out of PV cells? I guess that would diminish their efficacy eh...

Jan 23, 06 3:17 pm  · 
 · 
TWINE

Thanks +q. But you can't really turn or twist them, make them 'soft', can you? And then closer inspection of the page and I've actually driven by this thing...

Jan 23, 06 3:36 pm  · 
 · 
TWINE

Amazing! I don't know why I didn't find this myself, heh, oops. You're awesome. This definitely procures possibilities.

Jan 23, 06 3:43 pm  · 
 · 
weAREtheSTONES

you have probobly already heard of -kiss cathcart- which is pretty kool.
they have designed entire building completly cladded in PV's(inside and out)
-i actually have a solar powered bookbag that has about 10 attachments for cell phones, ipods, and digital cameras
-check it out - voltaicsystems.com -- its pretty koool- the bag has 3 amorphus panels on the front and a lithium ion battery inside -which means it will still absorb energy in the house, while its overcast, but obviously will charge alot quicker if the sun is shinnin'

Jan 23, 06 6:06 pm  · 
 · 
chupacabra

do searches for BIPV ...there are many built in photovoltaic projects out there...The taos mesa alone has hundreds.

Jan 23, 06 6:45 pm  · 
 · 
SuperBeatledud

There was a really cool example in dwell 2 issues ago in their sustainable section.

Jan 24, 06 10:52 am  · 
 · 
WonderK

beatledud, Janosh mentioned that already.

I'm just saying.

Jan 24, 06 12:35 pm  · 
 · 
French

+q, a very nice exemple. Thanks for sharing it.

Jan 24, 06 1:16 pm  · 
 · 
cmdace18

okay, i need to go one step further. . (TOPIC REVIVED!)

I need a SIMPLE calculation to use that has

****the total surface area of my PV cells in relationship to

how much power it will provide****

- for example, 3000 sq ft of surface area can run a small office building for 1 day - something to that effect (i have no idea if thats even close)

Any help or suggestions as to how I can do this? Thanks!

Apr 19, 06 7:10 am  · 
 · 
cmdace18

[[quick background - im doing my MRP - tiny piece of my thesis has PVs that store energy and allows the building to become self-sufficient during a crisis, natural disaster, etc]]

Apr 19, 06 7:12 am  · 
 · 
msmith84

Additional factors such as location, weather conditions, type of cells, and orientation will drastically effect the amount of energy collected by the cells, so I do not think a simple calculation exist. A general idea could probelly be achieved by contacting a manufactorer such as energy conversion devices (located in Michigan) or one of the manufactorers on this page: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/solarphotv/solarpv.html

If you are aware of a structure in the region using a similar cell you could also attemp to contact them. From my experience sustainable engineers will usually tell you more then you want to know.

Apr 19, 06 9:04 am  · 
 · 
Josh Emig

I did this when I was in school to calculate how much pv we needed to run a laptop for 8 hrs a day in Santiago, Chile. msmith is right it's not so much a simple calculation, but rather a procedure of many simple calculations involving average daily sunlight for that particular region and season, whether you are converting to AC or using DC, what type of batteries you're using, etc.

Unfortunately, I don't remember where, but I found most of the information I needed online.

Apr 19, 06 9:16 am  · 
 · 
chupacabra

BIPV solar...built integrated photovoltaics...BIPV was taught in my systems class at UH and seems to be an interesting 'movement'...making the solar aspects of a design more transparent and intrinsic to the architecture itself...and NOT just pv's stacked ontop of a building.

a quick search revealed this site

http://www.cler.org/predac/article.php3?id_article=12

Apr 19, 06 9:28 am  · 
 · 
doberman

Does anyone have an answer to Hasselhoff's question about that residential block in california? i remember seeing it in a mag a while back and i thought it was a really interesting use of PV panels as cladding. I'd be interested in having another look at it for a project i'm curently working on.

Apr 19, 06 9:48 am  · 
 · 
archinaut

a note about organic photovoltaics (the flexible ones, carbon based rather than silicon). their efficiency is much lower than traditional silicon cells, but they have the potential to be deposition printed onto sheet materials. if interested, check out smartwrap: link

Apr 19, 06 10:26 am  · 
 · 

pretty sure the housing that hasselhoff was talking about was by pugh+scarpa.

you could also look at the house they did for themselves which used the same system.

Apr 19, 06 10:56 am  · 
 · 
ryanj
PV's as Glazing System
Apr 19, 06 7:58 pm  · 
 · 
Medit

it's Earth Day today... PV used not in a building but in a logo design

Apr 22, 06 5:51 am  · 
 · 

Block this user


Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?

Archinect


This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.

  • ×Search in: