In the future, intelligent mounting with new materials (steel, wood and polymers) will be used
more often, leading to new challenges for their long-term reliability. The fl exibility of such systems will also be of importance when it comes to rooftop integration. (Photo courtesy of UL)
Plastic’s usage as a photovoltaic compo- nent is growing. AIXTRALIGHT mounting
elements made of ultra-stiff and weather- proof polyamide enable a quick and easy
installation of photovoltaic modules. (Photo courtesy of Aixtra Solar AG and BASF)
the width of a human hair, and titanium dioxide nanoparticles as an electrode. Because these PSC thin fi lms are transparent, buildings could poten- tially use their own windows as solar panels and harvest their own power with them. "These results open the potential for visibly
transparent polymer solar cells as add-on com- ponents of smart windows, building-integrated photovoltaics and other applications," says study leader Yang Yang, a UCLA professor of materials science and engineering, and director of the Nano Renewable Energy Center at California NanoSys- tems Institute (CNSI). Yang says there has been intense worldwide interest in polymer solar cells. "Our new PSCs are lightweight and fl exible," he says. "More importantly, they can be produced in high volume at low cost." In addition to UCLA’s research, scientists
at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Los Alamos
www.metalconstructionnews.com
National Laboratory have also fabricated trans- parent thin fi lms capable of absorbing light and generating electric charge over a relatively large area. The material consists of a semiconducting polymer doped with carbon-rich fullerenes to absorb light, and effi ciently generate charge and charge separation. The material remains largely transparent be-
cause the polymer chains pack densely only at the edges of the hexagons, while remaining loosely packed and spread very thin across the centers. The densely packed edges strongly absorb light and may also facilitate conducting electricity, while the centers do not absorb much light and are relatively transparent. Combining these traits and achieving large-scale patterning could also enable energy-generating solar windows and transparent solar panels. Engineering plastics will be a vital part in PV’s future. “One main reason for the increas-
ing interest in plastic solutions is their freedom in design and form,” says Andre Schaefer, applica- tion development engineering plastics Europe, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. “The parts can be mass-produced in high volumes via injection molding. This process integrates different func- tions easily into one part and ready-to-use parts can be manufactured economically in only one processing step. Time-consuming fi nishing is not required anymore. Through the option to construct complex geometrical parts, additional elements like snap-fi ts or hooks can be integrated. This reduces mounting time on the roof or on the fi eld.”
Concentrated is coming Concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology uses optics, such as lenses or curved mirrors, to concentrate a large amount of sunlight onto a small area of PV cells to generate electricity. Compared to non-concentrated photovoltaics,
January 2013 METAL CONSTRUCTION NEWS 19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60