The Natural History Museum in Vienna has been fitted with a brand new solar installation. It now supplies twelve per cent of the electricity needed in the listed building.
The energy-efficient refurbishment of St Mary's Church in Mollis in the canton of Glarus has won the prestigious Norman Foster Solar Award 2023. The prize was awarded in Geneva in mid-February.
The system that the project partners are developing is intended to simplify the use of facades for photovoltaics. Part of the solution will also be published as a VDI guideline.
Affordable residential and commercial space is possible with more solar energy. Aesthetic and cost-efficient solar facades are a big part of this.
Energie 360 Grad will install solar panels on the roof and facade of its headquarters as planned. Due to a lack of in-depth knowledge about the fire risk, the Canton of Zurich building insurance company had not authorised photovoltaic systems on facades in the meantime. The company has now successfully provided a test certificate with its own tests.
In Schallstadt, southwest of Freiburg, architect Rolf Disch has constructed buildings that generate more energy than they consume. Solar modules in the facade provide most of the solar power for heating and mobility.
MO Energy Systems from Austria has developed a modular standard solution for solar facades. The scalable solution is suitable for existing and new buildings. It can be connected to concrete as well as brick and timber facades.
The manufacturer of double-glazed modules for building integration Sunovation has won the construction company Dreßler as a strategic investor. There are now plans to expand production capacities.
GoodWe has launched its latest product – the Galaxy series: A BIPV module designed specifically for industrial and commercial applications.
The facade of the new administration building of the Gronau public utility company in the western Münsterland region in Germany will be powered by solar energy in the future. A pioneering project. The BIPV modules manufactured by ASCA were integrated into facade glass by BGT Bischoff Glastechnik.
The complete system of coloured solar modules including planning and installation by Envelon was awarded Product Design of the Year at the 2022Architecture Masterprize. The evaluation was based on projects by architect Peter Kuczia.
Solarwatt presents the semi-transparent module Vision 60M Construct for building integration. The module is specially designed for use in carports and for the roofing of parking areas.
Flat glass manufacturer Saint-Gobain makes inroads into solutions for solar facades in Swiss Europe by investing in building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) provider Megasol.
The manufacturer of BIPV modules Sunovation is expanding the range of coloured photovoltaic modules for building integration with its new colour collection ColorQuant.
BIPV modules are interesting alternatives to standard facade elements. The new ColorQuant glass colours were specifically developed to give PV elements a colourful appearance. Holger Geisler, Managing Director at Ceramic Colors Wolbring GmbH, explains the details.
The judges for the Watt d'Or award were not only impressed by the building material used and the modular structure, but also the modern energy concept. The building generates 50 per cent more energy than it consumes.
As a small system on the facade, 15 elements in the Rathscheck Schiefer system generate up to 750 watts of electricity.
The creation of an important new research facility at Prestwick in Scotland has included the largest installation to date of the innovative new AluPlusSolar system developed by Kalzip.
Researchers at the University of Stavanger in Norway have studied the economic viability of solar building envelopes. The result: In most European countries, BIPV has reached grid parity.
The additional costs for a solar building envelope compared to conventional construction methods amount to 30 to 50 per cent of the costs for the facade and roof. However, the electricity yield leads to a higher return on investment.
What the photovoltaic industry has achieved so far is impressive. Costs have fallen by more than 70 per cent in the last ten years and the technology is gaining broad acceptance among the population after a small slump.
A brand-new building complex in Amsterdam was equipped with a solar-active hip roof. This not only meets the strict Dutch efficiency standards, but also the aesthetic requirements of the architect.
Building-integrated photovoltaics is slowly but surely venturing out of its niche. William Chen, managing director of Aleo Solar, has ideas for speeding up the integration of solar systems into the building envelope.
The radiological centre in Marburg is getting a modern solar facade. The electricity will be sold by the municipal utilities in the building. This will refinance the facade.
