Construct-PV

Customer-specifically produced PV modules for building integration (BIPV) are developed and tested in pilot applications of the “Construct-PV” EU project. The project focuses on BIPV applications in the opaque area of the building envelope. The development priorities are high yield, appealing aesthetics, and low costs. Here, not only the production costs of the modules, but also the planning, installation, and operation costs are considered. Particular attention is paid to the amortization of the additional investment costs [€/m²] that ar,e incurred due to the integration of the “solar power generation” function into the building envelope. In the project, several patents were filed for new developments. One of these developments is presented in this article.

One of the new developments in the “construct-pv” project is BIPV shingles for facade or roof integration. Here, the modules form the water-bearing layer of the building envelope and replace thus the roof shingles or facade siding. Leak-tightness is ensured starting from an angle of inclination of 10°. The used glass-glass modules contain high-efficient crystalline heterojunction solar cells made by project partner Meyer Burger that are electrically connected using many thin wires in “smart wire” technology invisible from the distance.

The modules are attached to bitumen shingles that can be simply nailed onto a wooden sub-construction. The bitumen shingle underneath the PV module may have the same surface as the adjacent conventional shingles to ensure a uniform appearance. Thin metal lamination made of copper or stainless steel is possible as shingle surface. The shingles can be cut to size in the edge area using a carpet knife. They can thus be easily adjusted to the circumstances on site. This way, no high-precision measurement of the installation situation is required prior to the production of customer-specific elements. Thus, the industrially prefabricated BIPV shingles form a system together with the adjacent shingles that lowers planning and installation costs and that does not require a high level of education of the installers.