Light and energy - solar cells in transparent facades

The project demonstrates and disseminates the potential for the use of light-filtering solar cells as a multi-functional component, which meets the architectural objectives while contributing to a good indoor climate, a suitable quality of lighting indoor and producing electricity. Potentials and challenges of light-filtering solar cell panels were demonstrated in mock-ups built on a workshop for Danish and foreign students at Aarhus School of Architecture. It has been important to think of the solar cell filter as a part of the architecture instead of a replacement for windows and actively use the light-filtering features as a possibility in new facade designs. Solar cells in transparent facades can help reducing problems of over-heating in a building and thus reduce the cooling demand. But at the same time the solar cells obstruct the passive solar heat at times when there is a need for heating and will therefore contribute to and increase the heating demand. The solar cells will also decrease the inflow og light which leads to an increased need for additional lighting. Working with light-filtering solar cells thus becomes a matter of finding an optimum for opposing trends.