Recovery Act - Hybrid Building Integrated Solar Energy System for Photovoltaic, Thermoelectric, and Heat Utilization

Conventional photovoltaic technologies have been able to achieve limited market penetration due to high first costs and reductions in efficiency caused by the high operating temperatures at which the panels are typically employed. Traditional solar panels are also configured as mounted equipment, separate from the building envelop elements. The use of unaugmented PV power generating technology limits the efficiency of the panels and the traditional configuration is inefficient from a materials standpoint, as there is redundancy in the structure of the panels and the structure of the building envelop, which both must be designed to resist wind and other loads. The layered hybrid panel technology that we are currently exploring integrates photovoltaic (PV) elements, thermoelectric (TE) elements, and solar water heating with the structural substrate and the waterproofing system in a multi-layer composite element. The proposed hybrid panels will increase the overall power generating efficiency of the system by capturing the thermal energy not utilized by the PV cells and by allowing the PV cells to operate at more efficient cooler temperatures. Additionally, the proposed building integrated solar panels serve as both power generation elements and building envelop elements because they include the structural roof or wall sheathing and waterproofing elements as well as the power generating elements. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Traditional solar panels are already in use in some commercial and residential buildings but the increased efficiencies that will be realized by the proposed panels and the economy achieved by the elimination of the redundant structure described above, should give our PV/TE/Hot Water Hybrid Building Integrated Solar Panels much greater market penetration than traditional panels. The proposed building integrated solar panels will be suitable for both new construction and retrofit applications in commercial, residential, and institutional facilities providing broad market opportunities.