Design and development of a reflective membrane for a novel Building Integrated Concentrating Photovoltaic (BICPV) ‘Smart Window’ system

Connelly, Karen; Wu, Yupeng; Chen, Jun; Yu, Lei

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.07.125

Cited by 58 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…From Figure 2, it can be seen that transmittance decreases upon increasing the liquid temperature, being approximately 100% below 38 • C and near 0% when above 45 • C. There is no significant difference for the transmittance data from 20 • C to 38 • C. System. The membrane temperature recorded was taken as the average of the four thermocouple readings [11,12]. Baseline references were taken prior to testing.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cooled to room temperature additional distilled water was then added to the solution and stirred for several hours to synthesise the final predetermined HPC wt. % concentrations [11,12].…”

Section: Materials and Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Casting of the HPC/gelling agent solution was then undertaken between two 4 mm thick, 5 × 5 cm sheets of optical white low iron glazing. A 0.5 mm silicone membrane was used as a spacer between the two sheets of glazing resulting in a "truncated" version (no integrated PV) of the proposed CPV smart window system [11,12].…”

Section: Materials and Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Four T-type thermocouples were glued to the top surface of the glazing with highly thermally conducting Electrolube Thermal Bonding System. The membrane temperature recorded was taken as the average of the four thermocouple readings [11,12]. Baseline references were taken prior to testing.…”

Section: Uv-vis Spectroscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The resistors were connected to a power supply and temperature controller with the liquid sample temperature controlled between 20 • C and 55 • C by varying the input voltage and current. A thermocouple connected to the power supply and temperature controller was placed in the centre of the liquid sample to monitor the temperature change of the liquid as well as to control the heat supplied to the sample by the thermal resistors [11,12].…”

Section: Uv-vis Spectroscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transmittance and Reflectance Studies of Thermotropic Material for a Novel Building Integrated Concentrating Photovoltaic (BICPV) ‘Smart Window’ System

Connelly

et al. 2017

Energies

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Abstract:A novel Building Integrated Concentrating Photovoltaic (BICPV) Smart Window has been designed and developed as a next generation intelligent window system. In response to climatic conditions, the smart window varies solar light transmission into the building for provision of light and heat with the reflection of light to the photovoltaic (PV) for electricity generation. This unique function is realised using an integrated thermotropic layer in conjunction with embedded PVs. As commercial PVs are readily available, the success of this novel BICPV design depends solely on the performance of the thermotropic material. This study aimed to develop a suitable reflective thermotropic layer for the proposed smart Concentrating Photovoltaic (CPV) system. A Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) polymer was tested for its applicability as a potential reflective thermotropic material for this purpose. HPC concentration was systematically varied from 1 wt. % to 6 wt. % in aqueous solution so as to provide insight into the relationship between transmittance/reflectance properties, the concentration of the thermotropic material and their dependence upon the environmental temperature. The degree of hysteresis of light transmittance upon subjecting HPC to heating and cooling cycles was also investigated. Specifically, for the HPC liquid samples the measured threshold temperature/transition temperature (T s ) was observed to be approximately 40 • C for 6 wt. % HPC, increasing to approximately 44 • C for 1 wt. % HPC. No hysteresis was observed upon heating and cooling HPC samples. Reflectance below the T s was recorded at~10%, increasing up to~70% above the T s for 6 wt. % HPC. Finally, a HPC-based hydrogel membrane sample was developed and exhibited good thermotropic activity therefore demonstrating its suitability for use within the BICPV smart window. This study corroborates that HPC is a suitable thermotropic material in the application of next generation BICPV smart window systems.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cooled to room temperature additional distilled water was then added to the solution and stirred for several hours to synthesise the final predetermined HPC wt. % concentrations [11,12].…”

Section: Materials and Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials and Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Uv-vis Spectroscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Uv-vis Spectroscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Transmittance and Reflectance Studies of Thermotropic Material for a Novel Building Integrated Concentrating Photovoltaic (BICPV) ‘Smart Window’ System

Connelly

et al. 2017

Energies

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Efficient Luminescent Solar Concentrators Based on Environmentally Friendly Cd‐Free Ternary AIS/ZnS Quantum Dots

Dhamo

Carulli

Nickl

et al. 2021

Advanced Optical Materials

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Luminescent solar concentrators (LSC) allow to obtain renewable energy from building integrated photovoltaic systems. As promising efficient and long‐term stable LSC fluorophores semiconductor nanocrystals like quantum dots (QDs) with size and composition tunable optoelectronic properties have recently emerged. The most popular II/VI or IV/VI semiconductor QDs contain, however, potentially hazardous cadmium or lead ions, which is a bottleneck for commercial applications. A simple aqueous based, microwave‐assisted synthesis for environmentally friendly and highly emissive AgInS2/ZnS QDs is developed using 3‐mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) and glutathione (GSH) and their incorporation into polylaurylmethacrylate (PLMA) polymer slabs integrable in LSC devices (10.4 × 10.4 × 0.2 cm3, G = 12.98). With this simple approach, optical power efficiencies (OPE) of 3.8% and 3.6% and optical quantum efficiencies (OQE) of 24.1% and 27.4% are obtained, which are among the highest values yet reported.

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Bright and Switchable Whiteness in Macro‐Crosslinked Hydrogels

Eklund,

Hu,

Fang

et al. 2023

Advanced Optical Materials

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Bright white color is often achieved in nature by the combination of polydisperse scattering structures and high refractive index contrast between the scatterer and the surrounding medium. Similarly, synthetic systems have commonly utilized inorganic materials as the scattering centers to achieve white color, which, however, lacks the ability to switch the optical properties. While hydrogels capable of scattering light are utilized in applications such as smart windows, their reflection properties have remained limited due to the low refractive index contrast between the polymer and water. As a result, thick layers in the millimeter range are often required to achieve reasonable whiteness. Here a hydrogel consisting of a temperature‐responsive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) and chemically modified agarose used as a chemical macro‐crosslinker is presented. The hydrogel exhibits high whiteness at temperatures above the phase transition (≈31 °C). The reflectance at 800 nm is four times as high as for standard PNIPAm, and a change in transmittance can be induced by laser pulses as short as 30 ms. The macro‐crosslinked structure of this hydrogel provides superior reflectance at a lower thickness compared to reported hydrogel systems, enabling a variety of potential applications including smart windows, responsive displays, optical switches, and camouflage.

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Design and development of a reflective membrane for a novel Building Integrated Concentrating Photovoltaic (BICPV) ‘Smart Window’ system

Cited by 58 publications

References 33 publications

Transmittance and Reflectance Studies of Thermotropic Material for a Novel Building Integrated Concentrating Photovoltaic (BICPV) ‘Smart Window’ System

Transmittance and Reflectance Studies of Thermotropic Material for a Novel Building Integrated Concentrating Photovoltaic (BICPV) ‘Smart Window’ System

Efficient Luminescent Solar Concentrators Based on Environmentally Friendly Cd‐Free Ternary AIS/ZnS Quantum Dots

Bright and Switchable Whiteness in Macro‐Crosslinked Hydrogels

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