Abstract

We present a review of the current state of the field for a rapidly evolving group of technologies related to solar energy harvesting in built environments. In particular, we focus on recent achievements in enabling the widespread distributed generation of electric energy assisted by energy capture in semi-transparent or even optically clear glazing systems and building wall areas. Whilst concentrating on recent cutting-edge results achieved in the integration of traditional photovoltaic device types into novel concentrator-type windows and glazings, we compare the main performance characteristics reported with these using more conventional (opaque or semi-transparent) solar cell technologies. A critical overview of the current status and future application potential of multiple existing and emergent energy harvesting technologies for building integration is provided.

RAS ID

28456

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

2019

Funding Information

This research was funded by the Australian Research Council (grants LP130100130 and LP160101589) and Edith Cowan University.

School

Electron Science Research Institute / School of Science

Grant Number

ARC Number : LP130100130

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Publisher

MDPI

Comments

Vasiliev, M., & Alameh, K. (2019). Recent developments in solar energy-harvesting technologies for building integration and distributed energy generation. Energies, 12(6), Article 1080. Available here

Download

Included in

Engineering Commons

Share

 
COinS
 

Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.3390/en12061080