SunTech Power Incorporates PV Into Building Materials

The days of obtrusive and often ugly solar panels mounted on the roof or yard may be gone.  SunTech Power of China has positioned themselves as a leader in designing and manufacturing building-integrated photovoltaic products (BIPV).  Transparent glass panels can be used as windows, skylights, roofs, curtain walls, and almost any vertical or sloped construction surface.  Black panels that are designed to be aesthetically pleasing and weatherproof are used mainly for roof structures.  A typical roof installation can produce 2kW for a relatively affordable price.  What makes them more affordable than typical PV installations is that they don’t mount onto the normal building structure, they replace the normal structure.

The panels are made by sandwiching a layer of thin-film amorphous silicon (.3 micron thick) between layers of tempered glass.  They are finished with aluminum structures and multiple weather-proofing.  This provides a weather-tight and structurally sound building material, built to withstand wind, hail, and earthquakes.

These materials have been used in housing developments, warehouses, public buildings, and skyscrapers for several years, with the first demonstration applications appearing in 1998.  BIPV products are available worldwide, and can be custom ordered to match the architecture and needs of the application.

Two images shown below are of BIPV technology in the Hong Kong Science Park