A new University of Washington building in Seattle makes use of 100 kW of an innovative vertical PV fin system from Onyx Solar.
The building has been designed by architects Perkins + Will, and it is a seven-story construction–including two stories below grade, which has been envisioned as a benchmark project in terms of energy efficiency, innovation and onsite renewable energy.
The design targets LEED-NC Platinum Certification, and the deployment and usage of clean energy sources were a primary objective of the University’s Climate Action Plan for Sustainability.
In this sense, the UW-Solar student group worked with Perkins + Will to design and install a combined 100-kW solar system, featuring the vertical photovoltaic fin system installed on the South-West elevation of the building.
These PV fins are a first for the United States and are made of amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cells. They are all-glass, semi-transparent, letting 20% visible light to pass through the fin. A total of four different dimensions were required by the design team to meet the design intent.
Each fin consists of a three-ply laminated, tempered glass, and it offers 3.15 W per square foot. They are frameless and were installed vertically, perpendicularly to the curtain wall. Concealed junction boxes and wires do perfect the architectural design.
Both the fin’s depth and the horizontal distance from fin to fin was carefully analyzed by Perkins + Will and Onyx Solar, to optimize the performance of the system and help preventing self-shading situations that could impact the output.
The PV fins were tested to UL standards.
Source- Onyx Solar