Modeling the Energy Yield of The PowerWindow

The European Union has established two directives that require both public and private buildings to becomenearly zero energy by 2020. This has increased public interest in and development of building integratedphotovoltiac (BIPV) systems. One such BIPV solution is the PowerWindow by Physee. Even though the PowerWindowdoes not produce asmuch power as a traditional rooftop installed photovoltaic solution, it can stillbe viewed as a step in the right direction to achieve sustainable development.This thesis project aims at modelling the energy yield of the PowerWindow by developing a simple frameworkwith optical, thermal and electrical models. This thesis also evaluates the electrical characteristics of thePowerWindow under solar simulators. Furthermore, opto-electronic parameter values like current, voltage,reflectance and so on found through experimentation are used as input to the models. The optical modeldeals with a ray tracing approach to find the incident irradiance on the solar cells inside the PowerWindow.This incident irradiance along with the weather data is used for the development of a thermal model to predictthe temperature of the solar cells using a fluid dynamic approach. To model the electrical characteristicsof the PowerWindow, a one diode equivalent circuit is used. However, the current source is modified to incorporatethe effects of inhomogeneous irradiation on and the temperature of the solar cells.The results of this work show that the maximum power produced by the PowerWindow, currently manufacturedby Physee, is approximately 3.5 W under a solar simulator. This work also compares the incidentirradiation profiles of all the edges of the PowerWindow, which produce power on different days, orientationsand locations. The effects of shading on the PowerWindow is evaluated in terms of irradiation and is foundto be present only in the summer months in Eindhoven. Furthermore, the daily energy yield calculated fora typical summer, winter and overcast day in Eindhoven is found to be 13, 5 and 3 Wh. It was concludedthat a west and east facing PowerWindows in Eindhoven produce more energy in the summer and less inthe winter as compared to a south facing PowerWindow. Additionally, the most performance effective circuitconfiguration is found to be the one with both blocking and bypass diodes.Electrical Engineering | Microelectronic