Poland-based perovskite solar cell manufacturer Saules Technology has installed a photovoltaic sunshade equipped with perovskite solar cells on the factory facade of Polish aluminum system provider Aliplast in Lublin.
The company said the project is the world's first building-applied photovoltaics (BAPV) system relying on a perovskite solar technology.
The photovoltaic blinds are managed by an automation system known as Animeo, provided by French specialist Somfy, which makes the perovskite modules cooperate with a weather station installed on the roof. “Using live weather data and sun-tracking, they automatically change their alignment with the movement of the sun,” the manufacturer stated. “This solution ensures the facility's energy efficiency and guarantees thermal comfort and protection against too harsh light for the building users — regardless of the season.”
Saules also explained that perovskite cells are ideal for this kind of application as they can generate power when the sun's rays fall at an angle other than 90 degrees. “Thanks to these advantages and their low weight, they can be mounted even on vertical facade elements and in colors matching the facade of the buildings,” it highlighted.
According to the manufacturer, the perovskite solar modules integrated with the sunshades can be inkjet-printed on thin, flexible substrates in different colors.
Saules is part of the European Perovskite Initiative (EPKI), which unites the major European institutions involved in solar energy research, including the Benelux-based Solliance – which has the Netherlands’ TNO and Belgium’s Imec among its members; Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL); France’s Institut National de l’Energie Solaire; Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE; Italy’s Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; specialist Oxford PV; and the University of Oxford.
