Building Integrated Photo-Piezoelectric Cells for Multi-Source Energy Conversion

Established renewable energy technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines utilise only one renewable source for each type and are often bulky, inefficient or noisy. A new generation of 'hybrid' renewable energy technologies is envisaged which will be able to harness power from more than one source (solar, wind, wave) and so will be more efficient and improve the continuity of supply conversion. The current shortage and high cost of silicon stock has driven research into developing new and efficient thin film solar cells, which require far less expensive material. The overall energy conversion efficiency of solar cells can further be increased by incorporating into new practical devices that make use of other renewable energy sources. Laboratory testing has been carried out for polarised PVDF films. A piezo-stack for improved power output has been built and tested into a new 'louvre' device suitable for building integration. The test was carried out for a range of wind speeds and tilt angles in order to maximise the power output. Computer modelling for theoretical analysis has also been carried out to optimise the geometry, and predict the behaviour of the composite material under a range of conditions (solar insolation, wind speeds, tilt angles). In the case of solar/wind conversion, methods for optimum building integration of the material are proposed to take full advantage of solar radiation and wind flows around the building.