Design, development, and characterization of low distortion advanced semitransparent photovoltaic glass for buildings applications

Aesthetic appearance of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products, such as semi-transparent PV (STPV) glass, is crucial for their widespread adoption and contribution to the net-zero energy building (NZEB) goal. However, the visual distortion significantly limits the aesthetics of STPV glass. In this study, we investigate the distortion effect of transparent periodic-micropattern-based thin-film PV (PMPV) panels available in the market. To minimize the visual distortion of such PMPV glass panel types, we design and develop an aperiodic micropattern-based PV (APMP) glass that significantly reduces visual distortion. The developed APMP glass demonstrates a haze ratio of 3.7% compared to the 10.7% of PMPV glass. Furthermore, the developed AMPV glass shows an average visible transmittance (AVT) of 58.3% which is around 1.3 times higher than that of AMPV glass (43.8%). Finally, the measured CIELAB values (L* = 43.2, a* = −1.55, b* = −2.86.) indicate that our developed AMPV glass possesses excellent color neutrality, which makes them suitable for commercial applications. Based on the characterization results, this study will have a significant impact on the areas of smart window glasses that can play a vital role in developing a sustainable environment and enhancing the aesthetical appearance of net-zero energy buildings (NZEB)

Optical and chromaticity properties of metal-dielectric composite-based multilayer thin-film structures prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

Coated glass products, and especially the low-emissivity coatings, have become a common building material used in modern architectural projects. More recently, these material systems became common in specialized glazing systems featuring solar energy harvesting. Apart from achieving the stability of optical parameters in multilayer coatings, it is also important to have improved control over the design of visual color properties of the coated glass. We prepare metal-dielectric composite (MDC)-based multilayer thin-film structures using the radio frequency (RF)-magnetron sputtering deposition and report on their optical and chromaticity properties in comparison with these obtained using pure metal-based Dielectric/Metal/Dielectric (DMD) trilayer structures of similar compositions. Experimentally achieved Hunter L, a, b values of MDC-based multilayer building blocks of coatings provide a new outlook on the engineering of future-generation optical coatings with better color consistency and developing approaches to broaden the range of achievable color coordinates and better environmental stability

Energy engineering approach for rural areas cattle farmers in Bangladesh to reduce covid-19 impact on food safety

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This paper reports on the optimization of thin-film coating-assisted, self-sustainable, off-grid hybrid power generation systems for cattle farming in rural areas of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a lower middle-income country with declining rates of poverty among its 160 million people due to persistent economic growth in conjunction with balanced agricultural improvements. Most of the rural households adopt a mixed farming system by cultivating crops and simultaneously rearing livestock. Among the animals raised, cattle are considered as the most valuable asset for the small-/medium-scale farmers in terms of their meat and milk production. Currently, along with the major health issue, the COVID-19 pandemic is hindering the world’s economic growth and has thrust millions into unemployment; Bangladesh is also in this loop. However, natural disasters such as COVID-19 pandemic and floods, largely constrain rural smallholder cattle farmers from climbing out of their poverty. In particular, small-and medium-scale cattle farmers face many issues that obstruct them from taking advantage of market opportunities and imposing a greater burden on their families and incomes. An appropriate measure can give a way to make those cattle farmers’ businesses both profitable and sustainable. Optimization of thin-film coating-assisted, self-sustainable, off-grid hybrid power generation system for cattle farming is a new and forward-looking approach for sustainable development of the livestock sector. In this study, we design and optimize a thin-film coating-assisted hybrid (photovoltaic battery generator) power system by using the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER, Version 3.14.0) simulation tool. An analysis of the results has suggested that the off-grid hybrid system is more feasible for small-and medium-scale cattle farming systems with long-term sustainability to overcome the significant challenges faced by smallholder cattle farmers in Bangladesh

Design, Development, and Characterization of Low Distortion Advanced Semitransparent Photovoltaic Glass for Buildings Applications

Aesthetic appearance of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products, such as semitransparent PV (STPV) glass, is crucial for their widespread adoption and contribution to the net-zero energy building (NZEB) goal. However, the visual distortion significantly limits the aesthetics of STPV glass. In this study, we investigate the distortion effect of transparent periodic-micropattern-based thin-film PV (PMPV) panels available in the market. To minimize the visual distortion of such PMPV glass panel types, we design and develop an aperiodic micropattern-based PV (APMP) glass that significantly reduces visual distortion. The developed APMP glass demonstrates a haze ratio of 3.7% compared to the 10.7% of PMPV glass. Furthermore, the developed AMPV glass shows an average visible transmittance (AVT) of 58.3% which is around 1.3 times higher than that of AMPV glass (43.8%). Finally, the measured CIELAB values (L* = 43.2, a* = −1.55, b* = −2.86.) indicate that our developed AMPV glass possesses excellent color neutrality, which makes them suitable for commercial applications. Based on the characterization results, this study will have a significant impact on the areas of smart window glasses that can play a vital role in developing a sustainable environment and enhancing the aesthetical appearance of net-zero energy buildings (NZEB)

Design, development, and characterization of highly efficient colored photovoltaic module for sustainable buildings applications

The building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system is one of the contributors which has enormous potential to reach the goal of net-zero energy buildings (NZEB) that significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels that contribute to global warming. However, the limitations of the visual and aesthetic appearance of current BIPV systems make this aspiration unlikely. This study investigates the limitations of the single-color-based PV modules that are dull in appearance and have low photo-conversion efficiency (PCE). In order to solve this issue, we designed, developed, and characterized micro-patterned-based multicolored photovoltaic (MPCPV) modules which are applicable to net-zero building and development. Our newly developed MPCPV module exhibits an aesthetically attractive and flexible building color suitable for industrial application. Furthermore, the MPCPV module possesses an efficiency of 9.6%, which is 4.1% higher than a single-color PV module (5.5%) but closer to conventional thin-film PV modules. In addition, the other output parameters, such as short-circuit current (Isc), open-circuit voltage (Voc), maximum power (Pmax), and fill factor (FF), indicate that our developed colored PV module is suitable for modern infrastructures that will enable energy generation on-site without compromising the aesthetic appearance. Finally, this research will have a substantial influence on the NZEB and will play an important part in the development of a sustainable environment

Design and Concept of Renewable Energy Driven Auto-Detectable Railway Level Crossing Systems in Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s railway system mostly uses typical manual railway crossing techniques or boom gates through its 2955.53 km rail route all over the country. Accidents frequently happen at railway crossings due to the lack of quickly operating gate systems, and to fewer safety measures at the railway crossing as well. Currently, there are very few automatic railway crossing systems available (without obstacle detectors). Additionally, all of them are dependent on the national power grid, without a backup plan for any emergency cases. Bangladesh is still running a bit behind in generating enough power for its consumption; hence, it is not possible to have a continuous power supply at all times all over the countryside. We aim to design and develop a smart railway crossing system with an obstacle detector to prevent common types of accidents at railway crossing points. We use two infrared (IR) sensors to operate the railway crossing systems, which are controlled by an Arduino Uno. This newly designed level crossing system is run with the help of sustainable renewable energy, which is cost-effective and eco-friendly, and applied under the national green energy policy towards achieving sustainable development in Bangladesh as a part of the global sustainable goal to face climate change challenges. We have summarized the simulated the results of several renewable energy sources, including a hybrid system, and optimized the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and the payback periods

Optical and Chromaticity Properties of Metal-Dielectric Composite-Based Multilayer Thin-Film Structures Prepared by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Coated glass products, and especially the low-emissivity coatings, have become a common building material used in modern architectural projects. More recently, these material systems became common in specialized glazing systems featuring solar energy harvesting. Apart from achieving the stability of optical parameters in multilayer coatings, it is also important to have improved control over the design of visual color properties of the coated glass. We prepare metal-dielectric composite (MDC)-based multilayer thin-film structures using the radio frequency (RF)-magnetron sputtering deposition and report on their optical and chromaticity properties in comparison with these obtained using pure metal-based Dielectric/Metal/Dielectric (DMD) trilayer structures of similar compositions. Experimentally achieved Hunter L, a, b values of MDC-based multilayer building blocks of coatings provide a new outlook on the engineering of future-generation optical coatings with better color consistency and developing approaches to broaden the range of achievable color coordinates and better environmental stability

Aesthetically Appealing Building Integrated Photovoltaic Systems for Net-Zero Energy Buildings. Current Status, Challenges, and Future Developments—A Review

With the sharp increase in global energy demand, industrial and residential buildings are responsible for around 40% of the energy consumed with most of this energy portion being generated by non-renewable sources, which significantly contribute to global warming and environmental hazards. The net-zero energy building (NZEB) concept attempts to solve the global warming issue, whereby a building will produce, on-site, its required energy demand throughout the year from renewable energy sources. This can be achieved by integrating photovoltaic (PV) building materials, called building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules, throughout the building skin, which simultaneously act as construction materials and energy generators. Currently, architects and builders are inclined to design a building using BIPV modules due to the limited colors available, namely, black or blue, which result in a monotonous building appearance. Therefore, there is an increasing demand/need to develop modern, aesthetically pleasing BIPV green energy products for the use of architects and the construction industry. This review article presents the current stage and future goal of advanced building integrated photovoltaic systems, focusing on the aesthetically appealing BIPV systems, and their applications towards overcoming global challenges and stepping forward to achieve a sustainable green energy building environment. Additionally, we present the summary and outlook for the future development of aesthetically appealing building integrated photovoltaic systems

Rooftop PV or Hybrid Systems and Retrofitted Low-E Coated Windows for Energywise and Self-Sustainable School Buildings in Bangladesh

The electricity crisis is a common issue in Bangladesh; however, recently the electricity scenario has been getting worse due to various reasons including power generation and distribution all over the country. Meanwhile, the large number of people requires a huge amount of energy which is not possible to be met by the national grid due to the limited power generation from different plants. Among all renewable energy sources, the solar photovoltaics (PV) system is the best choice as a generation source, either off-grid or with a grid-tied connection, to reduce the pressure on the national grid. In Bangladesh, there are more than 175,000 schools, and it is possible to generate a huge amount of renewable (solar) power to supply all the schools by using rooftop PV systems. We propose a new approach that combines solar energy harvesting and savings to make the schools self-sufficient and energywise. We performed a Hybrid Optimization Model for Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) pro simulation and find that it was possible to generate approximately 200 megawatts (MW) of power. We conducted a feasibility study on generating power from rooftop PV systems on school buildings and reduced the power consumption using retrofitted thin-film-coated glass by around 16–20% per day depending on the school size, which can help the national power grid system by either making all the schools off-grid or grid-connected to supply power to the national grid. In addition, we perform a HelioScope simulation to investigate the maximum upscaling of PV sizing for the rooftops of school buildings in Bangladesh to realize how to make each school a mini solar power station in the future. The HelioScope simulation performance showed that it was possible to generate approximately 96,993 kWh per year from one school building

Design and concept of renewable energy driven auto-detectable railway level crossing systems in Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s railway system mostly uses typical manual railway crossing techniques or boom gates through its 2955.53 km rail route all over the country. Accidents frequently happen at railway crossings due to the lack of quickly operating gate systems, and to fewer safety measures at the railway crossing as well. Currently, there are very few automatic railway crossing systems available (without obstacle detectors). Additionally, all of them are dependent on the national power grid, without a backup plan for any emergency cases. Bangladesh is still running a bit behind in generating enough power for its consumption; hence, it is not possible to have a continuous power supply at all times all over the countryside. We aim to design and develop a smart railway crossing system with an obstacle detector to prevent common types of accidents at railway crossing points. We use two infrared (IR) sensors to operate the railway crossing systems, which are controlled by an Arduino Uno. This newly designed level crossing system is run with the help of sustainable renewable energy, which is cost-effective and eco-friendly, and applied under the national green energy policy towards achieving sustainable development in Bangladesh as a part of the global sustainable goal to face climate change challenges. We have summarized the simulated the results of several renewable energy sources, including a hybrid system, and optimized the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and the payback periods