AN INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC WINDOW

Liuchen Chang, Chris Desjardins, Ryan Short and Gene Guo Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Brunswick Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3 LChang@unb.ca

ABSTRACT
This paper presents the development of a proposed Integrated Photovoltaic Window. The unit functions as a source of electrical power using photovoltaic cells, provides adjustable lighting control, and provides ventilation control. It is designed to be integrated into both commercial buildings and residential homes. The design of the components of the integrated photovoltaic window, the physical obstacles facing such a design, and the methods of addressing these obstacles are presented, along with preliminary test results for the power generation function and experimental conclusions.

INTRODUCTION
Research and Development The concept of a number of slats covered with an array of photovoltaic (PV) cells enclosed between two panes of glass (i.e., of the Venetian blind type) for the purposes of generating electricity and serving to shade the sun has existed for decades. First being patented in 1977 (Field 1977), the idea was patented again with the explicit intent of supplying electrical energy to a building in 1992 (Gillard 1992). Current research in this area has since been focused on improving the efficiency and performance of the basic idea patented in 1977; e.g. research using glass concentrators to concentrate the sun light, thereby boosting efficiency and reducing PV cell cost (Alonso, et al. 2002). However, much of the published material on exploiting windows as sources of power with photovoltaic technology involves semi-transparent photovoltaic panels in place of the glass itself to generate power, as opposed to adjustable PV cells behind glass. There is a noticeable lack of control systems that position the blinds in such a way as to maximize power output, other than the very common sun-tracking controllers, in research literature. A simple sun tracker will not suffice for this application due to shading

effects. There is, however, an abundance of recent literature on maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technologies specifically for photovoltaic applications. The three most widely adopted methods for tracking the maximum power points are the perturbation and observation method, the incremental conductance method, and the hill climbing method. The former two methods regulate the PVs array voltage to continuously track the point where at which the equation dP/dV=0 is continually satisfied. The latter method varies the duty cycle (D) of a switching mode DC/DC converter to ensure the equation dP/dD=0 is continually satisfied. (Xiao 2004) The hardware and the control theory employed for implementing these methods varies dramatically between projects, to the degree at which a comprehensive review of them is boyond the scope of this paper. Commercial and Industrial Trends Given the lack of research work in this particular area there has been significant interest from the commercial sector in exploring this idea. The German company Syglas (Systeme fr Aktivglas GmbH) manufactures a product, model name Iso Fix PV, that has a venetianblind-like distribution of PV cells fixed between two sheets of glass that provides insulation, shading, and power (Bernreuter 2001). The power can be delivered at 24V for output to batteries or at 60V for output to an inverter. However, there is no control system to automatically adjust the position of the blinds to maximize power output and the PV power output lacks an MPPT to optimize efficiency. Colt, a manufacturer of solar shading systems based out of the UK, offers the model Shadovoltaic. It is an external fixed or controllable solar shading system that incorporates glass louvers with photovoltaic cells integrated into the glass so as to generate electricity at the same time as providing shading (Colt International Ltd. 2008). While differing in the respect that it is installed on the outside of the building windows as opposed to integrated within, it still shows market potential for products with shading and PV functions.

This product appears to be aimed more towards the commercial sector as opposed to the residential. At the 2007 Solar Decathlon, an international design competition for solar powered homes, a team from the German Technische Universitt Darmstadt won the competition with a design incorporating movable photovoltaic shutters. The purpose of the shutters is to provide electricity while simultaneously shading the house from the sun. The position of the shutters, which makes up most of the exterior walls on all four sides of the home, is controlled by a USB link to a PC. Again, this design varies from the integrated PV window discussed in this paper; however, it shows highly recognized advancement in the area of adjustable arrays of PV cells that serve to regulate light transmission into a building while generating electrical power (Energy 2007).

allows the user to select between the automated setting and manual control. A safety feature ensuring the motor is disabled when the blinds reach their rotational limits will suspend the users control. This safety feature is currently employed by use of Hall Effect sensors. Two fans will be mounted at the top of the window casing to be integrated into the control system. The fans will be multifunctional, with the ability to move air inside, move air outside, or operate in opposing directions to move air in circulation. Additional functionality to work in conjunction with other aspects of a solar homes ventilation, heating, and cooling system will also be taken into consideration in the design of the ventilation control system. The control system for the fans will be able to be overridden manually so the user can dictate the direction and rotational speed of the fan if desired. Power generated from the PV cells will be fed through a grid-connected inverter into the buildings power grid at 240V or 120V AC. An additional option that gives the unit the ability to power a stand-alone load will also be provided. The electrical components, motor, and fans will all be powered by a battery charged by the PV cells.

INTEGRATED PV WINDOW
Functional Objectives Photovoltaic modules should accomplish as many functions as possible for Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) applications. Buildings windows frequently have lighting control and ventilation control as part of their functions. An integrated PV window has been proposed by the authors, as shown in Figure 1, to be integrated into a building to accomplish the following three objectives: PV modules constitute a distributed generator with maximum power point tracking to feed power to a grid or to a standalone load; PV modules form blinds for lighting control. A motor can be controlled manually or automatically to arrange the blinds to a desired position. If manual lighting control is not required, the PV modules will track to the positions where maximum PV power is generated; A fan can be integrated into the window frame to provide ventilation for air exchange or heating and cooling control.

Physical Construction and Operation The Integrated PV Window unit consists of PV cell lined blinds encased in a window frame with glass on both the front and back (Figure 1 and Figure 7). The blinds are all moved simultaneously using a DC motor. The user can switch between manual control if lighting control is of primary concern and automated maximum power tracking when peak output power is desired. A simple two-button open and close function is employed for the manual control of the blinds, where a switch Figure 1. Integrated PV Window Electrical System Functions The functional block diagram of the electrical system is shown in Figure 8. Provided below is a description of the inputs, outputs, and functions of the electrical system. Input/Output

Manual Override Input: Two buttons allow the user to rotate the blinds clockwise or counterclockwise when the Manual Override Select allows it. Manual Override Select: The user can select between the automated power-maximizing mode and the manual control mode. Ventilation Input: Buttons allow the user can dictate the direction of airflow for the ventilation system Power Output: The output power from the unit can connected to the grid through an inverter, used to power the electrical components and motors of the PV window, or used to power a stand-alone load. Functions Manual Override Controls: Provides circuitry necessary for manual control of the blind position. Automated Controller/Manual Controller Selection: Allows a user to choose between automated power maximizing setting and manual override control in governing the position of the blinds. Motor Controller: Provides the means of powering the motor. Currently a Pulse Width Modulator is employed for this purpose. Safety Control: Avoids damage to the motor and gears by preventing the blinds from rotating past their intended positional limits. Motor Speed Control: A feedback controller regulates the duration of pulses of the Pulse Width Modulator to regulate the speed of the motor as the torque requirements on the motor fluctuate with blind position. Rotate Blinds: A DC motor is currently employed to provide torque to the shaft, which rotates the blinds. Ventilation Controller: Provides circuitry necessary for control of the ventilation function. Move Air Inside or Outside: Two small DC fans will be employed for this function. They will move air inside or outside as dictated by the ventilation controller. Solar Power Generation: Photovoltaic cells generate electrical power. Maximum Power Point Tracking: Optimizes the voltage and current from the PV cells to maximize power for the particular load used. Automated Power Maximizing Positional Controller: Positions the blinds in such a way as to maximize the power output.

MITIGATING FACTORS AND FUNCTIONAL CONSTRAINTS

There are three main physical factors that compromise the maximum power generation from the PV cells: The first power-compromising factor is reflection of solar radiation off of the glass. When light passes through glass, a portion of it gets reflected back, as shown in Figure 2. The amount of light that is reflected depends on the incident angle of the photon striking the glass surface. Figure 3 shows a graph depicting the percentage of solar radiation reflected off of glass as a function of the incident angle of sunlight on the sheet of glass. Fresnels equation (Serway 1986) was made use of in determining these angles using the indexes of refraction of air and of glass. From the graph in Figure 3 it can be seen how the efficiency would drop off dramatically beyond the 50 mark. As such, the severity of power loss when considering this factor varies geographically as one moves from the equator, where the sun is nearly overhead at midday, to the poles, where the sun remains closer to the horizon. Since the unit is being developed and tested at UNB, New Brunswick will be used as an example in discussing this subject. In New Brunswick, average noontime summer solar radiation strikes an upright window at an incident angle of 68.5, while in winter it is more direct at 21.5. This is due to the tilt of the earths axis and New Brunswicks geographical location, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 2. Light reflecting off and passing through glass The issue of power loss from reflection of solar radiation off of the glass may be addressed by tilting the entire window unit at an angle if it is possible, reducing the incident angle of sunlight on the glass surface. The optimal angle to install the unit would

vary from region to region and with the users needs. Depending on the geographical location and the customers needs it is recommended that the window may be angled between from 6 to 11 from its upright vertical position. However this may not be possible due to the structural constraints of a building.

condition. In this way both output-power compromising conditions can be partially compensated for by means of the same technique.

Figure 3. Solar radiation reflection off of glass as a function of angle

Figure 5. Shading of the lower PV cells from the blinds above The third physical output power compromising factor to consider is the angle at which the solar radiation strikes the PV cell. The output current of PV cells with respect to suns angle of incidence can be approximated by a cosine function at sun angles from 0 to 50. Beyond an incident angle of 50, the available solar energy falls off rapidly and becomes negligible at approximately 85. Therefore, it is sufficient within the normal operating range to model the fluctuations in photocurrent verses incident angle using the following equation: I = Imax cos() Figure 6 illustrates this relationship. The optimal response to the issue of the sunlights incident angle on the PV cell would be to have the blinds continually adjust their position as to ensure that the PV cell remain perpendicular to the direction of solar radiation. However, as the panels open to adjust their position to remain perpendicular to the sun when it is high in the sky, the shading effect becomes an issue. The benefits of the panels following the sun will quickly be overcome by the reduction in efficiency from the shading, as will be shown in the experimental results section. This issue can be offset partially by positioning the window frame at a slight angle, as done (1)

Figure 4. The angle of incidence changes based on the season and geographical location The second factor that compromises power generation occurs when the blinds are in an open position. When in an open position, a PV cell lined blind can be hidden from the sunlight by the blind directly above it. This greatly reduces the effective power-converting surface area and thus reduces the power output. This phenomenon can be seen in Figure 5. The severity of this shadowing effect depends on the degree to which the blinds are opened, the angle of the window frame, and angle of the sunlight. The factors determining the loss of efficiency of the glassreflection issue are repeated in the shadowing effect. That is, the efficiency is reduced as the incident angle of solar radiation with respect to the window frame is increased. This effect can be partially compensated for by tilting the top of the window frame back in the same manner as was described for the glass-reflection

to compensate for the shading and reflection issues; however, the angle of incidence of sunlight on the PV cells will be primarily compensated for by developing a control system that will take both the shading and the incident angle factors into consideration in determining the position of the blinds to obtain maximum power generation.

The tests were completed in the early afternoon on August 9, 2007 in full sunlight and were performed both with the glass installed and with it removed. The window was vertically positioned either upright, that is, perpendicular to the earth, or tilted at 45 toward the sun. In the horizontal plane the window frame was always oriented as to face south, which aligned it directly toward the sun. The power was measured with the blinds either in the closed position, measuring 5 tangentially to the vertical axis of the window frame, or in an open position, at 45 tangentially to the window frames vertical axis. Experiment 1: Window Unit was positioned upright; blinds were in a closed position Experiment 2: Window Unit was positioned upright; blinds were opened at a 45 angle Experiment 3: Window Unit positioned at 45 angle; blinds were in a closed position Experimental Results

Figure 6. PV cell current output decreases as the sunlights incident angle increases

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Experimental Limitations The Solar Window is still in the development stages so the experiments are still quite rudimentary. There is not yet the tracking controls necessary for adjusting the blinds to maximize their power output, they simply remain stationary in the position they are manually adjusted to. The maximum power point was arrived at through varying load resistors instead of a more sophisticated Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) inverter, which will be introduced in the summer of 2008. Also, the ventilation function is currently in development, therefore it will be absent in the experimental results. The project is still in the research and development stage. However, the emphasis is currently on development of the concept, and the PV cells relatively low capacity suffices to give the required insight into the eventual operation of the unit. Considering the speed of advancement of the current solar power industry with greater efficiencies offered at lower prices, economically viable PV cells with much greater efficiency will be readily available the Integrated PV Windows. Experimental Description

The experiments to determine the maximum power were performed by varying the load resistor sizes instead of employing an MPPT device, so only the maximum power value for each experiment will be discussed. Since the MPPT will be employed in the design in later stages to seek the maximum power obtainable this will suffice. These preliminary experiments mainly serve to anecdotally demonstrate the effect of the issues compromising power-output posed in the Mitigating Factors and Functional Constraints section of this paper. The results from the three experiments are presented in Table 1. Table 1 Power measurement results GLASS (W) 24.4 15.2 48.7 NO GLASS (W) 31.5 16.0 57.3 DIFF. (%) 29.1 5.3 17.7

Experiment 1 Experiment 2 Experiment 3

DISCUSSION AND RESULTS ANALYSIS

The experimental results will be analyzed in the context of demonstrating the power-output compromising effects posed in the Mitigating Factors and Functional Constraints section of the paper. The different scenarios will be compared to shed light on the degree to which the position of the blinds and the position of the window frame affect the output power.

Comparing the results from Experiment 1 and Experiment 3 shows the effect on output power generation as the window frame is tilted to reduce the angle between the solar radiation and the normal axis of the window frame (see Figure 7 for the normal axis). Tilting the frame 45 increases power output by 99.6% when glass is present, and 82.0% with the glass removed. The sun is at an angle of 63 from the horizon. The blinds, when in the closed position, are still opened 5 because the blinds partially overlap one another. This gives an incident angle of solar radiation on the PV cells of 58 for the upright case and 13 for the tilted case. Equation 1 shows the relationship modeling the fluctuations in photocurrent verses incident angle. The theoretical expected power reduction for the case without glass can be found by using this formula since all other factors are equal except the incident angle. Iupright = Imax cos(58) = 0.530 Imax Itilted = Imax cos(13) = 0.974 Imax This gives an expected increase in current of 83.8%. Given that the voltage remains relatively stable in these conditions and equation 2, P = I V, (2)

With the shading effects neglected, orienting the PV cells as to decrease the angle of incidence would result in an approximate power increase of 79.5%, as calculated from the above equations. However, the shading effect reduces output power to such a degree that it not only compensates for the expected 79.5% power increase from decreasing the angle of incidence of sunlight on the PV cells, but reduces the output power an additional 49.2% beyond the compensation. This clearly demonstrates the significance of the shadowing effect in reducing output power and the tenuous balance that must be observed between shadowing and PV cells angle in the design of the microprocessor-based control system. Comparing the results from the experiments using glass to the experiments where the glass was removed shows a correlation between the presence of glass and a reduction in output power; however, the amount of reduction is currently inconsistent. Further testing related to reflection reducing techniques will be required. The intent for this project is to have the glass permanently installed, so there are few alterations able to be made to the design regarding this issue. The glass experiments were mainly intended to shed light on the effect of the glass on output power. The difficulties facing electrical power generation via photovoltaic cells are varied and abundant due to the hourly, seasonally, and geographically changing state of its power source, solar radiation. The difficulties may be addressed through intelligent placement of the unit, yet often use must be made of more sophisticated solutions involving microcontroller based control systems.

the expected power increase can be extrapolated as 83.8%. When comparing this to the experimental value of 82% it results in a percent error of 2.2%. This preliminary experimental result shows the significance of the angle of incidence of solar radiation on PV cells and provides the anecdotal evidence necessary to pursue researching this effect further to maximize efficiency from this unit. Comparing the results from Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 shows the effect on output power generation from shadowing of the lower blinds from the blinds above. When the window frame is positioned upright, opening the blinds from a closed position at 5 to an open position at 45 causes output power to be reduced by 37.7% with the glass present and 49.2% with the glass removed. The two factors affecting the outcome in this test case are the output power increase from the decreased incident angle of the solar radiation on the PV cells and the output power decrease from the shading of the PV cells, as seen in Figure 5. The expected power increase from decreasing the angle of incidence on the PV cells can be calculated, as above, using equation 1. Iopen = Imax cos(63 45) = 0.951 Imax Iclosed = Imax cos(63 5) = 0.530 Imax

CONCLUSION
Home and building owners will be increasingly turning to solar power as a means of supplementing power obtained from the power-grid. Efficiency, adaptability, and multi-functionality will be crucial determining factors in their buying choices. In response, the Integrated PV Window exploits an often untapped and unused niche, the window area, to give the user lighting and ventilation control combined with power generation. The aim in this project is to provide a solution that is adaptable, efficient, and able to be integrated into a building employing various forms of solar technology.

NOMENCLATURE
Imax = Maximum Current from PV cell Iupright = Current obtained from upright window frame Itilted = Current obtained from 45 tilted window frame

Iopen = Current obtained when blinds are open at 45 Iclosed = Current obtained when blinds are fully closed I = Current P = Power V = Voltage D = Duty Cycle

REFERENCES
Alonso, J.; Diaz, V.; Hernandez, M. 2002. A New Static Concentrator PV Module with Bifacial Cells for Integration on Facades: The PV VENETIAN Store, Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Pages 1584-1587, IEEE, New Orleans USA. Bernreuter, J. 2001. Blinded by the Light, Photon International: The Photovoltaic Magazine, http://www.photon-magazine.com/ products/products_01-03_syglas.htm. Colt International Ltd. 2008. Colt Solar Shading Systems Pamphlet, http://www.coltinfo.co.uk/ products-and-systems/architectural-solutions/solarshading-systems/products/shadovoltaic. Energy, U.S. Department of. 2007. Technische Universitt Darmstadt, Solar Decathlon 2007, http://www.solardecathlon.org/2007/team_darmsta dt.html. Field, R. October 20, 1977. Solar Energy Window, U.S. Patent 4 137 098. Gillard, C. August 27, 1992. Solar Cell Window Fitting, U.S. Patent 5 221 363. Serway, R. 1986. Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 2nd ed., Saunders College Publishing, Philadelphia USA. Xiao, W., Dunford, W. June 20-25 2004. A Modified Adaptive Hill Climbing MPPT Method for Photovoltaic Power Systems, 35th Annual IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, Pages 1957-1963, IEEE, Aachen Germany.

Figure 7. Integrated PV Window Construction

Figure 8. Functional blocks for electrical system