The cadmium telluride power generation glass used in photovoltaic curtain walls is limited in size due to current production processes. Considering the appearance and construction cost of photovoltaic curtain walls, when using photovoltaic glass in architectural design, the division of photovoltaic curtain walls should fully consider the size of photovoltaic glass and the feasibility of customization for selection.

▲ The transmittance effect of transparent power generation glass in practical applications

The current standardized product size for cadmium telluride power generation glass is 1200mm * 600mm (which will be expanded to 1200mm * 1800mm in the future). Generally, the size of curtain wall glass is larger than this standard size, and several standard power generation glass sizes need to be spliced. If the width of the curtain wall glass is ≤ 1200mm, it only needs to be spliced in the 600mm direction, and the entire glass has a splicing joint in only one direction; If the width is greater than 1200mm, the other direction also needs to be spliced, so that the entire glass has joints in both directions, which also leads to the complexity of the internal electrical system. Therefore, when designing photovoltaic curtain walls, it is recommended to consider the aesthetics of the building and the cutting loss rate, and to use standardized product sizes or integer multiples of sizes for splicing, Ensure utilization and reduce material costs (recommended sizes: L1200 * W1200mm, L1200 * W1800mm, L1200 * W2400mm, L1200 * W3000mm, etc.).

Real scene view of Longyan power generation glass with a transmittance of 10%~60%

If it is a transparent photovoltaic curtain wall, it is necessary to consider that the higher the transmittance of photovoltaic power generation glass, the smaller the unit area power of photovoltaic power generation glass. It is generally recommended to use power generation glass with a transparency of 40% to meet the project requirements of transparent curtain walls.

Application effect of imitation building materials photovoltaic power generation glass in actual projects

If it is a non transparent photovoltaic curtain wall in the window to wall area, it can be considered to use imitation building materials such as aluminum and stone for photovoltaic power generation glass, to maintain harmony and unity with the architectural design appearance.

The photovoltaic glass curtain wall components adopt structures such as double glass lamination, three glass lamination, single hollow lamination (low-e), and double hollow lamination (low-e) according to the requirements of usage function and installation height. The glass thickness meets the requirements of building curtain walls.

Photovoltaic glass curtain wall components can be installed in open frame, concealed frame, semi concealed frame, or point supported modes. When photovoltaic curtain wall components are used for exposed frame curtain walls, considering that the exposed frame decorative strips will cover some solar cells, affecting their power generation efficiency and posing electrical safety hazards, photovoltaic power generation materials should not be left in the covered area of the exposed frame. Of course, this situation will cause changes in the area of solar cells, and when calculating power generation, attention should be paid to the nominal power and conversion efficiency of this photovoltaic glass curtain wall component.

In order to consider hidden wiring and aesthetics, the power generation glass junction box in transparent photovoltaic curtain walls is generally located on the long or short side

▲ Non transparent photovoltaic curtain wall, it is recommended to use the back junction box method

In addition, the position of the photovoltaic power generation glass junction box has a significant impact on the visual presentation of the photovoltaic curtain wall and the overall system construction nodes, and architectural designers should pay special attention to it.

The current penetration rate of photovoltaic curtain walls is less than 10%. In the future, with the increasing demand for photovoltaic power generation in buildings and the further requirements of carbon neutrality for building emission reduction, the penetration rate of photovoltaic curtain walls is expected to further increase. As the most typical manifestation of photovoltaic buildings, photovoltaic curtain walls have enormous market potential.