The world’s first Kromatix coloured solar panels have been installed on a building façade at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Installed by Emirates Insolaire LLC, each coloured solar panel can generate more than 150 watts electricity per square meter on roofs, or 110 watts plus per square meter on façades. The panels are fixed with an invisible mounting system.
The coloured glass is created using a couple of different treatments. Deposition by a vacuum plasma process of a coloured nano-scaled multi-layered treatment is applied to the inner side of the glass and modifications are made to the outer glass surface’s glazing.
SwissINSO financed and developed patented the nano-deposition technology and says there is little compromise in panel performance and efficiency with Kromatix coloured glass compared to standard tempered solar glass. The panels can be produced in a wide range of colours.
As interesting as the concept is, the coloured solar panels and associated installation appear to be very pricey – as is BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics) generally when considering bang for buck. Emirates Insolaire LLC says the installation cost around AUD $300,000 and generates enough power to serve the needs of the equivalent of two four-person households.
To give an idea of the difference in cost, Energy Matters says a 5kW rooftop solar power system installed in Australia using standard solar panels can provide enough power for a family of 4. Two good quality 5kW systems cost around AUD $14,000 installed (including incentives).
Still, seeing these alternatives being developed offers inspiration and as technology evolves, costs tend to come down. BIPV also provides opportunities for power generation where none other may exist. The amount of sun exposed building façade around the world is a huge potential resource for clean electricity generation.
“With the KromatixTM technology, the company has ushered in a paradigm shift in solar applications because of its aesthetic appeal to any building façade and efficiency due to its power generating attributes,” said Rafic Hanbali, Managing Partner of Emirates Insolaire. “The company sees significant growth opportunities going forward not only in the Europe but across the globe.”
Emirates Insolaire LLC is a joint venture of Dubai Investments PJSC [DI] and SwissINSO Holding Inc.
Others have been tinkering with coloured solar cells and panels; including the University of Michigan and another Swiss company, CSEM, which has developed a white solar panel.
