New IEA Website Architectural Integration of Solar Products
© 2012 EPFL
Solar systems and architecture: The new website solarintegrationsolutions.org gives an overview of novel building integration solutions currently available on the market. Published by the International Energy Agency Task 41, the website was developped under the direction of Maria Cristina Munari Probst and Christian Roecker of the Solar Energy and Building Physics Laboratory.
Solar systems will soon be a fixed part of the built landscape as public policy tends towards replacing nuclear and fossil energy ressources by renewables. However, many existing solar plants are less than convincing from an aesthetical point of view, which explains a certain reluctance among architects and building owners to integrate solar active technology into their projects.
The IEA SHCP project “Task 41: Solar Energy and Architecture” was initiated in 2009 to improve the situation by providing architects with the knowledge they need to best use the potential offered by solar technology today.
On of the main results is the website solarintegrationsolutions.org, developed to present the novel solar products currently available on the market as well as all information needed for successful architectural integration.The website addresses architects and their clients alike and is structured around the three main active solar technologies: photovoltaics, solar thermal and hybrid systems. By selecting a specific technology and integration type (roof, façade, balcony…) users obtain access to a selection of adapted products, presented in the form of product sheets. These sheets include architect oriented information, supplier contact details as well as pictures of the products integrated into buildings.