LOADING

Type to search

News

Turning buildings into power stations

Share

The declaration of climate emergency and the emphasis on eliminating the carbon footprint by 2050 has brought home the urgent need to minimise energy demand while maximising the generation, storage and management of renewable sources of energy.

BIPVCo has the vision of turning buildings into functional power stations while not making them look like power plants.  This is achieved by infusing solar power generating capability to the very fabric / products that make up contemporary building envelope.

BIPVCo collaborates with major building envelope manufacturers to functionalise steel, aluminium, Single Ply membranes, plastics and polycarbonates based roof systems to generate power efficiently and incorporates the functionality elegantly without compromising the building envelope.

BIPVCo has adopted CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium and selenide) thin film technology as the generating engine to develop a range of flexible solar modules that out perform conventional solar panels in real world applications due to unique design and integration features.

The light-weight nature of the product (2.5 kg/M2) and its flexibility facilitates ease of integration while maintaining superior efficiency in low light conditions, typical of the UK.

Unlike conventional solar panels, this technology does not loose power disproportionately to shaded areas due to its unique module architecture that utilises multiple inter cellular connections and diodes. The self-cleaning nature the top layer is a real boon as even bird droppings are washed away by rain.

The modules and the accessories are integrated to the fabric sympathetically without compromising on weather proofing (by puncturing the fabric) nor the aesthetic needs of the building. The POWER ROOF by BIPVCo is simply a contemporary roof with built in (almost invisible) solar power.

BIPVCo has successfully delivered a number of impressive projects both in the residential and non-residential / institutional sector showcasing the capabilities of its product offering.

The technology has been demonstrated successfully in a wide range of environmental conditions ranging from Canada, UK , Middle East and Africa.

 

Featured Projects

Active Class room

The Active Classroom is the UK’s first energy positive classroom; over an annual cycle it is capable of generating more solar energy than it uses. The Classroom uses both existing technologies and a range of new technologies and construction methods developed by SPECIFIC and its partners. Completed in October 2016 and located at the Swansea Bay University Campus, the Classroom gives materials science students the chance to learn in a building that actively demonstrates the qualities of the materials that they are learning about. The POWER ROOF by BIPVCo uses Tata Steel colorcoat Urban as the base roof which has 17 KW of BIPVCo Flextron modules incorporated within to deliver the renewable power demand of the building.

Download Case study

 

Active office

The Active Office is the UK’s first energy positive office. The building was manufactured using cutting edge off-site manufacturing techniques and incorporate innovative energy generation, storage and release technologies. The office is situated next to the Active Classroom, enabling the sharing of energy and information.

First commercial installation of BIPVco’s photovoltaic roof on a curved profile, which uses CIGS technology (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide) thin film solar cells to convert sunlight to electricity. Factory applied PV cells are bonded directly onto the approved pre-painted steel to create a roofing system that can be installed in the same way as a conventional roof.

The 93 PV modules will provide an energy output of 22kWp.

Download Case study

 

Active Homes

Developed by Pobl Group with support from SPECIFIC IKC for Neath Port Talbot Council. An exciting new project to develop sixteen new innovative homes. Renewable technology and energy efficient materials are integrated into the homes in order to actively reduce the impact of carbon emissions and fuel poverty. The project in Neath is set to become the first development of social housing to use these technologies in the UK. The Tata Steel Colorcoat Urban roofs have been fused with BIPVCo’s Flextron modules to create the soar POWER ROOF.

https://specific.eu.com/assets/animation/POBL-AHN/

 

Diagio Edinburgh

The Ness and Nevis House building is occupied by Diagio PLC. The roof was being upgraded it was decided to add 5.08 MWH of renewable energy per annum to the building. The 4.75 KW array of Flextron modules were incorporated onto Kalzip roof panels and installed by Curtis Moore the Kalzip installer.

 

Evendon Scool Workingham

Evendon school project demonstrates the use of BIPVCo POWERPLY product in application. Here, the solar power functionality if fused to TPO single ply membrane supplied by IPS roofing for flat roof application.

 

Kitchener Barracks

Modular housing scheme pioneered by Tophat Industries incorporates BIPVCo power roof in metal standing seam applications on a number of 2, 3 and 4 bed houses. The non fragility and ease of factory integration was a major attraction to efficient integration of solar functionality to the roof.

 

53 the Avenue

For this residential project the client wanted an unobtrusive finished metal roof with integrated solar, and a system that would increase the building’s efficiency to achieve an EPC A rating to allow for a discounted “Green” mortgage. With a 4.4 kWp Flextron solar system, an air source heat pump, high insulation levels and a low infiltration rate, an EPC A rating was achieved within budget and without compromising on the aesthetics of the unusual building design.

 

BIPVCo Car Ports

Elegant EV charging carports. Propped and cantilever structures. 3.2 KW of solar power capacity incorporated onto conventional curved polycarbonate car port roofs. On an average working day, a half full Nissan Leaf car battery can be fully charged from the solar PV alone.