solar visuals

Solar Visuals 1

Solar Visuals is a Dutch technology start-up that combines solar-PV arrays with printed overlay graphics to create electricity-generating cladding surfaces for architectural applications.  The individual PV cells can be custom arranged for distinctive layouts and the panels are completely laminated/encapsulated for durability.

Solar Visuals 2

According to their site:

The Solar Visuals panels were developed by research consortium Dutch Solar Design consisting of six partners: ECN part of TNO, architectural firm UNStudio / UNSense, print specialist TS Visuals, the Design Innovation Group, facade specialist Aldowa and the research group Urban Technology of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA). The partners have combined their expertise and knowledge in the field of innovation, technology and design to create a solar panel that combines high efficiency with Dutch Design quality and aesthetics.

Normally Lucept covers tech that generates light, but I will make an exception this time for tech that captures light.  Adding integral solar PV panels on a massive scale to building facades is a key enabler to allow more and varied types of electric lighting solutions for building interiors.  Why? Otherwise energy codes will simply keep constricting W/sqm allowances to control CO2 emissions.  The direct-DC current created by integral solar PV can be used with intelligent systems like LumaNext to cut down conversion inefficiencies and to efficiently manage power generation, storage and consumption. Efficiency is nice, but it really drives sustainability if you can get native DC-power generation on-site.  Perhaps someday in the future, energy codes will provide exemptions for power generated cleanly on-site?