Industrial facades are the perfect surface for advancing building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). This is because the surfaces are large, largely without disturbing surfaces such as windows, and companies can produce more of their own solar power if the roof is already in use or unsuitable. Rhomberg Energie shows that such facades can still look aesthetic.
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1,400 square metres of modules
The company has built a ventilated solar facade on the production building of surface finisher Collini in Hohenems, Austria. Using its own system and solar modules, Rhomberg has covered an entire side of the building facing the car park access road at the surface finisher’s new production hall. A total of 1,400 square metres of modules provide an output of around 300 kilowatts. This makes the plant the largest of its kind in the whole of Vorarlberg, actually in western Austria, as Rhomberg reports.
Fire-tested system used
Collini will use almost all of the solar power directly on site for its own production. After all, the company needs a lot of energy for galvanisation, anodisation and other surface coating technologies. Rhomberg has also equipped the plant with various technologies. For example, an early fire detection system is integrated into the substructure of the fire protection-tested system, which is directly connected to the fire alarm in the building. Together with the technical monitoring of the plant with different sensor technologies, the company is setting new standards in fire protection.
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Each module is individually monitored
In addition, each module is continuously monitored individually with regard to its performance and temperature. ‘If one should fail, all the others will continue to run,’ explains Marco J. Rusch, head of the solar facades business unit at Rhomberg Energie. ‘And at the same time, a notification is triggered by exactly the failed module. We could also localise a fire source with pinpoint accuracy in the facade using our technology.’
Semitransparent modules used
Rhomberg has integrated the system architecturally flush into the facade. The bifacial modules are semi-transparent. They allow light to pass through to brighten the driveway to the multi-storey car park. The modules on the back reflect the light reflected from the driveway to produce electricity. (su/mfo)
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