Conceptual product development with integrated concentrating PV systems — CPV in the built environment from a designer's perspective

Abstract

Our paper shows and discusses the results of a design study regarding product applications based on concentrating PV systems. It is generally acknowledged that CPV technology has great potential in medium to large power systems. So far the potential of CPV for products in the built environment has hardly been investigated. To capture probable future CPV products a project was executed in 2012 with 15 teams of design students who were commissioned to develop a conceptual product design with integrated CPV. Though all designs were innovative and surprising, four concepts appeared to be technically feasible: a flexible roof system, a shading bench with e-charger, a concept called Parasol; and an e-mobility charger. It is concluded that from the perspective of industrial design engineering a whole range of innovative CPV products can be developed for use in the built environment.

A design-driven exploration of photovoltaic applications in electric mobility systems

“…The design study and the evaluation of its results have an interdisciplinary scope by considering technical, user, regulatory and aesthetic aspects. This fits to existing theoretical frameworks for designing with photovoltaics [4] [5] which have been developed by means of the execution of actual design projects in the past 15 years at the University of Twente [6][7][8][9]. This paper is structured as follows: Section II provides an introduction to the context of the design project, with Section III showcasing four of the resulting designs and their evaluation.…”

Designing innovative solutions for solar‐powered electric mobility applications

“…This fits to existing theoretical frameworks for designing with photovoltaics 2,3 which have been developed through the execution of design projects in the past 15 years at the University of Twente. [32][33][34][35] The design study was executed within the framework of the research project 'PV in Mobility' 36 and as part of the Master-level course 'Sources of Innovation' which is offered for students at the University of Twente. The approach in the 'Sources of Innovation' course is twofold: theory is provided on innovation processes and T A B L E 1 Driving emissions (in g CO 2 /km) from an EV charged with different energy sources in three locations around the world 20…”

“…This approach has been successfully applied in the past to other projects aimed at designing with concentrator photovoltaics, luminescent solar concentrators, smart grid technologies and other PV applications. 9,34,35,38 During the period of September to November 2019, students were tasked with designing a conceptual product-service combination for solar PV-powered EV charging solutions with a focus on increasing their adoption potential by future users. The design projects took place in a period of 10 weeks and involved a specialist lecture introducing the students to the topic as well as the application of several industrial design methodologies.…”

Design it with LSCs; an exploration of applications for Luminescent Solar Concentrator PV technologies

“…This course takes 10 weeks and is especially targeted at developing novel designs for innovative technologies [20]. In the past this approach was also successfully applied to designing with Concentrating PV and other PV technologies [21,22]. Moreover, the course is supported by a book on designing with sustainable energy technologies [23].…”