Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell for Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Applications

Abstract

One of the important research directions in the field of photovoltaics is integration with construction. The integration of solar cell systems with a building can reduce installation costs and help optimize the used space. One of the interesting types of cells is dye-sensitized solar cells. In addition to their interesting properties, they also have aesthetic value. In the classic arrangement, they are constructed using glass with a transparent conductive layer (TCL). This article describes replacing a classic glass counter electrode with an electrode based on a ceramic tile and nickel foil. This solution makes it possible to expand their construction applications. The advantage of this solution is full integration with construction while simultaneously generating electricity. A dye-sensitized solar cell was built layer-by-layer on ceramic tile and nickel foil. An atomization method was used to deposit fluorine-doped tin oxide, and then a screen printing method was used to deposit a platinum layer. The electrical parameters of the manufactured DSSCs with and without a counter electrode tile were characterized by measuring their current-voltage characteristics under standard AM 1.5 radiation. A dye-sensitized solar cell integrated with ceramic tiles and nickel foil was produced and displayed an efficiency of over 4%.

Biomimetic Approaches to “Transparent” Photovoltaics: Current and Future Applications

“…The first category (BIPVs) describes PV devices used to substitute traditional building materials during the construction of the building itself (usually for its façade), while the second (BAPVs) describes devices added to the building after its construction (usually on its rooftop) [6]. BIPVs using a variety of technologies (including those based on dyesensitised cells, DSSCs [7], as well as organic [8] and/or perovskite photovoltaics [9,10]) have already found successful demonstrations. A recent demonstration is the building resulting from the collaboration between Skanska and the PV manufacturer Saule technologies 2 .…”

Photovoltaic photographs

“…One such example is the development of smart windows in zero energy buildings [38,42], with large-scale installations having been introduced over a decade ago [43] and successful long-term outdoor testing supporting the concept [44]. Recent works discussing the use of semi-transparent DSSCs as PV windows are reviewed elsewhere [45,46]. These PV glass modules do not only produce electricity, but also provide a wide variety of solar shading, which is made possible through the color tuning ability of these devices [47].…”