Dutch contractor Bam has installed solar-powered external panels on the facade of its head office in Bunnik, close to Utrecht in the centre of the Netherlands.
Bam worked alongside TNO, the Netherlands Organisation for applied scientific research, Dutch architect UNStudio, design and printing specialist TS Visuals, and marketing start-up Solar Visuals, with a €۱٫۱m subsidy from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.
The technology can be fabricated in any size and pattern, meaning the energy-neutral product can mimic a building’s current facade, or be used to display a work of art or logo.
Solar panels in the facade of the building
The “mimic design” facade modules generate around a quarter less electricity than traditional rooftop solar panels, with a 220W peak for the panels on Bam’s head office.
When compared to non-printed facade panels, the product generates around 85% of the energy of a traditional module.
TNO says that work on the product is continuing, with tests being conducted on the replacement of glass with plastic, and ways of increasing the energy yield.
TNO says in the future that its facade panels will have costs in the same region as more common building materials.
Source globalconstructionreview