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Avoiding Snow and Ice Formation on Exterior Solar Cell Surfaces - A Review of Research Pathways and Opportunities

Abstract

Today energy-efficient and energy-harvesting buildings experience an ever-increasing interest and demand. Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) may in this respect represent a powerful and versatile tool for reaching the goal of zero energy and zero emission buildings. The BIPV systems replace the outer building envelope skin, thus serving simultanously as both a climate screen and a power source generating electricity. However, snow and ice formation on the exterior solar cell surfaces reduce their performance and may also lead to faster deterioration. Hence, if one could find a way to develop solar cells which were able to avoid snow and ice formation on their surfaces, one would have moved a large step ahead. This work presents a review exploring miscellaneous pathways for avoiding snow and ice formation on solar cell surfaces including superhydrophobic and icephobic surfaces.
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Category

Academic article

Language

English

Author(s)

  • Bjørn Petter Jelle
  • Tao Gao
  • Sohrab Alex Mofid
  • Tore Kolås
  • Per Martin Stenstad
  • Serina Ng

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Community / Architecture, Materials and Structures
  • SINTEF Industry / Biotechnology and Nanomedicine
  • SINTEF Industry / Materials and Nanotechnology
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Year

2016

Published in

Procedia Engineering

Volume

145

Page(s)

699 - 706

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository