Patent Application
20230412116
The invention generally relates to a solar cell wall or roof structure, and methods for producing and installing the same as well as a method for replacing the photovoltaic panel of a solar cell wall or roof.
EP2395559 relates to a device having a roof element formed from a ribbed sheet comprising a series of ribs projecting from a base plane of the sheet. The series of ribs has end ribs placed on edges of the sheet, support ribs placed between collection ribs, and stiffening ribs placed between the support ribs. A solar collector plate i. e. photovoltaic module, is rested on the support ribs. The support ribs extend in projection with respect to other ribs of the sheet in a prominent manner and form a mounting surface of the plate by gluing, so that the plate extends away from the latter ribs.
US2017237387 relates to building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems that provide for solar panel arrays that can be aesthetically pleasing and appear seamless to an observer. BIPV systems can be on-roof systems, elevated from the surface of a roof, being flush or forming a substantively uniform plane with roof panels or other panels mimicking a solar panel appearance. Pans supporting BIPV solar panels can be coupled by standing seams to other photovoltaic-supporting pans or pans supporting non-photovoltaic structures, having both functional and aesthetic advantages.
CN214995288 discloses a roof gluing renovation structure which comprises a metal roof, the metal roof comprises a metal roof board, a waterproof layer is bonded on the metal roof board through an adhesive, and the waterproof layer is fully bonded and covers the metal roof board. A flexible support is mounted on the waterproof layer, and the bottom of the flexible support is welded and fixed to the waterproof layer; a photovoltaic support is installed on the flexible support, and a photovoltaic assembly is installed on the photovoltaic support. According to the roof gluing renovation structure, the waterproof roll is laid on the metal roof, the service life of the metal roof board is prolonged, the photovoltaic assembly is further installed on the metal roof, and reliable application of photovoltaic power generation on the metal roof is achieved.
An aspect of the invention relates to a solar cell wall or roof structure. The solar cell wall or roof structure comprises a wall or roof panel comprising first and second ribs and a central portion between the first and second ribs, the first and second ribs protruding upwardly with respect to the central portion, each of the first and second ribs having an apex, the central portion having an upper surface. The structure further comprises a photovoltaic panel having a back side and a fastener. The fastener comprises a first interconnecting part bonded to the upper surface of the central portion of the wall or roof panel and a second interconnecting part bonded to the back side of the photovoltaic panel. The fastener is configured to slidably fasten the photovoltaic panel on the wall or roof panel by sliding one of the first and second interconnecting parts in the other of the first the second interconnecting parts. Optionally, the back side of the photovoltaic panel is located below the apex of the first and second ribs.
As is customary in the art, a photovoltaic panel comprise a front side where the solar cells are located. In use, the solar cells are facing the sky. The back side of a photovoltaic panel is the side that is opposite to the front side and generally facing the panels or tiles of the wall or roof. Throughout the document, every reference to a direction is with respect to this convention. For example, an upward protrusion is a protrusion that protrudes in direction of the sky.
As used herein, the “apex” is the top or highest part of the ribs.
As used herein, “bonded” refers to a connection between two entities (e. g. the first interconnecting part and the upper surface of the central portion of the wall or roof panel) that have been joined together by means of adhesive, heating, welding, clinching and/or pressing.
It will be appreciated that the solar cell wall or roof structure has several advantages over the solutions of the prior art. A first advantage is that the fastener is located between the back side of the photovoltaic panel and the wall or roof panel, thereby avoiding any cluttering of the front surface of the photovoltaic panel. In other words, the fastener does not decrease the solid angle from which photons can be absorbed by the photovoltaic panel. Also, the fastening of the photovoltaic panel is very easy, as only sliding one of the first and second interconnecting parts in the other of the first the second interconnecting parts is necessary for fastening the photovoltaic panel on the wall or roof panel. It will also be appreciated that the solar cell wall or roof structure offers a better durability than the solution proposed by the prior art in the sense that the photovoltaic panel is better protected from high wind conditions because the back side of the photovoltaic panel is located below the apex of the first and second ribs. Indeed, the air flow below the back side of the photovoltaic panel is greatly reduced because the back side of the photovoltaic panel is located below the apex of the first and second ribs.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the solar cell wall or roof structure may be produced in its entirety in a workshop. Installation, on site, is thus greatly facilitated.
In an embodiment, the photovoltaic panel is located below the apex of the first and/or second ribs, preferably both. In particular, the back side of the photovoltaic panel is located below the apex of the first and/or second ribs, preferably both ribs.
The fastener may comprise an additional interconnecting part being either bonded to the upper surface of the central portion of the wall or roof panel or to the back side of the photovoltaic panel, wherein the fastener is configured to slidably fasten the photovoltaic panel on the wall or roof panel by (also) sliding the additional interconnecting part in either the first or the second interconnecting parts.
In an embodiment, one of the first interconnecting part or the second interconnecting part comprises a profile, preferably the profile is a steel profile, a stainless steel profile, an aluminium profile, a PVC profile a carbon-fibre profile or a composite profile, the profile having a longitudinal axis, the longitudinal axis of the profile being parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the photovoltaic panel.
The first interconnecting part or the second interconnecting part may comprise a tongue, the other of the first interconnecting part or the second interconnecting part comprising a space, an aperture or a recess for receiving the tongue, the tongue being configured to slide into the space, the aperture or the recess of the other of the first interconnecting part or the second interconnecting part thereby fastening the photovoltaic panel on the wall or roof panel.
In an embodiment, the fastener is a floating fastener thereby allowing for relative movement between the fastened wall or roof panel and the photovoltaic panel. It will be appreciated that a floating fastener allows for relative movement between wall or roof panel and the photovoltaic panel while the same remain fastened by the fastener. This offers the advantage of being able to accommodate for different thermal expansion coefficients for the photovoltaic panel and the wall or roof panel.
The solar cell wall or roof structure may comprise a plurality of fasteners, each having a first interconnecting part bonded to the upper surface of the central portion of the wall or roof panel and a second interconnecting part bonded to the back side of the photovoltaic panel.
At least one of the first and second interconnecting parts may be bonded by an adhesive.
The first interconnecting part or the second interconnecting part may comprise:
The angle between the first portion and the second portion may be convex or concave.
The solar cell wall or roof structure may further comprise a locking arrangement comprising:
The second interlocking part may be mounted to the first interlocking part by at least one of one or more rivets and bolts.
The solar cell wall or roof structure may further comprise a gap between the photovoltaic panel and the wall or roof panel, the photovoltaic panel being preferably not in direct contact with the wall or roof panel. It will be appreciated that the gap allows for flushing heat thereby mitigating heating of the photovoltaic panel by the heat absorbed by the wall or roof panel. Also, the gap may be used to accommodate electrical wires of the photovoltaic panel thereby hiding them.
The solar cell wall or roof structure may further comprise a gap between the ribs and the photovoltaic panel.
In an embodiment, wherein at least one of the first interconnecting part and second interconnecting part comprises a resilient material (e. g. rubber, neoprene, silicone) for contacting the other of the first interconnecting part and second interconnecting part and/or the back side of the photovoltaic panel. It will be appreciated that the resilient material provides an improved acoustic isolation between the photovoltaic panel and the wall or roof panel.
In an embodiment, the solar cell wall or roof structure further comprises an electrical junction box arranged on the back side of the photovoltaic panel. In an embodiment, the electrical junction box may be (integrally, completely) integrated in photovoltaic panel.
Preferably, at least one of the first and second ribs comprises a lip on a side opposite to the central portion for fixing the solar cell wall or roof structure to a wall or roof support.
Preferably, the first and second ribs are complementary, the first rib being configured to snap the second rib. This allows for connecting multiple solar cell wall or roof structures easily.
An aspect of the present invention relates to a method for producing the solar cell wall or roof structure. The method, comprises:
A further aspect of the present invention relates to a method for installing a solar cell wall or roof, comprising:
The provided solar cell wall or roof structure, may have the first rib configured to snap the second rib. The method may comprise providing a second solar cell wall or roof structure according to the present document, having at least one of the first and second ribs comprises a lip on a side opposite to the central portion for fixing the solar cell wall or roof structure to a wall or roof support the first and second ribs are complementary, the first rib being configured to snap the second rib. The method further comprising snapping the first rib of the second solar cell wall or roof structure on the second rib of the provided solar cell wall or roof structure, thereby locking the provided solar cell wall or roof structure to the second solar cell wall or roof structure.
The lip of the second solar cell wall or roof structure may be covered by the provided solar cell wall or roof structure.
A further aspect of the present invention relates to a method for replacing the photovoltaic panel of the solar cell wall or roof. The method comprises:
It is worthwhile noting that, in all aspects of the present invention, the fastener may be configured to removably fasten the photovoltaic panel on the wall or roof panel. Also, in all aspects of the present invention, the bonding of one or more of the parts of the fastener and/or of one or more of the parts of the interlocking arrangement may be effected by an adhesive, heating, welding, clinching and/or pressing.
In the present document, the verb “to comprise” and the expression “to be comprised of” are used as open transitional phrases meaning “to include” or “to consist at least of”. Unless otherwise implied by context, the use of singular word form is intended to encompass the plural, except when the cardinal number “one” is used: “one” herein means “exactly one”. Ordinal numbers (“first”, “second”, etc.) are used herein to differentiate between different instances of a generic object; no particular order, importance or hierarchy is intended to be implied by the use of these expressions. Furthermore, when plural instances of an object are referred to by ordinal numbers, this does not necessarily mean that no other instances of that object are present (unless this follows clearly from context). When reference is made to “an embodiment”, “one embodiment”, “embodiments”, etc., this means that these embodiments may be combined with one another. An embodiment may relate to the various aspects of the invention unless it is clear from context that it is incompatible with a specific aspect. Furthermore, the features of the embodiments can be used in the combination explicitly presented but also that the features can be combined across embodiments without departing from the invention, unless it follows from context that features cannot be combined.
By way of example, preferred, non-limiting embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The reader's attention is drawn to the fact that the drawings are not to scale. Furthermore, for the sake of clarity, proportions between height, length and/or width may not have been represented correctly.
The photovoltaic panel 20 may be rigid or flexible. As used herein, the term “flexible” designates a photovoltaic panel that can be bent to a diameter of curvature of 2 m, preferably to a radius of curvature of 1 m, or even to a smaller radius of curvature, without visible deterioration.
The fastener may be separated by a distance comprised in the range from 100 mm to woo m, preferably from 250 mm to 750 mm, even more preferably from 300 mm to 650 mm.
The photovoltaic panel 20 may have a width comprised in the range from 250 mm to 1500 m, preferably from 400 mm to woo mm, even more preferably from 500 mm to 800 mm. The photovoltaic panel 20 may have a length comprised in the range from 500 mm to 10000 m, preferably from 600 mm to 3000 mm, even more preferably from 800 mm to 2000 mm.
The ratio between the length and the width of the photovoltaic panel 20 (and possibly the wall or roof panel 12) may be comprised in the range from 1 to 7, preferably from 1.5 to 6, even more preferably from 2 to 3.
While, in
In an embodiment, the solar cell wall or roof structure 10 comprises a gap 30 between the ribs 14, 16 and the photovoltaic panel 20. The gap allows for creating a channel between the ribs 14, 16 and the photovoltaic panel 20. The channel may be used e. g. for accommodating electrical wires and/or other utilities. In an embodiment, two channels are provided, on both sides of the photovoltaic panel 20 between the respective ribs 14, 16.
In embodiments, the distance between the ribs and the photovoltaic panel 20 (i.e. the gap) is comprised in the range from 1 mm to 70 mm, preferably from 5 mm to 60 mm, even more preferably from 10 mm to 50 mm.
The solar cell wall or roof structure 10 may further comprise an electrical junction box 32. The junction box 32 may be located between the photovoltaic panel 20 and the wall or roof panel 12.
The fastener is configured to slidably fasten the photovoltaic panel 20 on the wall or roof panel 12 by sliding one of the first and second interconnecting parts in the other of the first the second interconnecting parts. The mounting of the second interlocking part 28 to the first interlocking part 26 locks the photovoltaic panel 20 on the wall or roof panel 12 by sterically precluding unfastening of the fastener. The photovoltaic panel 20 is thereby firmly locked to the wall or roof panel 12.
With reference to
At least one of the first and second ribs may comprise a lip 40 located on a side opposite to the central portion 18 for fixing the solar cell wall or roof structure 10 to a wall or roof support (not depicted). The fixing may be effected by one or more bolts and/or rivets or the like going through the lip 40 and in the wall or roof support.
The back side of the photovoltaic panel may be located below the apex of at least one of the first and second ribs, preferably both of the first and second ribs.
The first and second interconnecting parts 22, 24 and/or the first and second interlocking parts 26, 28 may be made of (or partially made of) steel, stainless steel, aluminium, PVC, carbon-fibre, and/or a composite.
With reference to
In an embodiment a boxed profile may be used. Here also, one or more apertures 58 for receiving the second interconnecting part 24 are provided.
In an embodiment, as depicted in
The photovoltaic panel 20 with the second interconnecting part 24 may slide in the first interconnecting part 22. In particular, the second portion 62 slides below the upper flange 44 thereby fastening the photovoltaic panel 20 on the wall or roof panel 12. The second portion 62 may or may not be in (direct) contact with the upper flange 44. The abutment portion 64 may provide haptic feedback to the user sliding the photovoltaic panel 20, indicating, in case of abutment, that the photovoltaic panel 20 is fastened. The guiding portion 67, when provided, may help the user to guide the second interconnecting part 24 below the upper flange 44.
It will be appreciated that the fastener allows for an easy unfastening of the photovoltaic panel 20 by sliding the photovoltaic panel 20 in the opposite way that was used for fastening the photovoltaic panel 20 to the wall or roof panel 12.
It should further be noted that the resilient material 45 allows for improving sound dampening between the photovoltaic panel 20 and the wall or roof panel 12.
It will further be appreciated that the fastener allows for providing a gap 72 between the photovoltaic panel 20 and the wall or roof panel 12. This allows for a better air circulation as well as better water drainage. In addition, with respect to the prior solutions where the photovoltaic panel is directly glued to the roof panel, this offers a better durability of the photovoltaic panel due to the differing thermal expansion coefficients of the photovoltaic panel and wall or roof panel. A further advantage of the present invention is that the fastener allows for small translations between the photovoltaic panel 20 and the wall or roof panel 12, thereby allowing for differential thermal expansion of the photovoltaic panel 20 and the wall or roof panel 12 while still ensuring that the fastener remains fastened. In other words, the fastener is a floating fastener. Better air flow and water drainage between the wall or roof panel and the photovoltaic panel is also to be expected.
The distance between the photovoltaic panel 20 and the wall or roof panel 12 is comprised in the range from 10 mm to 50 mm, preferably from 15 mm to 30 mm, even more preferably from 25 mm to 35 mm.
In the present embodiment, the first interlocking part 26 is a boxed profile. The boxed profile comprises a lower flange 76, an upper flange 78 and two upright flanges 80, 82 connecting the lower and upper flanges 76, 78 so as to form a boxed profile (i.e. a rectangular profile). Other profiles, such as the one described in the present document are also contemplated.
The first interlocking part 26 is bonded to the upper surface of the central portion of the wall or roof panel. In particular, a lower flange 76 is bonded to the central portion of the wall or roof panel 12 e. g. by an adhesive 84. The second interlocking part 28 is bonded to the back side 68 of the photovoltaic panel e. g. by an adhesive 86. The second interlocking part 28 may be a plate. The plate may be made of (or partially made of) steel, stainless steel, aluminium, PVC, carbon-fibre, and/or a composite.
The mounting of the second interlocking part 28 to the first interlocking part 26 may be effected by one or more rivets and/or bolts 74 going through both of the second interlocking part 28 to the first interlocking part 26 (in particular the upper flange 78) thereby securing both parts 26, 28 together. The locking arrangement may be provided at a longitudinal end of the photovoltaic panel 20 in such a way that the one or more rivets and/or bolts 74 are located next to the photovoltaic panel 20. In other words, the one or more rivets and/or bolts 74 are not covered by the photovoltaic panel 20.
The mounting sterically precludes unfastening of the fastener. It is not possible to slide the photovoltaic panel 20 when the locking arrangement locks the photovoltaic panel 20 to the wall or roof panel 12.
Should unfastening of the photovoltaic panel 20 be needed, the first interlocking part 26 and the second interlocking part 28 may be unmounted, for example the one or more rivets and/or bolts 74 may be removed so that unfastening is again possible. This is particularly advantageous for securely mounting the photovoltaic panel 20 during it use while still allowing for fast and easy replacement of the same, e. g. in case of failure of the same.
While specific embodiments have been described herein in detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention, which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| LU502168 | May 2022 | LU | national |
