The Solar Power Roof Tile – an innovative and appealing answer to the demand to aesthetically integrate photovoltaics into the building envelope

Duration: 1998 – 2001 ● Client: European Commission (FP5) ● WIP Role: Coordination, Research and Innovation

This is an innovative and appealing answer to the demand to aesthetically integrate photovoltaics into the building envelope.

The project aimed at the development and validation of an innovative solar photovoltaic (PV) module encapsulation technology using a highly transparent fluorpolymer as encapsulation material. The production of a PV Roof Tile using this technology was initiated within this project coordinated by WIP. The project ended in 2001.

Basic structure of the PV module using Fluorpolymer (transparent Teflon) as encapsulant.

Top view of a module with two solar cells for direct integration in a clay based roof-tile.