Integrative Design To Deploy PV Systems

Thursday, April 18th: 3:15-4:45 PM

Panelists: Jeffrey Brownson, Ute Poerscke, Ulrike Passe, Lisa Lulo, Byron Woodman
Affiliations: Sandia National Labs, Albuquerque, NM; Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; Mid Atlantic Renewable Energy Association, Breinigsville, PA

There is an emerging common language between aesthetic concept, purposeful technology, business and social policy as a part of the integrative design process for deploying and renovating decentralized and large scale pv projects. We bring all parties to the table from the beginning and throughout the design/build/operation enterprise. In this way, we can identify and emphasize the underlying sustainability ethic, and arrive at a balanced concept and development arc that satisfies criteria of green design, economic efficiency, sound engineering, and effective construction technique. Beyond the synthesis of expertise, the integrative process includes iterative cycling between the context of the site, modeling, experimentation, and shared data syntheses.knowledge of the local solar resource, the vernacular architecture, landscape, ecosystems services, and the concept of the desired structure can inform the process to integrate solar energy conversion systems for green building strategies.  Analogously, solar energy conversion systems are strongly coupled to the locale, climate, and time frame of demand, creating complex systems with emergent properties to be harnessed. As with the built environment, solar energy conversion research is a integrative process-one simply does not build a better solar structure by understanding the parts of a pv panel, or a window, or a flat plate thermal panel. This forum will demonstrate that integrating solar energy conversion as a systems design is an essential tool for transformation, and can lead to cascading benefits in the performance of the built environment as a whole.