57% Energy Savings! Transparent Power-Generating Glass Turns Greenhouses into Sustainable Energy Hubs

Source: News media

The new photovoltaic window developed by a research team consisting of Murdoch University and ClearVue Technologies in Australia can reduce energy and water consumption in greenhouses. Its research results were published in the journal Cleaner Engineering and Technology, stating that "Transparent solar photovoltaic windows provide a strong potential for self-sustainable food production in forward-looking greenhouse farming architectures.”

Source: News media

The research team designed and built a greenhouse, and the high transparency photovoltaic windows installed on the roof and walls are silicon-based solar cell modules custom designed with fluorescent spotlights and spectral selective thin film coatings. The direct visible light transmittance (VLT) of these windows is about 60%, the total (direct plus diffuse) VLT is about 70%, the power conversion efficiency is about 3.3%, and the power output is 30-33Wp/m².

Researchers designed four greenhouses, with room 1 using traditional low iron ultra transparent glass, while rooms 2, 3, and 4 use solar glass. The solar glass in Room 2 uses two layers of PVB-2 interlayer. In Room 3, a combination of PVB-1 and PVB-2 is used, while Room 4 uses a single PVB-1 interlayer paired with a regular PVB (polyvinyl butyral) interlayer (PVB-1 is generally used for higher transparency windows); PVB-2， Its luminescence rate is slightly higher. Researchers validated the characteristics of the new photovoltaic window by measuring the yield, electricity production, and water consumption of 18 different crops grown in the greenhouse.

Source: Research Team Research

There are 153 transparent solar windows installed in the greenhouse, which not only meet the daily light needs of plant growth, but also convert the sunlight captured by solar cells into electricity to power fans, air conditioners, sunshades, and ventilation louvers, and connect excess photovoltaic power to the grid. At night, the operation of the greenhouse relies on the electricity provided by the power grid.

Source: Research Team Research

The research team stated, "Computational models suggest that by using highly adaptable and efficient temperature control technologies, all glass solar greenhouses have the potential to offset up to 100% of energy consumption worldwide, making it possible to achieve fully self sustainable greenhouse agriculture on a global scale.”