The PV cladding of Northumberland Building

In high latitude countries such as the UK, the use of solar energy for power generation faces a number of problems, including low solar altitude in winter, the large seasonal variation in daylength and a mismatch between peak solar irradiance and peak UK electricity demand. However if PV is used as a cladding element on the facades of commercial buildings, many of these problems are obviated or at least greatly reduced in severity. The first demonstration of PV cladding on an office block in the UK is the Northumberland Building of the University of Northumbria, in Newcastle upon Tyne. Both windows and cladding needed to be replaced, and the cladding on the South facade will consist of rain-screen units incorporating PV. The cladding units are angled at 25° to maximise collection of winter sun, and provide shading to windows in the summer. A total of 40 kWp of PV is installed comprising 465 x 85 Wp BP Solar Ltd. laminates. The facade is divided into 31 strings connected in parallel with each string made up of 15 laminates connected in series. A maximum output of 145 A 270 V DC is fed into a 40 kVA inverter and the AC output fed into the building electricity supply