Gleam in the north [building integrated PV system]

For more than a year, the University of Northumbria has been host to the UK´s first large-scale demonstration project of photovoltaic cladding on a commercial building. The author describes this PV project and its operation. The PV system comprises 465 BP Solar laminates, utilising mono-crystalline silicon solar cells. The BP Solar laminates have a peak power 85 Wp, and a nominal operating voltage of 18 V. The laminates, which have been applied to the south-facing wall of the building are integrated within purpose designed aluminium rainscreen cladding panels. Each panel incorporates five laminates, with the laminates inclined at 25° to the vertical. Inclining the laminates in this way, helps to maximise the collection potential of the laminates, and gives reasonably stable power levels from March through to September. Fifteen laminates, or three panels, are connected in series to give a nominal operating voltage of 270 V. The output from the resulting 31 series strings is fed into a thyristor inverter with a power rating of 40 kW, which converts the DC input into a 415 V, 3-phase AC output. The inverter is connected into the building supply, which, in turn, is connected to the University´s 11 kV distribution ring, and hence to Northern Electric´s distribution grid