Posted in | News

Konarka Announces Launching of First Solar Curtain Wall Pilot Project

Konarka and Arch Aluminum & Glass Advance Development of Transparent, Colored Solar Glass

Greenbuild International Conference and Expo

Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Konarka Power Plastic, a material that converts light to energy, today announced the company, along with Arch Aluminum & Glass Co., Inc, has launched the first curtain wall pilot project that will integrate Konarka Power Plastic into a wall structure at Arch’s office building in Tamarac, Florida. The solar panels, generating 1.5 kilowatts of power to the facility, are expected to be fully operational by year’s end. The technology leading installation will advance the development of a colored solar glass panel for integration into a wide range of buildings.

Curtain wall powered by Konarka's Power Plastic(R)

“The purpose of this project is to test the performance and robustness of our solar panel solution for a curtain wall application with a variety of glass and window configurations under a wide range of environmental and insolation conditions,” commented Dr. Terri Jordan, vice president of business development at Konarka. “The yielded data and information will guide our development of the first-of-its-kind vision application, a transparent, colored solar glass panel, and we are pleased to launch this first-class pilot installation with Arch.”

The testing facility includes east and south facing walls with both sunny and shadowed areas. The installation is a living laboratory with full modularity including the ability to simultaneously test a wide range of panels under various conditions. The curtain wall is an array of solar panels, glass and aluminum, with a peak output of 40 watts per panel. Yielded data will be shared with architects, building developers and owners as well as alpha and beta field testing customers selected in 2010-2011.

“Integrating ‘active solar glass’ into a wall structure allows us to make use of a typical manufacturing building by giving it the ability to generate its own energy,” commented Arch’s vice president of marketing, Max Perilstein. “This pilot facility and Konarka’s flexible, light-weight solar material are allowing us to move forward in the feasibility and development of a solar solution that will add tremendous energy-producing value to a wall structure.”

In May, the two companies announced product development plans to collaborate on building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), photovoltaic materials used to replace conventional building materials.

Konarka Power Plastic will be featured in the Exhibition at Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, November 10-12, 2009, Arch booth #5434 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Source: http://www.konarka.com/

Tell Us What You Think

Do you have a review, update or anything you would like to add to this news story?

Leave your feedback
Your comment type
Submit

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.