Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have developed a new ultra-thin curved roof that generates solar energy, a design that will allow NEST, one of the school's lab facilities, to generate more energy than it consumes .
It is understood that the curved roof is composed of several layers, the internal concrete slab as the basis for heating and cooling coils and insulating materials, which in turn are more concrete covered.The thin-film photovoltaic cells used to collect solar energy are then installed in the building Outside the building, the roof is about 7.5 meters high and has a total surface area of 160 square meters. It has now been demolished and the same design will be done in the HiLo apartment complex next year, as part of the NEST project.
Roofs with unique shapes are usually constructed of non-reusable materials, such as specially made wood or ground foam. Instead, this project uses a mesh made of steel, covered with a polymer Textiles that form a form in which concrete can adhere, not only to promote the unusual design, but also to reduce the cost of the project in terms of material costs.
The Block Research Group and the Swiss National Competence Center have provided an algorithm for the project to ensure that the roof will reach the desired shape when the weight of the wet concrete is applied to the stencil. The concrete is sprayed onto the steel by a technique specifically developed for this project Online.
Roof-mounted solar panels are nothing new, but over the past few years there have been a variety of advanced technology versions that are much cheaper than previous versions except for great efficiency.
Solar power is an increasingly viable source of energy, and more and more countries are investing heavily in solar energy infrastructure, benefiting from projects such as the HiLo roof where ordinary individuals will have more solar energy in their homes Power generation method.
