Design and Monitoring of an Improved Test Reference Environment for the Evaluation of BIPV Systems

The objective of the present work is to advance in the knowledge of double-skin photovoltaic ventilated façades (DSPVF) using an improved version of the Test Reference Environment (TRE) [1] which has been developed by the EU Joint Research Centre of Ispra. One of the most relevant improvements from the original version is the new support structure which allows several inclinations of the PV module, varying from the horizontal to the vertical. The electrical production and the temperature of the ventilated PV panel placed at the TRE-L is also compared with the performance of other two identical PV modules which represent respectively the worst and the best condition: one reference module is fully insulated and the other one is leaved under free-rack conditions. As a first attempt, a single glass-tedlar PV module has been analysed. Several experiments, at different inclinations and ventilation velocities, have been performed and sensitivity analysis results are reported.