An Aesthetic Energy Producing Roof with Integration of PV Modules and Solar Thermal Collectors

Aesthetic integration of solar energy products in the roofs of dwellings is important to achieve a good social acceptance and a high market potential. Several solutions for building integrated PV (BIPV) are available on the market, however, a very limited number of solutions for covered solar thermal collectors are available. Currently, covered solar thermal collectors are much thicker and often much larger than PV modules, which complicates aesthetic integration of both PV and solar thermal collectors in the same roof. Therefore, a Dutch collector producer developed a solar thermal collector with the same dimensions and thickness as a framed PV module. The aim was to also achieve the same efficiency parameters. Eight collectors, eleven PV modules and a window were integrated into a dummy roof and measured extensively in a field test.