Pharmaceutical company Novartis has called for construction of the largest transparent photovoltaic roof in the U.S. Sunways AG will be supplying over 161,000 monocrystalline, semitransparent design solar cells (5 x 5 inch / 125 x 125 mm) for the project in East Hanover, NJ. They will be installed in 820 bespoke glass modules. The end product will be a roof area of around 2,547 square meters with a rated output of 295 kilowatts.
The architectural firm Rafael Viñoly from New York designed an open and transparent office building for Novartis’s oncology division.
The innovative energy roof underlines the modern architecture of the completely glazed office complex and will be implemented by Onyx Solar/New York. What’s different about it?
A special process provides the semitransparent solar cells with square cut-out openings. This leads to transparency levels of around 10%. The staggered arrangement of the solar cells in individually manufactured solar glass modules leads to additional transparency for daylight. The result is an aesthetic solar roof as a multifunctional solution: it not only protects against environmental influences but also uses existing surfaces for the production of renewable energy while rendering natural lighting and shading possible.
