General information Location: Tsukuba OSL (Open Space Laboratory) at the Tsukuba Research Center, Japan Sunshine hours (yearly average): 4,96 hours per day Type of project: Institute Type of application: BIPV Time for design process: Schematic: 1 months Final drawings: 2 months Construction documents: 4 months Time for construction: Construction started October 1999, and completion January 2001 BIPV installation: 6 months Realization: January 2001 [ Top ] Description The designers of the Tsukuba Open Space Laboratory (Tsukuba OSL) were initially asked to develop a 250 kWp photovoltaic system. The Tsukuba OSL needed to be a highly flexible facility, catering to experiments in four disciplines: physics, information science, biology and biotechnology. Having prepared the fundamental design work, construction cost unfortunately proved considerably in excess of budget and the client decided not to go ahead with a PV system. I nevertheless wanted to increase the number of aesthetically pleasing case studies available as models to assist in promoting the introduction of photovoltaicss, and used my service on a New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) committee to lobby. And given that the Tsukuba OSL is a research facility for the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology(AIST), which is responsible for photovoltaic research in Japan and for promulgating photovoltaics. My decision was made to prepare a design for a 10 kW system, a feature of some importance, and something the NEDO & AIST were keen to see realized. Cost calculations on completion of implementation design made it clear, we would be able to keep costs within budget, and we were fortunate to win an order. The design used in the Tsukuba OSL was unique for the inclusion of an MPG structural glass wall incorporating circular solar cells. Of late, the transparency of dot point glazing (DPG) and metal point glaging (MPG) construction methods is becoming a more common design element , but the Tsukuba OSL does not use transparent glass. Instead, the modules developed use circular solar cells as a design feature. The glass wall thus functions both as a power generator and as an energy-conserving blind, opening up a new avenue in design development. We hope it will serve to educate many researchers and visitors about the social implications of photovoltaics. Three types of BIPV were installed at the Tsukuba OSL: PV Structural glass wall Circular cells were placed together, glazed, and fitted aesthetically into an MPG structural glass wall in the southern face of the entrance hall. The end result is an innovative, highly energy-efficient, built-in photovoltaic system on the southern wall, creating something evocative of a black-out blind. PV Top lighting Double glazed amorphous silicon PVs with a lighting ratio of 30 percent were incorporated into the top lighting in the central atrium. In temperate Japan, it is essential there be mechanisms in place to cut down the heat build up in the summer months in glass house-like atriums. The usual approach is to fit black-out curtains, or to air cool the area, but such solutions have many inherent energy problems. As a lighting ratio of 30 percent is adequate, we used photovoltaics in the top lighting, intercepting excess heat and recycling it into power generation. PV Eave PV eaves were fitted over the outside entrance to give balance to the research facility design element. [ Top ] System characteristics PV system power: 10,5 kW utility-interactive Structural glass wall: 7,2 kW Eaves: 1,3 kW Top lighting: 2,0 kW Type of building integration: Roof-integrated (top lighting) Building façade (structural glass wall) Other (eaves) Type of cell technology: PV Structural glass wall: Mono-crystal silicon (150mm circular type) PV Top lighting: Amorphous silicon PV Eave: Poly-crystalline silicon (125mm x 125mm) Module dimensions: PV Structural glass wall: 2676 x 1360 mm PV Top lighting: 1229 x 657 mm Inverter: Central inverter of 10 kW [ Top ] Project cost breakdown Not available. [ Top ] Performance characteristics Not available yet. [ Top ] Project team Client: Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, MITI Tsukuba management Center Project architects: NIHON SEKKEI INC. 29th Fl., Shinjuku I-Land Tower, 6-5-1, Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 163-1329, JAPAN Web: http://www.nihonsekkei.co.jp/ Design: Jiro Ohno, Architect. Senior Manager, Architectural Design Div. Tel.: +81 3 5325 8794 Fax: +81 3 5325 8821 Email: oono-j@nihonsekkei.co.jp Engineers: NIHON SEKKEI INC. Contractor: Takenaka & Fujiki Joint Venture (Architecture), KANDEN KO PV manufacturers: Fuji Sash Pilkinton Solere(module manufacture) [ Top ]