Component Evaluation

for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), HVAC integration and solar shading

We support our customers in the technical, legal, economic and design evaluation of products for the building envelope. We offer know-how and expertise in the field of "glass as a structural material", in dealing with aspects of building regulations for PV systems and in design support through simulation. We also have many years of experience concerning research and development in the field of "optics in construction". This ranges from special measurement techniques to the development and use of simulation tools. In our accredited TestLab Solar Façades, we characterize the optical and thermal properties of façade materials and components.

Optical and Thermal Measurement, Modeling and Evaluation

Montage einer Glasprobe an einem Photogoniometer für winkelabhängige optische Messungen.
© Fraunhofer ISE / Foto: Dirk Mahler
Mounting a glass sample on a photogoniometer for angle-dependent optical measurements.

In our TestLab Solar Façades, we carry out optical and thermal measurements of transparent, translucent and opaque materials as well as façade components. We evaluate the energy, thermal and optical properties of individual components through to complete façade systems. With our expertise, we support manufacturers, building planners, architects and construction managers in the optimization of building envelopes and the development of new façade components.

Evaluation of the Glare Potential of Products

Pab-pgll Goniophotometer am Fraunhofer ISE.
© Fraunhofer ISE
Pab-pgll Goniophotometer at Fraunhofer ISE.

Our expertise and the equipment in our optical laboratory enable us to make a well-founded assessment of the glare potential of façade technologies based on their reflection and transmission behavior and surface topography. These assessments can serve as a basis for the development of new technologies to reduce glare, for example, structured PV cover glasses or anti-reflective coatings (ARCs).

In addition, our goniophotometer PGII from pab can measure high-resolution bidirectional scattering distribution functions (BSDFs), which can be used in a suitable format for photometric ray tracing simulations to visualize, evaluate or compare glare situations.

Integration of Product Databases

Überblick über das Produktdatennetzwerk buildingenvelopedata.org. Die Softwareanwendungen von Planenden greifen über Programmierschnittstellen (API) direkt auf Produktdatenserver zu.
© Fraunhofer ISE
Overview of the product data network buildingenvelopedata.org. The software applications of planners access product data servers directly via programming interfaces (API).

Planners often have to spend a lot of time searching for product data for relevant products. The product data has to fulfill a wide range of requirements in terms of how it is created, the level of detail and the format. In some cases, values have to be entered manually. The processes are therefore complicated and prone to error. For this reason, product data servers have been equipped with an application programming interface (API) so that planning software can use the product data automatically.

We offer component manufacturers and their associations support in integrating their product data, with examples that can be implemented very easily.

We advise software companies on how to use the programming interface. This makes it easy to integrate the product data network into existing software.

Planning offices with programming experience can also use the programming interface themselves, with our support if required.

R&D Infrastructure

At Fraunhofer ISE, we benefit from this infrastructure for our research and development activities:

 

Building-integrated Photovoltaics

TestLab Solar Façades

Optical and thermal characterization of façade-integrated PV components