Morgan Solar has developed the world’s most efficient building material for absorbing glare and converting it into useful electric and heat energy. Our technology is unique in being able to harvest only the harsh direct sunlight while letting pleasant diffuse daylight through. This technology allows tall buildings to use facades for onsite generation of 100% of their energy needs (electric and thermal), without blocking the view.
Background
Wellsun created Lumiduct, the first solar blind using the Morgan Solar panel, and installed a pilot at Radboud University in Nijmegen in 2015. After validation there we are preparing a commercial installation for the Fall of 2017 in the Netherlands. The goal is to create perfect daylight conditions indoors with the highest energy performance.
GOAL:
To create perfect daylight conditions indoors with high energy performance
ENERGY SAVINGS
Expected electricity production per year: 2 MWh
DEMAND SAVINGS
Lighting demand savings: 0.75 MWh HVAC demand savings: 3 MWh
Brandon Lehoux, Process Engineer
The technology is a solar blind system that actuates translucent solar panels installed in a double curtain wall application. Light passing through the system is split into two streams by the panels: 100% of direct sunlight is harvested as heat and electricity, and mild daylight is allowed to pass through to illuminate the interior of the building. The panels themselves employs a unique optical technology that allows for total direct light blockage while being translucent.
The system both generates and saves energy. Energy savings are achieved through daylighting that offsets electric lighting loads and through reductions in demands on climate controls achieved by blocking thermal radiation from the sun. Direct sunlight is guided in the translucent panels to microscopic absorbers where it is converted into heat and electricity.
The electricity that the system generates can be consumed immediately, fed into the grid, or stored. Heat generated by the panels is carried by air flow inside the double curtain wall cavity, and can be fed into HVAC intake during the winter to pre-heat fresh air from outside or can be used to drive thermal cooling such as absorption chillers in the summer.
About the technology
This technology can be applied anywhere people want electricity, heating (or cooling) and light. It is especially valuable for off-grid buildings, Net Zero and Net Positive buildings but can also be used to simply improve the efficiency of existing buildings.
This is the world’s first technology that allows for typical buildings to be Net Positive, generating more energy on site than they consume.
The core panel technology was made possible through substantial investment in research and with support from the Canadian federal government through the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) and through Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).
The project has been subsidized with the Urban Energy subsidy provided by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland). The purpose of this subsidy is to stimulate the development of technology to generate sustainable energy in the building environment. The subsidy has been granted based on the novelty of the technology, the strong consortium and results achieved in the previous development phases. The consortium has to showcase the working of the technology.
"I have always liked designs with a lot of glass where energy performance and the indoor climate are a challenge. The Lumiduct is a very interesting solution which enables buildings to easily cope with these challenges."
- Margriet Eugelink, former partner at Van Aken Architects
