Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Dynamic photovoltaic building envelopes for adaptive energy and comfort management

Nature Energy volume 4, pages 671–682 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

A Publisher Correction to this article was published on 22 July 2019

This article has been updated

Abstract

Current efforts to improve building envelopes mostly focus on reducing energy demand by static measures such as insulation, selective glazing and shading. The resulting envelopes are limited in adapting to weather conditions or occupants’ needs and leave vast potentials for energy savings, onsite energy generation and improvement of occupant comfort untapped. In this work, we report on a dynamic building envelope that utilizes lightweight modules based on a hybrid hard/soft-material actuator to actively modulate solar radiation for local energy generation, passive heating, shading and daylight penetration. We describe two envelope prototypes and demonstrate autonomous solar tracking in real weather conditions. The dynamic photovoltaic envelope achieves an increase of up to 50% in electricity gains as compared to a static photovoltaic envelope. We assess energy savings potentials for three locations, six construction periods and two building use types. The envelope is most effective in temperate and arid climates, in which, for the cases analyzed, it can provide up to 115% of the net energy demand of an office room.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Working principle and use cases of the soft-robotic-driven adaptive building envelope.
Fig. 2: Working principle and characterization of a two-axis hybrid, soft/hard-material pneumatic actuator.
Fig. 3: Orientation feedback control of the envelope.
Fig. 4: Solar tracking experiments for a clear summer day.
Fig. 5: Envelope performance in real weather conditions over several days.
Fig. 6: The overall energy saving potential of the adaptive PV envelope against an equivalent static PV envelope and a static shading system without PVs.
Fig. 7: Envelope energy balance and integration into a nearly zero energy building.

Data availability

The data that support the plots within this paper are partly available on a public repository (https://github.com/architecture-building-systems/CityEnergyAnalyst)51 or from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Change history

  • 22 July 2019

    An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

References

  1. Lucon, O. et al. in Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change (eds Edenhofer, O. et al.) Ch. 9 (IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2014).

  2. Tracking Progress: Building Envelopes (International Energy Agency, 2017).

  3. Kammen, D. M. & Sunter, D. A. City-integrated renewable energy for urban sustainability. Science 352, 922–928 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Mathiesen, B. V., Lund, H. & Karlsson, K. 100% renewable energy systems, climate mitigation and economic growth. Appl. Energy 88, 488–501 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Rogelj, J. et al. Energy system transformations for limiting end-of-century warming to below 1.5 °C. Nat. Clim. Change 5, 519–527 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings (recast) Off. J. Eur. Union 18, 2010 (2010).

  7. Loonen, R. C. G. M., Trčka, M., Cóstola, D. & Hensen, J. L. M. Climate adaptive building shells: state-of-the-art and future challenges. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 25, 483–493 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Linn, C. Kinetic Architecture: Design for Active Envelopes (Images Publishing, 2014).

  9. Trivedi, D., Rahn, C. D., Kier, W. M. & Walker, I. D. Soft robotics: biological inspiration, state of the art, and future research. Appl. Bionics Biomech. 5, 99–117 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Majidi, C. Soft robotics: a perspective—current trends and prospects for the future. Soft Robotics 1, 5–11 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ilievski, F., Mazzeo, A. D., Shepherd, R. F., Chen, X. & Whitesides, G. M. Soft robotics for chemists. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50, 1890–1895 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Wang, L. et al. Soft-material robotics. Found. Trends Robotics 5, 191–259 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Tolley, M. T. et al. A resilient, untethered soft robot. Soft Robotics 1, 213–223 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Mosadegh, B. et al. Pneumatic networks for soft robotics that actuate rapidly. Adv. Funct. Mater. 24, 2163–2170 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Trimmer, B. A practical approach to soft actuation. Soft Robotics 4, 1–2 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Deimel, R. & Brock, O. A novel type of compliant and underactuated robotic hand for dexterous grasping. Int. J. Robotics Res. 35, 161–185 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Asbeck, A. T., Dyer, R. J., Larusson, A. F. & Walsh, C. J. Biologically-inspired soft exosuit. In 2013 IEEE 13th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics 1–8 (2013).

  18. Cianchetti, M. et al. Soft robotics technologies to address shortcomings in today’s minimally invasive surgery: the STIFF-FLOP approach. Soft Robotics 1, 122–131 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Bartlett, N. W. et al. A 3D-printed, functionally graded soft robot powered by combustion. Science 349, 161–165 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Wehner, M. et al. An integrated design and fabrication strategy for entirely soft, autonomous robots. Nature 536, 451–455 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Rus, D. & Tolley, M. T. Design, fabrication and control of soft robots. Nature 521, 467–475 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Block, P. et al. NEST HiLo: investigating lightweight construction and adaptive energy systems. J. Build. Eng. 12, 332–341 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Nagy, Z. et al. The adaptive solar facade: from concept to prototypes. Front. Archit. Res. 5, 143–156 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Jayathissa, P. et al. Optimising building net energy demand with dynamic BIPV shading. Appl. Energy 202, 726–735 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Jayathissa, P., Zarb, J., Luzzatto, M., Hofer, J. & Schlueter, A. Sensitivity of building properties and use types for the application of adaptive photovoltaic shading systems. Energy Procedia 122, 139–144 (2017).

  26. Jayathissa, P., Caranovic, S., Hofer, J., Nagy, Z. & Schlueter, A. Performative design environment for kinetic photovoltaic architecture. Autom. Constr. 93, 339–347 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Mousazadeh, H. et al. A review of principle and sun-tracking methods for maximizing solar systems output. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 13, 1800–1818 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Rossi, D., Nagy, Z. & Schlueter, A. Adaptive distributed robotics for environmental performance, occupant comfort and architectural expression. Int. J. Archit. Comput. 10, 341–359 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Powell, D., Hischier, I., Jayathissa, P., Svetozarevic, B. & Schlüter, A. A reflective adaptive solar façade for multi-building energy and comfort management. Energy Build. 177, 303–315 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Kim, J. T. & Kim, G. Overview and new developments in optical daylighting systems for building a healthy indoor environment. Build. Environ. 45, 256–269 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Chow, T. T. A review on photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar technology. Appl. Energy 87, 365–379 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Chemisana, D. Building integrated concentrating photovoltaics: a review. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 15, 603–611 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Ullah, I. & Shin, S. Highly concentrated optical fiber-based daylighting systems for multi-floor office buildings. Energy Build. 72, 246–261 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Georgescu, M., Morefield, P. E., Bierwagen, B. G. & Weaver, C. P. Urban adaptation can roll back warming of emerging megapolitan regions. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111, 2909–2914 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Santamouris, M. Cooling the cities – a review of reflective and green roof mitigation technologies to fight heat island and improve comfort in urban environments. Sol. Energy 103, 682–703 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Rossi, F. et al. Retroreflective façades for urban heat island mitigation: experimental investigation and energy evaluations. Appl. Energy 145, 8–20 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Manti, M., Cacucciolo, V. & Cianchetti, M. Stiffening in soft robotics: a review of the state of the art. IEEE Robot. Autom. Mag 23, 93–106 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Stilli, A., Wurdemann, H. A. & Althoefer, K. Shrinkable, stiffness-controllable soft manipulator based on a bio-inspired antagonistic actuation principle. In Proc IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (Ed. Parker, L.) 2476–2481 (IEEE, 2014).

  39. Vanderborght, B. et al. Variable impedance actuators: a review. Robotics Auton. Syst. 61, 1601–1614 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Pfeifer, R., Lungarella, M. & Iida, F. Self-organization, embodiment, and biologically inspired robotics. Science 318, 1088–1093 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Nagy, Z., Yong, F. Y., Frei, M. & Schlueter, A. Occupant centered lighting control for comfort and energy efficient building operation. Energy Build. 94, 100–108 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Hofer, J., Groenewolt, A., Jayathissa, P., Nagy, Z. & Schlueter, A. Parametric analysis and systems design of dynamic photovoltaic shading modules. Energy Sci. Eng. 4, 134–152 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Luthander, R., Widén, J., Nilsson, D. & Palm, J. Photovoltaic self-consumption in buildings: review. Appl. Energy 142, 80–94 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Lydon, G. P., Hofer, J., Svetozarevic, B., Nagy, Z. & Schlueter, A. Coupling energy systems with lightweight structures for a net plus energy building. Appl. Energy 189, 310–326 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Zhao, H., Li, Y., Elsamadisi, A. & Shepherd, R. Scalable manufacturing of high force wearable soft actuators. Extreme Mech. Lett. 3, 89–104 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Galloway, K. C. et al. Soft robotic grippers for biological sampling on deep reefs. Soft Robotics 3, 23–33 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Moseley, P. et al. Modeling, design, and development of soft pneumatic actuators with finite element method. Adv. Eng. Mater. 18, 978–988 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Jayathissa, P. et al. Structural and architectural integration of adaptive photovoltaic modules. In Proc 11th Conference on Advanced Building Skins C6–3 (Advanced Building Skins GmbH, 2016).

  49. Fonseca, J. A., Nguyen, T.-A., Schlueter, A. & Marechal, F. City energy analyst (CEA): integrated framework for analysis and optimization of building energy systems in neighborhoods and city districts. Energy Build. 113, 202–226 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. City Energy Analyst (accessed 22 March 2019); https://cityenergyanalyst.com/

  51. City Energy Analyst Version 2.9.0 (GitHub, accessed 22 March 2019); https://github.com/architecture-building-systems/CityEnergyAnalyst

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank G. Lydon from the Architecture and Building Systems Group, ETH Zurich, for helpful suggestions. We thank M. Niffeler from the Architecture and Building Systems Group, ETH Zurich, for assistance with FEA. We acknowledge support from the Building Technologies Accelerator programme of Climate-KIC. We acknowledge Flisom AG for provision of high-efficiency CIGS PV modules.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Bratislav Svetozarevic, Moritz Begle, Prageeth Jayathissa, Arno Schlueter.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Architecture and Building Systems, Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Bratislav Svetozarevic, Moritz Begle, Prageeth Jayathissa, Stefan Caranovic, Illias Hischier, Johannes Hofer & Arno Schlueter

  2. Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Robert F. Shepherd

  3. Intelligent Environments Laboratory, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Zoltan Nagy

Authors
  1. Bratislav Svetozarevic
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Moritz Begle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Prageeth Jayathissa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Stefan Caranovic
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Robert F. Shepherd
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zoltan Nagy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Illias Hischier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Johannes Hofer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Arno Schlueter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

B.S. and M.B. developed the soft actuator and quick-cast fabrication process. M.B. fabricated soft actuators. S.C. and P.J. developed the rod–net facade supporting structure. B.S. and S.C. developed the pneumatic control systems. B.S. developed control algorithms. B.S. performed the experiments. P.J. performed the simulations. B.S., P.J. and M.B. constructed the dynamic facade with 16 modules. S.C., P.J., M.B. and B.S. constructed the dynamic facade with 30 modules. A.S., Z.N., J.H., I.H. and R.F.S. supervised the project. B.S. and A.S. wrote the paper. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arno Schlueter.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

B.S., M.B., P.J., S.C. and A.S. are inventors on an international patent application (PCT/EP2018/080425) submitted by ETH Zurich that covers the actuator, the manufacturing method, the pneumatic control system and the envelope. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Figs. 1–10, Notes 1–3, Table 1 and refs.

Supplementary Video 1

The video shows the operation of the soft-robotic-driven dynamic building envelope with 30 elements. The envelope cycles through different states, such as open, close, towards east and towards west. Parallel and sequential control of envelope rows is also presented, demonstrating the possibility to generate different transition patterns. The envelope is mounted at the NEST building at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, in DĂĽbendorf, Switzerland.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Svetozarevic, B., Begle, M., Jayathissa, P. et al. Dynamic photovoltaic building envelopes for adaptive energy and comfort management. Nat Energy 4, 671–682 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-019-0424-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-019-0424-0

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing