Slutrapport for ELFORSK projekt nr. 341-009, Den CO2 neutrale arbejdsplads – hovedprojekt

As the world develops, the requirement for more electrical equipment in everyday life is increasing rapidly. The power consumption of electrical appliances both in operation and in standby mode therefore greatly contributes to our total energy consumption. When regarding the energy lifetime of an electrical product, the amount of energy used for standby cannot be neglected and will in many cases exceed the power used in operation. The potential of PVs used indoor to supply the standby power is a fairy unexploited field, but can have a revolutionary effect on the total energy consumption worldwide. This paper presents the results gained in the ongoing project ‘The CO2 neutral work space’, which was started up in 2008. The objective of the project is focused on elucidating and uncovering the great potential for usage of PVs in indoor applications to power the standby electricity consumption. To integrate solar cells into a design object has proved to be challenging. Throughout the development process it has been extremely important with the coherence between technology and design in a close dialogue between all parties. The project team has made three distinctive designs, where design solutions are created in cooperation between the PV-technology and a user-friendly approach based on the observations of the secretaries have shown that the desk is often covered by electronic devices and paper material. The final three design concepts adapt to Montanas existing aesthetics and design as a transparent screen, a desk integration and a flexible solution. All three design concepts are displayed in either 1:1 or functioning prototypes, depending on allowance and performance in the chosen PV-technologies. The prototypes have been shown at various design shows and scientific conferences internationally and nationally. A LED based solar simulator has been build and follows the IEC904-9 requirements for a Class A solar simulator though at an irradiation level of about 100 W/m2. It is more advanced and flexible than traditional artificial sun simulators based on a Xenon light source since because of the flexibility in light spectrum and intensity made available by the LED setup. The system has been tested on several solar cells and panels for IV characterization and obtaining the spectral response of cells at different levels of irradiation.