New test centre for carbon-neutral building technology

Sara Ver-Bruggen - 20 Aug 2010

A new centre in Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and Corus Steel, will test technologies for zero-carbon buildings, including commercial and emerging solar cell technologies.

The goal of the Sustainable Building Envelope Centre (SBEC) is to test and gather data on integrated heating, energy and ventilation systems integrated into the fabric, walls, ceilings and roofs of buildings that can lead to constructions that preserve energy and heat and generate their own electricity and energy.

The centre is one of the projects to come out of the Low Carbon Research Institute (LCRI) Energy programme, which is supported by European funding through the WAG.

Led by the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University and backed by five other Welsh universities, the LCRI is designed to drive forward cutting-edge research to secure a low-carbon future for Wales, create green jobs and help business to develop sustainable products and technologies.

Testing

SBEC, which is being established in partnership with Corus Colors at its Shotton site in Wales Deeside, will create at least two environments for testing technologies. There is also potential for other companies, such as customers of Corus, to lend their buildings for the project's research.

A team of 18 people at SBEC, including staff from the LCRI and Corus, will be involved in the design, modelling, prototyping, testing and monitoring of a suite of heating and energy solutions based primarily on solar cell and solar thermal technologies.

Silicon photovoltaic modules will initially be tested, but the project will also work with dye-sensitised solar cell-coated steel roofing being developed by Corus Colors, at Shotton, in partnership with materials supplier Dyesol.

The building, designed by the Welsh School of Architecture with funding from Corus and the LCRI, is expected to be completed by October of this year.

+Plastic Electronics Volume 3, issue 2, will include a series of special features on the commercialisation of dye-sensitised solar cells. The magazine will also be appearing at the forthcoming 4th International Conference on the Industrialisation of Dye Solar Cells, 1-4 November 2010.
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