A New Blue Ocean Beyond the Roof! How Can Building Facade Photovoltaic Curtain Walls Solve the "Midday Valley Electricity" Dilemma?

When discussing the application of photovoltaics in industrial and commercial plants,the roof is undoubtedly the primary installation location.However, in addition to the roof,the facade walls of the factory building, as the outer surface with a large contact area with sunlight, are also an ideal choice for installing photovoltaics.Vertical photovoltaic curtain walls, as a typical application in this field, are gradually showing their unique charm and advantages, and are expected to become a new standard for green industrial buildings in the future.

▲Actual scene of industrial plant facade photovoltaic curtain wall

For industrial and commercial plants,vertical photovoltaic curtain walls can fully utilize light resources at different times.In the morning when the sun rises from the east, the power generation of the east facade photovoltaic curtain wall begins to increase rapidly; when the sun sets in the afternoon, the west facade photovoltaic curtain wall starts to exert its power. This layout not only effectively extends the power generation time of the photovoltaic system, but also makes the power generation load curve smoother and more friendly to the power grid. In recent years, with the rapid development of renewable energy such as photovoltaics and wind power in China,many places have begun to implement midday low-valley or even deep-valley electricity price policies to guide users to increase midday electricity consumption and improve the absorption capacity of photovoltaic electricity.Traditional industrial and commercial photovoltaic power stations are mostly concentrated on rooftops, but factory facades, as vertical outer surfaces with a large contact area with sunlight, also contain huge development value.Vertical photovoltaic curtain walls, through east-west double-sided layout, form two power generation peaks in the morning and evening: the east facade captures the morning sunlight, and the west facade receives the afternoon irradiation.This characteristic perfectly avoids the"midday low-valley electricity price"period (11:00-15:00), making the power generation income more in line with the peak interval of time-of-use electricity prices, effectively hedging the risk of electricity price fluctuations. Data show that although the power generation of vertically installed photovoltaic systems is low at noon, theirmorning and evening power generation curves are highly matched with the power grid load demand, which not only alleviates the peak-shaving pressure of the power grid, but also improves the owner's power generation income.Especially in areas such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong, where industrial and commercial electricity prices are high and the peak-valley price difference is large, the economic efficiency of facade photovoltaics has approached or even exceeded rooftop projects.

▲Actual scene of photovoltaic curtain wall on the facade of a food factory in Shanxi using double-glass standard cadmium telluride photovoltaic components

Some photovoltaic industry insiders also said that with the further increase in photovoltaic penetration rate, the electricity price at noon may have negative electricity prices or need to be stored by energy storage systems. Therefore, for vertically installed photovoltaic curtain walls, the actual value of the lost power generation during noon is not high. On the contrary, its power generation capacity during the morning and evening peak hours can bring stable economic benefits to investors. According to the needs of the building,translucent photovoltaic glass can be used in translucent areas of the photovoltaic curtain wall to create a unique building facade and indoor light and shadow effects; in non-translucent areas, colored patterned photovoltaic building materials can be used to achieve decorative dry-hung curtain walls such as imitation aluminum plates and imitation stone materials.This design is not only economical and beautiful, but also allows industrial and commercial plants to be full of the technological sense of green elements, achieving a perfect combination of function and aesthetics. In general, photovoltaic curtain walls can be roughly divided into two types: building material installation type and independent installation type. The building material installation type requires the photovoltaic components to be processed into building materials, such as curtain walls and exterior wall units. This type has higher technical requirements and higher costs, but it can achieve deep integration of photovoltaics and buildings. The independent installation type uses a dry-hung curtain wall installation method to integrate photovoltaic components with buildings. This type has lower cost, strong power generation capacity, and better economic efficiency. At the same time, it can also create a unique architectural aesthetic effect, enhancing the overall image of the factory building.

▲ Yi Cai photovoltaic curtain wall under installation

In terms of photovoltaic applications on plant facades, Longyan's Yi Cai photovoltaic products are undoubtedly a recommended choice. This product uses Longyan's unique vacuum plating technology to form a nanometer-level film on the surface of the glass, which is not only vibrant and durable, but also increases the transmittance to more than double that of traditional enamel glass technology.Yi Cai photovoltaic products are mainly used in building facade curtain walls, sunshades, and roofs, and can very well replace traditional building materials such as aluminum plates and metal plates.Its installation and construction is very convenient, which can significantly reduce construction costs and time. Compared with other colored photovoltaic products on the market, Yi Cai shows significant advantages in production cost, color appearance, and power generation capacity.Especially in terms of economy, after deducting the cost of aluminum plates or metal plates themselves, the incremental investment can be recovered in3years, which has very high investment value.Under"the dual carbon"targets and time-of-use electricity price policies, facade photovoltaic curtain walls are changing from"optional"to"mandatory". Photovoltaic products like Yi Cai, through the triple innovation of technology, cost, and aesthetics, provide industrial and commercial owners with a"low-input, high-return, zero-carbon emission"upgrade path. Choosing facade photovoltaics is not only embracing green energy, but also using technology to redefine the value benchmark of industrial buildings.