The EU-supported “SmartFlex Solarfacades” project has successfully completed the test operation of its referece solar façade. A glass façade featuring a wide range of semi-transparent solar modules that had been custom-designed but industrially manufactured was installed as a “second skin” on the office building of the Lithuanian glass processor Glassbel. The exceptional size and weight of the modules proved particularly challenging during the manufacturing process. The project has demonstrated how custom-designed solar façades represent not only an aesthetically appealing solution, but also a financially viable means of achieving climate targets in buildings.

The 75 glass-glass modules produce around 12.5 megawatt hours of electricity every year. The photovoltaic system, which has an output of more than 15 kilowatt peak (kWpeak), was installed on a surface area of 600m² on the south and west façades of the Glassbel office building in Klaipeda, Lithuania, in November of last year. The solar façade provided the architects with an abundance of design possibilities. 15 different types of glass-glass modules were used on the reference building.

“Printed module glass, laminating films of various colours and differently coloured solar cells can be used to custom design solar façades any way you like. The biggest challenge with our solar façade was producing the glass-glass modules, which were very large and very heavy. The largest were 3.6 metres long and 1.7 meters wide,” says Tomas Lenkimas, Head of Glassbel’s R&D department. “In contrast, applying the photo print onto the module glass was relatively easy. The installation of the façades, which was carried out by a specialist façade engineering company, also went very smoothly.”

According to the calculations of the project partners, the acquisition costs of a “second skin” solar façade – at around €550 per square metre – are approximately the same as for a façade made of stone or metal, but are significantly lower than those of a glass-window façade, which can cost up to €840 per square metre.