Development and demonstration of a cost-effective, industrially produced PV-façade system for retrofitting residential high-rise buildings "PV-HoWoSan"

The majority of residential buildings in Germany were built in the period before 1989 and is now due to be renovated. In the context of the upcoming redevelopment the activation of the building envelope with photovoltaic in combination with thermal insulation measures of the wall offers the opportunity to develop local power generation in these buildings and thus give the building a modern and future-oriented design. The aim of the project is to develop a functional, safe and economically optimized PV- façade system for retrofitting façades of high-rise buildings and implement it on one in Frankfurt/Main. The selected structure is a residential building erected in 1973 with 16 floors. From the legal point of view itis classified as a high-rise building, which plays a decisive role in the building regulation requirements. As expected the fulfilment of fire protection is the highest obstacle. The requirement for external material is noncombustible. However, due to their design, the installed PV- façade modules as well as wires are partly combustible. In order to receive permission for installing the system at the selected high rise building, the usability is tested in a standardized fire test at MFPA Leipzig.