Prefabricated, lightweight, energy-active wall panel for zero-emission buildings

The Polish, Romanian and Estonian PRE-ActiVer (PREfabricated Active wall system using Verolith®) project is dedicated to developing, constructing and investigating the lightweight wall panel equipped with interconnected PV panels and a heat dissipation system. The ActiVer façade system should be prefabricated, easy to assemble and maintain, with replaceable PV elements and be environmentally friendly. The project aims to develop, optimize, and test a lightweight PV modular element for application on the s building’s external walls. The basis for the module is a rigid board made of mineral perlite granulate, hardened as a result of special thermal treatment. The structure and size of the plate itself allow the development of prefabricated PV light wall system technology. The assumption is that the entire thermal and electrical system will be made within the slab structure and can be installed on any external wall, with the possibility of easy installation, disassembly, and the ability to perform service work. One of the challenges is to create the system in such a way that it can be integrated with the ETICS system or similar without the need to use substructure elements. Additionally, application of a rigid board with structure of hollowed out channels behind the PV will allow heat dissipation or its utilization (based on the assessment of the amount of heat possible to be harvested). The energy produced from building integrated PV systems became popular because of easy integration with internal/building electricity grid, slight use of electric power transmission network and possibly high level of energy self-consumption. Such on-site, PV installations are mainly designed to cover energy requirements for end users where the systems are applied. On the other hand, the existing technologies are mainly based on detached systems (roof or façades) which are based on heavyweight, stiffed and mechanically mounted panels. The ActiVer system's advantage lies in its integration of PV with a passive heat dissipation system, along with its lightweight and fully prefabricated design. The new ActiVer system will be versatile (applicable on different façade systems), entirely prefabricated (based on Sto Verolith® system) and easily serviceable and maintenance (with exchangeable PV panels). Moreover, the system will undergo comprehensive experimental and computational testing covering its physical behaviour (heat and mass transfer), energy performance and management (including heat dissipation), environmental performance (Life Cycle Assessment and Carbon Footprint analyses), and cost-effectiveness (in close cooperation with industrial partner), considering the needs of the stakeholders, effects and potential impacts on the environment and society (RRI analyses). Regarding the experiences from previous projects, the consortium will be able to start the project with TRL4 when the proposed system will be validated on the laboratory scale. After the phase of research investigations, numerical simulations and detailed design the prefabrication technology will be developed and proposed. This phase will allow validating the system in the relevant environment (TRL5). The last phase will be a demonstration in the relevant environment which will lead to the target TRL6. The experimental installation will allow for confirmation of the proper operation of the ActiVer under real conditions during the last year of project execution. The measurements will be continued in the following years after the project ends, to determine the long-term performance of the ActiVer. The project is planned for 36 months and will be executed by partners from 3 universities with the cooperation with the industrial partner. The added values of the cooperation also comes from the local differences between Northern Europe (Estonia), Central Europe (Poland) and South Europe (Romania), which apparent themselves, among others, in climatic differences and construction technologies.