toegang via de HU Bibliotheek op het HU netwerk https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.201600015 From the article: "Abstract Inspired by the works of the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian an Electric Mondrian has been developed built up from luminescent solar concentrator elements. It is based on differently colored square and rectangular elements of standard sizes based on multiples of 15 cm, as this the standard size of the c‐Si cells that are used at the sides of the elements. This paper describes the design requirements and choices that have been made in detail. The design is based on commercially available luminescent concentrator Perspex plates and solar cells. Performance testing showed that at total size of 1 m2 a light‐to‐electric power device efficiency is measured of 0.2%: the Electric Mondrian thus provides ∼2 W in full sun, and two mobile devices can be charged directly or via a built‐in battery. The Electric Mondrian functions as a decorative energy‐harvesting element indoors in the urban environment, and can be marketed as such. " https://www.narcis.nl/publication/RecordID/oai%3Adspace.library.uu.nl%3A1874%2F358617
Academic design research often fails to contribute to design practice. This dissertation explores how design research collaborations can provide knowledge that design professionals will use in practice. The research shows that design professionals are not addressed as an important audience between the many audiences of collaborative research projects. The research provides insight in the learning process by design professionals in design research collaborations and it identifies opportunities for even more learning. It shows that design professionals can learn about more than designing, but also about application domains or project organization.
The goal of this paper is twofold: i) to design a viable business model for community owned solar farms that will be setup in the north of the Netherlands. ii) To present the findings from this case study, and to propose generalisations that are relevant for the development of artefacts that can be used to facilitate the design of viable business models in a business ecosystem setting.USE 2015
Horticulture crops and plants use only a limited part of the solar spectrum for their growth, the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR); even within PAR, different spectral regions have different functionality for plant growth, and so different light spectra are used to influence different properties of the plant, such as leaves, fruiting, longer stems and other plant properties. Artificial lighting, typically with LEDs, has been used to provide these specified spectra per plant, defined by their light recipe. This light is called steering light. While the natural sunlight provides a much more sustainable and abundant form of energy, however, the solar spectrum is not tuned towards specific plant needs. In this project, we capitalize on recent breakthroughs in nanoscience to optimally shape the solar spectrum, and produce a spectrally selective steering light, i.e. convert the energy of the entire solar spectrum into a spectrum most useful for agriculture and plant growth to utilize the sustainable solar energy to its fullest, and save on artificial lighting and electricity. We will take advantage of the developed light recipes and create a sustainable alternative to LED steering light, using nanomaterials to optimally shape the natural sunlight spectrum, while maintaining the increased yields. As a proof of concept, we are targeting the compactness of ornamental plants and seek to steer the plants’ growth to reduce leaf extension and thus be more valuable. To realize this project the Peter Schall group at the UvA leads this effort together with the university spinout, SolarFoil, whose expertise lies in the development of spectral conversion layers for horticulture. Renolit - a plastic manufacturer and Chemtrix, expert in flow synthesis, provide expertise and technical support to scale the foil, while Ludvig-Svensson, a pioneer in greenhouse climate screens, provides the desired light specifications and tests the foil in a controlled setting.
Designing with the Sun is a KIEM-GoCI explorative research project on the theme Energy Transition and Sustainability. The project is aimed at network and agenda building and design research that explores new (cultural) practices of renewable energy consumption, based on a shift from ‘energy blindness’ to ‘energy awareness’. Up until now the solar industry has been propelled forward by technical innovations, offering mostly pragmatic, economic benefits to consumers. Innovation in this field mostly concerns making solar panels more efficient and less costly. However, to succeed, the energy transition also needs new cultural practices. These practices should reflect the ways renewables are different from fossil fuels. For solar, this means using more direct solar energy, when the sun is there, and being able to adapt to periods of low energy. Currently, consumers are mostly ‘blind’ to the infrastructure behind fossil-based energy. However, for energy sources such as solar and wind ‘awareness’ of their availability becomes more important. What could such an awareness look or feel like? How can it be enacted? And how can a change in practice that is more attuned to availability be experienced positively? Solar companies see opportunities in using design to help build motivating practices and narratives within the solar field, enabling awareness through personal relationships between consumer and solar energy. However, the knowledge of how to get there is lacking. In a research-through-design trajectory, and together with partners from the Creative Industries, Designing with the Sun aims to explore new ways of relating citizens to solar energy. Ultimately, these insights should enable the newly emerging field of solar design to contribute to the emergence of more sustainable and rewarding energy awareness and practices.
Road freight transport contributes to 75% of the global logistics CO2 emissions. Various European initiatives are calling for a drastic cut-down of CO2 emissions in this sector [1]. This requires advanced and very expensive technological innovations; i.e. re-design of vehicle units, hybridization of powertrains and autonomous vehicle technology. One particular innovation that aims to solve this problem is multi-articulated vehicles (road-trains). They have a smaller footprint and better efficiency of transport than traditional transport vehicles like trucks. In line with the missions for Energy Transition and Sustainability [2], road-trains can have zero-emission powertrains leading to clean and sustainable urban mobility of people and goods. However, multiple articulations in a vehicle pose a problem of reversing the vehicle. Since it is extremely difficult to predict the sideways movement of the vehicle combination while reversing, no driver can master this process. This is also the problem faced by the drivers of TRENS Solar Train’s vehicle, which is a multi-articulated modular electric road vehicle. It can be used for transporting cargo as well as passengers in tight environments, making it suitable for operation in urban areas. This project aims to develop a reverse assist system to help drivers reverse multi-articulated vehicles like the TRENS Solar Train, enabling them to maneuver backward when the need arises in its operations, safely and predictably. This will subsequently provide multi-articulated vehicle users with a sustainable and economically viable option for the transport of cargo and passengers with unrestricted maneuverability resulting in better application and adding to the innovation in sustainable road transport.
