The possibility of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) submodule was evaluated as an independent power source that can drive a smart liquid crystal window (SLW) that selectively blocks sunlight when electricity is applied. In order to save energy and increase the functionality of buildings, SLW operation was supplied directly from DSSC submodule, rather than connecting to the existing power system and external power sources. It was confirmed that the SLW can control light transmittance through self-generation using the DSSC submodule composed of 6 cells at low light of 2,500 lux. These results imply that there is a high possibility of combining smart windows and DSSCs suitable for window-type building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems. DSSCs, which can self-generate power in low light, are expected to increase their usability in urban BIPV systems through combination with smart window technology.

The energy demand in the world is expected to exceed 740 million TJ by 2040 and our dependence on fossil fuels needs to be switched to sustainable and renewable energy sources like solar energy. Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) is one of the best approaches to extracting solar energy. There are more than 200 BIPV products in the market currently but when it comes to integrating these products into the technical aspects such as buildings’ structural integrity, thermal, daylight retainment and aesthetic prospects to be considered. The share of BIPV integration potential of different building types in the world of residential, agricultural, industrial, commercial and other buildings account for 66%, 4.8%, 8.1%, 19.9%, and 1.2% accordingly. Many solar technologies developed to achieve architectural requirements, but the main problem is the trade-off between efficiency and aesthetic appeal, which is less than 10% in coloured and transparent solar modules. This paper discusses the different applications of solar photovoltaics (PV) in building architecture, technical requirements, and different module technologies. The article provides a comprehensive guide for researchers and designers working on the development of BIPV integrations.

In this paper, we compared and analyzed the power load patterns of dormitory buildings and office buildings to use them as basic data (demand analysis and capacity design) for the design and operation of microgrids for multi-use facilities, and the following conclusions were got. During the daytime on regular weekdays, the power consumption load pattern of office buildings was relatively large at 264.0~332.3 kWh, and during the evening hours, the power consumption load pattern of dormitory buildings was relatively large at 233.0~258.3 kWh. In the case of vacation, during the daytime on weekdays, the power consumption load pattern of office buildings was relatively large at 279.1~407.4 kWh, and in the evening, the power consumption load pattern of dormitory buildings was relatively high at 280.1~394.1 kWh. During the daytime on regular weekends, the power consumption of dormitory-type buildings was relatively high at 133.5~201.6 kWh, and it was found that the power consumption of dormitory-type buildings appeared relatively high at 187.5~252.1 kWh. During a vacation in the daytime on weekends, the power consumption of dormitory-type buildings was found to be 186.5 kWh~ and 218.6 kWh. The increase in power consumption during a vacation (December-February) compared to normal (April-June) was thought to be due to an increase in electricity demand, and the reason for the higher power consumption in dormitory buildings during the vacation was due to reduced working hours in office buildings.

Recently, as interest in appearance has increased, various studies on treatment method for short stature are being conducted. In this study, the effect of growth plate stimulation on the height growth of children and adolescents was studied. As a result of pre- and post-analysis of the experimental group, it was confirmed that the difference in average height according to growth plate stimulation was relatively large. In addition, in the results of analyzing the effects of demographic factors on the height growth of the experimental group and the control group, weight showed the greatest influence on height growth among the demographic factors affecting the height growth of the experimental group. The effect on the height growth of the control group was found to have an effect in the order of age, weight, and father’s height. The difference in height changed post-mortem between the experimental group and the control group was 1.10 cm for 3 months, and the difference was the result of growth plate stimulation. It was confirmed that growth plate stimulation had a significant effect on the height change of children and adolescents, except for weight, which is a common factor of height change in the experimental and control groups. Therefore, it is expected that it can be used as a treatment method for short stature.

In recent years, the challenge of higher energy efficiency has emerged as urban buildings have become taller, and the area of window glasses has increased. To address the problem of energy efficiency in buildings, research on smart windows is being actively conducted. In this study, an accelerated experiment for thermal stability was conducted to fabricate a liquid crystal cell applicable to external windows. It was confirmed from the study that the function is maintained even in a high-temperature external environment through the change in transmittance by voltage. Compared with the initial transmittance, after the passage of time, the smart window cell to which the sealant was applied showed a small change in transmittance of 1~2%. This result confirmed the thermal stability of the liquid crystal-based smart window.

A coverglass pattern was designed to improve the annual electrical energy production of a building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) module installed in the exterior walls of buildings. The transmittance pattern was calculated using ray tracing, and the results were derived by optimizing the simulation using Taguchi’s method. We obtained the optimal pattern by analyzing the conventional patterns for improving the transmittance and derived design factors by quantifying the pattern. By calculating the influence of electrical energy on each design factor, we obtained the optimal coverglass pattern that produced the maximum annual electrical energy. The annual electrical energy production improved by approximately 11.79% compared to the non-patterned coverglass.

Because silicon thin film solar cells have a high absorption coefficient in visible light, they can absorb 90% of the solar spectrum in a 1-μm-thick layer. Silicon thin film solar cells also have high transparency and are lightweight. Therefore, they can be used for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems. However, the contact electrode needs to be replaced for fabricating silicon thin film solar cells in BIPV systems, because most of the silicon thin film solar cells use metal electrodes that have a high reflectivity and low transmittance. In this study, we replace the conventional aluminum top electrode with a transparent aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) electrode, the band level of which matches well with that of the intrinsic layer of the silicon thin film solar cell and has high transmittance. We show that the AZO effectively replaces the top metal electrode and the bottom fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate without a noticeable degradation of the photovoltaic characteristics.