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Reflect
Efficient green energy harvesting and zero-carbon passive cooling for a sustainable future, while preserving cultural heritage to the largest extent.
Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPVs) - Perovskite solar cells
Solar energy utilization creates a bright future for sustainable lifestyles. For the reduction of energy demand and solar energy harvesting in historic buildings, SINCERE will provide solar photovoltaic devices based on the newest light-harvesting materials - perovskite. Efforts will be focused on using advanced materials to achieve high power conversion efficiency and long-term stability for BIPVs.
With the advanced materials develop in SINCERE, the vision is autonomous solar energy driven cultural heritage buildings using low-cost, lightweight, flexible, sustainable BIPVs, designed for high-performance, ease of fabrication, use of abundant materials implemented at low temperature, which can practically be incorporated with multiple building component, such as glass windows and ceramic tiles, or even on curved surfaces.
Radiative cooling and green coatings
The radiative cooling technologies derived in SINCERE will take the form of plastic membranes and coatings. Owed to their flexibility, light weight, and low cost, they will be easy to transport and apply on virtually any surface.
A rational design approach will be followed, accounting for the interplay between the various physical mechanisms involved. In particular, porosity and incorporation of nano-/ micro-particles (including phase change materials) will be exploited to enhance solar reflectance, tune the wettability of the surfaces, optimise their heat emission and reinforce their mechanical robustness and resistance to UV-radiation.