Rope nets – energy gain and sink

Abstract

The combination of cable nets with PV modules has been an approach for about 15 years that has only been implemented very rarely so far. The reasons for this are the flexibility, efficiency and load‐bearing capacity of PV modules. If the PV modules are positioned in between the meshes, they are exposed to wind and snow loads as well as temperature fluctuations. This means that the solar cells are involved in load transfer, which affects the durability of the solar cells and the contacts. The development of a lightweight, translucent cable net covered with PV modules up to a mockup of approx. 30 m ² is presented. The potential to provide electricity directly on site in city centers and residential areas will be shown. The contribution to climate protection lies in avoiding the primary energy loss factor in PV systems outside built‐up areas as well as cooling the street space by shading surfaces and avoiding heating up sealed surfaces. The challenge in this approach lies in the development of the entire structure with a high level of acceptance for the planned locations. The tasks that have to be solved for this include design, building construction, energy and storage technology and the production of the construction as well as measurement technology and software development.