Solcellers påverkan på den framtida stadsbilden : - Får vi annorlunda hus av solceller?

Sammanfattning: Introduction – With the rising of the electricity prices around the world and simultaneously higher standards on sustainability and environment on buildings, more people have begun thinking of better means of electricity supply. Solar cells have become a popular and more discussed topic that can justify for both an economical and sustainable perspective. How solar cells might affect the future cityscape and the available supply is investigated in the study. Method – The used research method has been a qualitative case study. An investigative document study and semi-structured interviews was chosen as data collection techniques to respond to the questions. Results/Analysis – The study showed that architects and urban planners don’t seem to find today’s solar cells to be aesthetically pleasing, resulting in them being used more on low-sloping roofs and larger façades where they are hidden and disappear in the overall picture. The solar panels are considered difficult to integrate into the building without disturbing its character and architectural values. Even the interaction with their surroundings and their failure to blend into their environment were perceived as obstacles. Since solar cells and panels greatly influence the design, more integrated solar cell products were desired that adapt to design and not the other way around. Solar cells conceived from an architect’s perspective were sought after with, among other things, more colours and more imitation of building material. Sun-shielding solar cells with sufficiently good light penetration are missing on the market according to architects and urban planners. The most used solar panels today are the additive silicon-based panels with higher efficiency than the integrated by thin-film solar cells. The colour and size range of the additive panels is more limited, while the integrated ones are more customizable and have more design possibilities in both size and material. Discussion – Based on the study, future urban environments are expected to be affected by solar cell implementation just as human ideals, needs and technologies have been doing for decades. For the technology, on the other hand, close cooperation between actors is required to obtain a satisfactory result and increase the use further, above all in the already built-up environment. In addition to placing solar cells on buildings, other creative but also aesthetic solutions are encouraged to contribute to sustainability and environmental goals. Through a case study with interviews and a document study, satisfactory and in-depth explanations of the study's goals and purpose were obtained. High reliability and validity are assessed based on the circumstances of the study; however, some choices could have been made differently to increase reliability and validity further.