2021 | Smart Reflection | Minghao Xu's Website

Smart Reflection

Multimodal Photovoltaic Energy Efficient Building Skin System Using Mirror Reflection

Undergraduate Thesis @ Southeast University

Team: Minghao Xu, Yiheng Feng.

Instructor: Li Li, Prof. Lixin Fang

In an attempt to bring fresh insights to the field of architectural design, we proposed a modest approach with an intelligent Photovoltaic (PV) skin system for buildings, incorporating interactive technology. This system endeavors to achieve communication between the interior and exterior environments, trace sunlight trajectories, and potentially elevate PV efficiency through the use of movable mirror reflectors. To better understand and simulate solar ray dynamics, we crafted a real-time software in Unity. While we are still in the early stages of exploration, we constructed a 1/4 scale physical model to embody the intended real-world functionalities and conducted a controlled field test. The data gathered provided preliminary insights into the effectiveness of our proposed approach. We hope this system offers some reference and inspiration for future sustainable architecture and energy management endeavors.

Proposed an intelligent building PV skin system using interactive technology, capable of internal-external environment communication, sunlight trajectory tracking, and enhanced PV efficiency via movable mirror reflectors.
Designed a real-time software in Unity for solar ray dynamics calculations, facilitating simulations and schedule management.
Built a physical 1/4 model to realize the preset functions of a real scene, executed a controlled field test, gathering and analyzing data to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.