Publications by Christian Roecker

Criteria and policies to master the visual impact of solar systems in urban environments: The LESO-QSV method

Christian Roecker, Maria Cristina Munari Probst

Increased use of solar collectors in buildings is necessary but poses major challenges in existing built environ ments, especially where architectural quality is an issue. The large size of solar systems at the building scale requires careful planning, as ...

2019

Assessing visibility in multi-scale urban planning: A contribution to a method enhancing social acceptability of solar energy in cities

Christian Roecker, Jean-Louis Scartezzini, Josef Andreas Schuler, Maria Cristina Munari Probst, Pietro Florio

Urban areas are facing a growing deployment of solar photovoltaic and thermal technologies on building envelopes, both on roofs and on façades. An effective solar energy planning process considers social acceptance, in relation to the landscape alteration ...

2018

Illustrative Prospective of Solar Energy in Urban Planning: Collection of International Case Studies

Christian Roecker, Maria Cristina Munari Probst, Émilie Nault, Giuseppe Peronato, Pietro Florio

This reports presents a collection of 34 case studies on solar energy in urban planning, addressing how the planning process has been developed, how the stakeholders have been involved, which instruments have been applied, which energy technology and envir ...

IEA SHC Task 512017

Visibility of Building Exposed Surfaces for the Potential Application of Solar Panels: A Photometric Model

Christian Roecker, Jean-Louis Scartezzini, Maria Cristina Munari Probst, Pietro Florio

Urban areas are facing a growing deployment of solar technologies on the built exposed surfaces such as roofs and façades. This transformation often occurs without consideration of the needed architectural quality, which depends on the context sensitivity ...

F. Biljecki and V. Tourre2016

Innovative solar products for architectural integration: a joint Task 41 and Task 51 IEA website

Christian Roecker, Maria Cristina Munari Probst

2014

Novel Colored Esthetical and Lightweight Photovoltaic Tiles for Full Building Integration

Christophe Ballif, Yves Leterrier, Christian Roecker, Jean-Louis Scartezzini, Josef Andreas Schuler, Matthieu Mottet, Valentin Chapuis, Martin Joly, Stefan Mertin, Robert James Tween

2012

New Challenges in Solar Architectural Innovation

Christophe Ballif, Yves Leterrier, Christian Roecker, Andreas Schueler, Vanessa Terrazzoni-Daudrix

2011

Urban acceptability of building integrated solar systems: LESO-QSV approach

Christian Roecker, Maria Cristina Munari Probst

The concern for sustainable development issues together with the new EU promotion policies are finally leading to a widespread use of Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal systems in buildings. This upcoming reality is opening a new debate on the urban/architectu ...

Universität Kassel2011

Building envelope and solar energy optimization: a new “wizard” for architects

Christian Roecker, Maria Cristina Munari Probst, Marja Edelman

When designing a project, architects are facing more and more constraints on the building’s energy efficiency. Tougher values on insulation and energy consumption are now often combined with compulsory implementation of active solar systems - photovoltaics ...

Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve2011

New challenges in solar architectural innovation

Christophe Ballif, Yves Leterrier, Christian Roecker, Jean-Louis Scartezzini, Andreas Schueler, Valentin Chapuis, Krista Susan Lumsden Friedli

Among the century’s main challenges, climate change and the need for energy sources diversification are of great importance. In this context, renewable energies undoubtedly have an important role to play. Photovoltaic (PV) electricity is especially well su ...

EPFL2011

Architectural integration of solar thermal systems

Christian Roecker, Maria Cristina Munari Probst

The amount of solar energy reaching the Earth in one hour equals the total amount of primary energy used in the world during one year. Thanks to the different solar technologies presently available, most energy needs of buildings can today be covered by so ...

2010

Bringing colours to solar collectors: a contribution to an increased building "integrability"

Christian Roecker, Andreas Schueler, Maria Cristina Munari Probst

One main obstacle to facade integration of solar thermal collectors lies in the formal characteristics and low flexibility of available products. Major problems are the black and irregular appearance of their absorbers, their low dimensional flexibility an ...

Università luav di Venezia2010

Development of solar ventilated façade system for building energy retrofit

Christian Roecker, Maria Cristina Munari Probst, Alessia Giovanardi

In the perspective of setting ambitious targets for new buildings energy performance and of introducing new approaches to retrofit existing buildings, the implementation of solar thermal collectors into façade becomes very interesting Several research acti ...

2010

Simulation Tool for Architects

Christian Roecker, Maria Cristina Munari Probst

The presented work offers an improved planning tool as a response to the demand for active and passive solar architecture. An integral solution is presented for the design of solar assisted heating systems and decentralized electricity production using pho ...

EFPL2009

Facade Integration of Solar Thermal Collectors: A Breakthrough?

Christian Roecker, Jean-Louis Scartezzini, Andreas Schueler, Estelle De Chambrier, Maria Cristina Munari Probst

One main barrier to the acceptability of façade use of solar thermal collectors is their black appearance and the visibility of piping or absorber irregularities through the glazing. To facilitate façade integration, a project was set up to develop selecti ...

2008

Nanostructured Coatings on Glazing for Active Solar Facades

Christian Roecker, Jean-Louis Scartezzini, Estelle De Chambrier, Josef Andreas Schuler, Maria Cristina Munari Probst, Dipanwita Dutta

Thin films on glazing play an important role in the design of solar energy conversion systems as thermal collectors or photovoltaic panels. Antireflective coatings based on porous silicon dioxide are well established in the field of solar collector glazing ...

EPFL2007

Towards an improved architectural quality of building integrated solar thermal systems (BIST)

Christian Roecker, Maria Cristina Munari Probst

Architectural integration is a major issue in the development and spreading of solar thermal technologies. Yet the architectural quality of most existing building integrated solar thermal systems (BIST) is quite poor, which often discourages potential new ...

2007

Facade Integration of Solar Thermal Collectors: Present and Future

Christian Roecker, Andreas Schueler, Estelle De Chambrier, Maria Cristina Munari Probst

Based on the results of a European survey on architectural integration quality, the paper presents a systematic analysis of the facade integration potential of solar thermal collectors provided by Swiss manufacturers, concentrating on glazed flat plates, u ...

EPFL2007

Sol-gel deposition and characterization of low refractive index nanocomposite Mg:F:Si:O thin films for solar and protective coatings

Christian Roecker, Jean-Louis Scartezzini, Estelle De Chambrier, Josef Andreas Schuler, Dipanwita Dutta

Coatings for thermal solar energy conversion have to be abrasion-resistant, stable at elevated temperatures, and often have to protect the substrate against corrosion. Due to the conditions of refractive index matching between the substrate and the ambient ...

2007

From Thermal Collectors Integration to Active Façade Systems

Christian Roecker, Maria Cristina Munari Probst

One main step to ease facade integration of solar thermal is to conceive new collectors as multifunctional building elements. For flat plate hydraulic collectors (glazed and unglazed) the most natural added function is facade cladding. The new elements sho ...

2007