SkySplitters
Optical Building Skin
The skin of a building has always been designed to protect the interior from the detrimental effects of the elements.
Now it is possible, particularly with the optical systems we have developed, for this Interface to harness those elements to enable life within to thrive, whether for living, working or growing.
OTHELLO
Combines the world-renowned thin-film Cadmium Telluride expertise at Swansea University’s Centre for Solar Energy Research with our optical toolkit; employing the entire exterior envelope of a building at any angle - vertical and or horizontal surfaces, plus our latest thermal concentration technology to harness the sun's energy.
These synergies allow us to exploit a wider range of frequencies of the solar spectrum in the ultra-violet, visible and infra-red regimes to power heat driven technologies for the efficient, affordable running of air-conditioning and refrigeration.
OTHELLO's ability to utilise a wider range of frequencies is what separates it as a PV-T (solar-thermal) technology from conventional PV-T systems available on the market at present.
In current PV-T systems, a smaller frequency range, usually just in the visible, is utilised. The 'unused' frequencies therefore just heat the panels. Increasing the temperature of solar panels reduces their efficiency at converting sunlight into electricity and also leaves less heat energy, in the 'low-grade heat' energy range (<100 degrees C), left to be extracted.
The medium-grade heat extracted by OTHELLO ranges from 100 to 400 degrees C and this extra energy allows us to power greater energy-intensive appliances which are much more common in society and industry.
The fossil-fuelled industrial revolution has created an abundance of wealth and prosperity in many countries across the world. We have however now reached a level of understanding that tells us our once greatest strength, is en route to becoming our greatest weakness.
Our global demand for increased standards of living is causing an exponential increase in the release of toxic byproducts and this prosperity, in the past and present, is detrimentally affecting our standards of living in the future.
Fossil-fueled infrastructure can be replaced with alternatives that have no harmful byproducts. OTHELLO is a unique substitute in its ability to be positioned at any angle towards the sun on a building's exterior. The static nature of our optical system means it can be manufactured affordably and quickly. It is therefore suited for widespread deployment in all latitudes, ideally in tropical and subtropical rapidly expanding, developing economies.