Integration of a luminescent solar concentrator: Effects on daylight, correlated color temperature, illuminance level and color rendering index

The paper deals with the integration of a luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) realized with a yellow dye produced by ENI Donegani Institute and analyzed by Politecnico di Milano. The LSC component has the capability to produce electricity and substitute transparent surfaces into the building envelope using inclinations (e.g. vertical walls) and orientation (e.g. different from south) not optimal for standard photovoltaic system integration. The visual effects of the dyed LSC integration are analyzed to understand potentials and critical points of the use of such a component in the built environment. Systematic tests were conducted to evaluate the visual performance parameters related to the application of the yellow LSC component as fanlight in a partially glazed south façade of an office space, through experimental measures taken on a scaled physical model. The main effects can be ascribed to the increasing of the illuminance level and to the reduction of correlated color temperature whereas the color render index shows changes that in some cases have to be carefully assessed such as when color identification is the specific visual task.