transparent plastic sheet embedded with a luminescent species and lined with solar cells along its edges. Acting as a waveguide, it directs light from its larger surface onto much smaller-area photovoltaics. This technology offers several advantages, including better utilization of solar cells, effective performance in diffuse light conditions, and the ability to serve as a

multifunctional envelope for vertical walls in the built environment. However, its single-digit efficiency remains a major barrier to commercialization, primarily due to escape cone losses through the light-receiving surface. Additionally, the lack of comprehensive annual energy production estimates in the literature limits understanding of its practical potential. This talk

examines the performance of wedge-shaped LSCs utilizing inorganic luminescent phosphors, which enhance energy capture at incidence angles that conventional solar panels do not effectively utilize. This behavior is studied experimentally by comparing the performance of a solar cell embedded in an LSC to one directly exposed to illumination. Using laboratorymeasured power ratios and direct normal irradiance data from two case studies—Phoenix, AZ, and Albany, NY—the annual energy production for direct-beam irradiance in wedge-shaped LSCs mounted on vertical walls was determined.

Results show that solar cells within vertically installed LSCs generate 20% to 40% more annual energy than traditional vertically installed solar panels, depending on location and orientation (east- or south-facing). Additionally, wedge-LSCs exhibit peak power production at times traditionally considered suboptimal for standard solar panels, further increasing their value in building-integrated applications. Overall, these findings highlight the potential of wedge shaped LSCs as effective power-harvesting building envelopes. Ongoing efforts to improve efficiency through asymmetric light transmission interfaces will also be briefly discussed.

Biography:

Diana-Andra Borca-Tasciuc is a professor in the mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she has been a faculty member since 2006. She holds a B.S. in physics from Bucharest University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a recipient of the 2008 NSF CAREER Award and the 2013 Fulbright Scholarship. Her research interests lie in energy conversion, with a current focus on power harvesting