Last week London unveiled its very first transparent solar bus shelter designed and built by solar construction company, Polysolar. Backed by the Canary Wharf Group, the structure is made up of advanced see-through photovoltaic glass able to generate roughly 2000 kilowatt-hours of electricty per year, which is enough electricity to power a London home.
The innovative bus shelter is another step toward a greener urban future. Polysolar worked in collaboration with landscaping and street furniture experts, Marshalls to create a structure that is pleasing to the eye and practical. The contemporary steel frame includes a concave roof, which has been designed to draw rainwater away from the edge so commuters don’t get caught in the runoff water.
The transparent glass is slightly tinted to reduce the glare caused by solar radiation but this doesn’t impact its ability to generate energy in natural ambient light or low-light conditions.
Polysolar founder and CEO Hamish Watson believes that the integration of their advanced photovoltaic glass across various urban infrastructures will be able to lower the “city’s emissions without compromising its environment, architecture or budgets”. The company’s portfolio doesn’t begin and end at bus shelters, it also develops solar trolley bays, greenhouses, facades and curtains.
“The solar bus shelter provides not just demonstration of the functionality, performance and aesthetics of our PV glass but represents an important application innovation,” says Watson.
