Search Results (5)

Globally, building energy consumption has been rising, emphasizing the need to reduce energy usage in the building sector to lower national energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This study analyzes the applicability of photovoltaic (PV) systems in enhancing the energy self-sufficiency of small-scale, low-rise apartment buildings. The analysis is based on a case study using Republic of Korea’s Zero-Energy Building Certification System. By employing the ECO2 simulation program, this research investigates the impact of PV system capacity and efficiency on the energy self-sufficiency rate (ESSR). A series of parametric analyses were carried out for various combinations of building-attached photovoltaic (BAPV) roofs and building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) facades, considering the initial cost of BIPV facades. The simulations demonstrate that achieving the target ESSR requires a combination of BAPV roofs and BIPV facades, due to limited roof areas for PV systems. Additionally, this study reveals that BIPV facades can be cost-effective when their unit price, relative to BAPV roofs, is below 62%. Based on the ECO2 simulations, a linear regression formula is proposed to predict the ESSR for the case study building. Verification analysis shows that the proposed formula predicts an ESSR of 74.1%, closely aligned with the official ESSR of 76.9% certified by the Korean government. Although this study focuses on the case of a specific apartment building and lacks actual field data, it provides valuable insights for future applications of PV systems to enhance energy self-sufficiency in small-scale, low-rise apartment buildings in Republic of Korea. Full article

Modeling the photovoltaic (PV) energy output with high accuracy is essential for predicting and analyzing the performance of a PV system. In the particular cases of building-integrated and building-attached photovoltaic systems (BIPV and BAPV, respectively) the time-varying partial shading conditions are a relevant added difficulty for modeling the PV power conversion. The availability of laser imaging detection and ranging (LIDAR) data to create very-high-resolution elevation digital models can be effectively used for computing the shading at high resolution. In this work, an artificial neural network (ANN) has been used to model the power generation of different BIPV arrays on a 5 min basis using the meteorological and solar irradiance on-site conditions, as well as the shading patterns estimated from a digital surface model as inputs. The ANN model has been validated using three years of 5-min-basis monitored data showing very high accuracy (6–16% of relative error depending on the façade). The proposed methodology combines the shading computation from a digital surface model with powerful machine learning algorithms for modeling vertical PV arrays under partial shading conditions. The results presented here prove also the capability of the machine learning techniques towards the creation of a digital twin for the specific case of BIPV systems that complements the conventional monitoring strategies and can be used in the diagnosis of performance anomalies. Full article

The prosperous implementation of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), as well as Building Attached Photovoltaics (BAPV), needs an accurate and detailed assessment of the potential of solar irradiation and electricity production of various commercialised technologies in different orientations on the outer skins of the building. This article presents a dataset for the solar incident radiation and electricity production of PV systems in the north and south orientations in a dense urban area (in the northern hemisphere). The solar incident radiation and the electricity production of two back-to-back PV panels with a ten-centimetre gap for one year are monitored and logged as primary data sources. Using Microsoft Excel, both panels’ efficiency is also presented as a secondary source of data. The implemented PV panels are composed of polycrystalline silicon cells with an efficiency of 16.9%. The results depicted that the actual efficiency of the south-facing panel (13–15%) is always closer to the standard efficiency of the panel compared to the actual efficiency of the north-facing panel (8–12%). Moreover, although the efficiency of the south-facing panel on sunny days of the year is almost constant, the efficiency of the north-facing panel decreases significantly in winter. This phenomenon might be linked to the spectral response of the polycrystalline silicon cells and different incident solar radiation spectrum on the panels. While the monitored data cover the radiation and system electricity production in various air conditions, the analysis is mainly conducted for sunny days, and more investigation is needed to analyse the system performance in other weather conditions (like cloudy and overcast skies). The presented database could be used to analyse the performance of polycrystalline silicon PV panels and their operational efficiency in a dense urban area and for different orientations. Full article

The photovoltaic (PV) system is one of the most promising technologies that generate benevolent electricity. Therefore, fossil fuel-generated electric power plants, that emit an enormous amount of greenhouse gases, can be replaced by the PV power plant. However, due to its lower efficiency than a traditional power plant, and to generate equal amount of power, a large land area is required for the PV power plant. Also, transmission and distribution losses are intricate issues for PV power plants. Therefore, the inclusion of PV into a building is one of the holistic approaches which reduce the necessity for such large land areas. Building-integrated and building attached/applied are the two types where PV can be included in the building. Building applied/attached PV(BAPV) indicates that the PV system is added/attached or applied to a building, whereas, building integrated PV (BIPV) illustrates the concept of replacing the traditional building envelop, such as window, wall, roof by PV. In India, applying PV on a building is growing due to India’s solar mission target for 2022. In 2015, through Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, India targeted to achieve 100 GW PV power of which 40 GW will be acquired from roof-integrated PV by 2022. By the end of December 2019, India achieved 33.7 GW total installed PV power. Also, green/zero energy/and sustainable buildings are gaining significance in India due to rapid urbanization. However, BIPV system is rarely used in India which is likely due to a lack of government support and public awareness. This work reviewed the status of BIPV/BAPV system in India. The BIPV window system can probably be the suitable BIPV product for Indian context to reduce the building’s HVAC load. Full article

Climate change affects agriculture, the water supply, health, and the sustainability of the environment, and is largely due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities and power production. In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the usage of renewable green energy must be promoted. The International Energy Agency showed that renewables have surpassed coal as the largest source of installed power capacity; half a million solar panels are installed every day around the world. The Taiwanese government has planned to block its fourth nuclear power plant, and is closing Taiwan’s three operating nuclear power plants since solar energy is the best way to solve power shortages. This study defined a solar-energy building as a Building-Attached Photovoltaic (BAPV) system in which the solar modules can be attached to and detached from the building without any structural damage; then, we proposed the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to forecast and explain public acceptance of BAPV. Last, we explored consumers’ intentions to use the BAPV systems and their purchasing behavior. The analytical results are fairly consistent with the proposed hypotheses. We find that when perceived ease of use (PEOU) is the antecedent of perceived usefulness (PU) and attitude toward using (AT), the model fit shows a positive influence. However, when PEOU directly affects AT, it shows a negative influence. These two opposing results show that consumers lack an awareness of PEOU. In order to get a positive AT, PEOU and PU have to be synergized. Further, the PEOU also has a negative influence on the antecedent of AT, but positively affects purchasing behavior. Full article