The Effect of Climate on the Solar Radiation Components on Building Skins and Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) Materials

Abstract

The business model of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is developing expeditiously and BIPV will soon be recognised as a building envelope material for the entire building skins, among other alternatives such as brick, wood, stone, metals, etc. This paper investigates the effect of climate on the solar radiation components on building skins and BIPV materials in the northern hemisphere. The selected cities are Stavanger in Norway, Bern in Switzerland, Rome in Italy, and Dubai in the UAE. The study showed that for all the studied climates, the average incident radiation on the entire building skins is slightly more than the average incident radiation on the east or west facades, regardless of the orientations of the building facades. Furthermore, the correlation between solar radiation components and different BIPV technologies is discussed in this paper. It is also found that when it comes to the efficiency of different BIPV cells, the impact of the climate on some of the BIPV technologies (such as DSC and OSC) is much more significant than others (such as c-Si, mc-Si and CIGS). The evidence from this study suggests that in climates with higher diffuse radiation-or with more overcast days per year-the contribution of IR radiation decreases. Therefore, the efficiency of BIPV materials that their spectral responses are dependent on the IR radiation (like Si and CIGS) in such a climate would drop down meaningfully. On the other hand, the DSC and OSC solar cells could be a good option for cloudy climates since they have more stable performance, even in such a climate. Although, their efficiency compared to other BIPV materials such as Si-based BIPV solar cells is still significantly less thus far.

Dataset for the Solar Incident Radiation and Electricity Production BIPV/BAPV System on the Northern/Southern Façade in Dense Urban Areas

“…The findings observed in this study mirror those of our previous study [13] that have examined the effect of climate on the performance of different BIPV materials and technologies. Therefore, the data are a suitable source to compare this technology's performance with other emerging technologies, such as perovskite and organic solar cells as a building envelope material in cities, and investigate the impact of quality and quantity of solar radiation components on the performance and efficiency of PV panels with different orientations.…”

“…However, existing buildings may be retrofitted with similar technology. The climate also plays a key role in the performance of such a system [13] and it can also be used in other industries, such as the ship manufacturing industry [14].…”

The Contribution of Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) to the Concept of Nearly Zero-Energy Cities in Europe: Potential and Challenges Ahead

“…A long-term energy production performance warranty could be a tremendous driving factor for building owners, which could result in the rapid rollout of BIPV systems. It is the responsibility of the manufacturers and consultants to warrant the system production performance while considering the system location, orientation, components, climate, and other factors [85].…”

Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) in Europe, Rational Feed-In Tariffs and Subsidies

“…[5,6]. They can be categorised based on their type in the market, technology, connection to the grid and application [5,7]. Their application is not limited to buildings, and they can be employed by ships as an example [8].…”

“…BIPV will soon be acknowledged as a building envelope material for the entire building skins, among other alternatives brick, wood, stone, metals, etc. [5,7].…”