Impact of technology developments on multicriteria performances of BIPV in non-domestic buildings

Abstract

Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) which can be applied to various parts of the building envelope such as walls, roofs, windows, and facades provides untapped opportunities to produce green energy even to meet total building’s energy need. Although, there are buildings with successful applications, the growth of the BIPV among both PV and building industries is inadequate due to various reasons particularly technical complexities. However, currently, many technological advancements have been emerged meeting market expectations, eliminating the current obstacles. System performances always lead to the decision of BIPV adoption are varied continuously. This paper aims to investigate the impact of technology developments on the multiple performances: economic; structural substitutable; environmental of 46 BIPV projects in non-domestic buildings in western countries using levelised cost of energy, net present value, material offset and greenhouse gas emission savings. Sensitivity analysis identifies generate four scenarios i) capital cost, 2) electricity conversion efficiency, 3) share of grid supply and 4) lifetime. The results revealed that capital cost has substantial influence than others to uplift the performances. It is significant to optimise the share of grid supply and onsite consumption for favourable performances. The outcome empowers stakeholders to explore the significance of technology deployment.