Electrical performance results of an energy efficient building with an integrated photovoltaic system (original) (raw)
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Implementing building integrated photovoltaics in the building sector in south africa
The installation of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) has been increasing rapidly throughout the world, yet little, if at all, has been reported in South Africa. The country has abundant solar energy resource estimated to be between 4.5 and 6.5 kWh/m2/day, yet solar energy contributes less than 1% to the country's energy mix. More than 90% of the country's primary energy comes from fossil fuels leading to an unsustainable per capita carbon footprint of about 9 tCO2e. Previous research has shown that photovoltaics can significantly augment the constrained fossil fuel generated electricity supply. This paper discusses the practical application of photovoltaics as a building element in energy efficient residential housing. The study also aims to determine the feasibility of implementing BIPV systems in the residential sector in South Africa. An energy efficient solar house was designed using simulation software and constructed. Ordinary solar panels were integrated onto the north facing roof of the house. A data acquisition system that monitors meteorological conditions and BIPV output was installed. It was observed that elevated back of module temperatures reaching up to 75°C on sunny days decreased module efficiency by up to 20% in the afternoon. The temperature profiles reveal that BIPV products can significantly influence indoor heating and cooling loads. The research seeks to raise awareness among housing stakeholders and solar industry policy makers of the feasibility of BIPV in South Africa.
Economic viability of a residential building integrated photovoltaic generator in South Africa
A photovoltaic (PV) generator was integrated onto the north facing roof of an energy efficient house in South Africa. The building integrated photovoltaic generator (BIPV) supplies power to the household loads and the grid and is also the roof façade. This paper presents an economic evaluation of the viability of the BIPV system using methods of investment analysis. The capital cost and life cycle cost of energy were found to be ZAR 52 631-58/kW p and ZAR 1-94/kWh respectively. The payback period was 8 years and adjusted internal rate of return 9.3%. Parametric sensitivity analysis revealed that a 50% decrease in module price results in a 29% reduction in life cycle cost of energy and more than 50% reduction in payback period.
Implementing building integrated photovoltaics in the housing sector in South Africa
Journal of Energy in Southern Africa
The installation of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) has been increasing rapidly throughout the world, yet little, if at all, has been reported in South Africa. The country has abundant solar energy resource estimated to be between 4.5 and 6.5 kWh/m2/day, yet solar energy contributes less than 1% to the country’s energy mix. More than 90% of the country’s primary energy comes from fossil fuels leading to an unsustainable per capita carbon footprint of about 9 tCO2e. Previous research has shown that photovoltaics can significantly augment the constrained fossil fuel generated electricity supply. This paper discusses the practical application of photovoltaics as a building element in energy efficient residential housing. The study also aims to determine the feasibility of implementing BIPV systems in the residential sector in South Africa. An energy efficient solar house was designed using simulation software and constructed. Ordinary solar panels were integrated onto the nort...
A review of building integrated photovoltaic: case study of tropical climatic regions
International Journal of Power Electronics and Drive Systems (IJPEDS), 2021
The building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system have recently drawn interest and have demonstrated high potential to assist building owners supply both thermal and electrical loads. In this paper, the BIPV technology has been reviewed, in terms of its performance, efficiency and power generation capacity. Specifically, the applications of the BIPV in tropical climate regions have been discussed, together with its prospects and challenges. For these schemes to be implemented in a tropical climatic region, the following issues must be considered: 1) Certain studies must be done relating to electrical load demand, predicted PV output, location of the buildings and its integration and constraints associated with roof design; 2) For the highest energy production from solar PV, the solar collectors need to be with the right tilt depending on the location; 3) Design criteria such as safety, efficiency, durability, flexibility and constructive issues need to be considered; 4) The government of such countries must train electricians and carpenters on PV installations; 5) The BIPV roofing must perform same function as normal roofing materials, such as noise protection, water tightness, insulation and climate protection, and 6) As practiced around the world, these countries must establish design standards for the BIPV.
Performance analysis of a grid-connected building integrated photovoltaic system
Proceedings of the ISES …, 2003
The performance of a 13 kW roof mounted grid-connected building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system in Northern Ireland over a period of two years was reported. The performance of the overall system and its components was analysed on hourly, daily and monthly basis. Mean daily PV efficiency and total system efficiency varied from 8.9-10% and 7.8-9.5%, respectively during the period when the inverter is working. However, when the total period of sunshine hours was considered, the efficiencies were reduced to 4.7-9.3% and 3.7-8.1%. This difference is much higher during the winter. For 77% of the total daylight hours (sunrise to sunset) PV generation was lied within 0-30% of its rated capacity. The percentage difference between PV yield and final yield increased at low insolation. For 78% of the monitored period, the daily inverter efficiency was greater than 80%; during overcast days, it dropped to less than 10% for 8% of the monitoring period. Monthly daily average inverter efficiency was in the range from 49-87%; however, when calculated from monthly total AC and DC outputs, the inverter efficiency was in the range between 82-90%. Monthly daily average performance ratio of the PV system corresponding with AC and DC energy varied from 60-70% and 50-60%, respectively.
PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS OF AN OFF-GRID BUILDING INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM IN SOUTH AFRICA
Less than 4% of South Africa's energy is being generated from renewable energy sources. With South Africa's vast solar resource, a lot more can be done to nurture the dependence on renewable sources of energy such as solar energy. The use of off-grid photovoltaic systems is one major way of reaching out to the rural and isolated communities inaccessible to the utility grid. Monitoring the performance of such systems is the key to ensuring growth and development in the sector. The performance of a stand-alone photovoltaic system is not as straight forward as for a grid-connected system. The performance of a typical off-grid building integrated photovoltaic system was monitored for a period of seven months. The work demonstrated that the system performed better in winter than in the summer. It was observed that the average reference yield, array yield, final yield, array capture loss and system losses for the system were of 4.5, 2.5, 1.1, 1.9 and 1.4 h/d respectively. Average array, inverter and system efficiencies were 10%, 78% and 8% respectively. Also, the system recorded an average performance ratio of 27%.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017
Cameroon produces 1292 MW of electricity out of which 57% is through hydraulic resources and the remaining 43% through fossil fuels resources. The access to this electricity is limited to 10% of population in the rural areas and 50% in the urban areas. To meet the demand of electricity for domestic purpose as well as for businesses, farms and manufacturing, the squeeze on resources will become unsustainable unless renewable resources become part of the mix. In this paper, the review of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) systems and its potential in the tropical region is presented. An analysis is made for a residential apartment fitted with BIPV as roof top in tropical climate of Cameroon to meet principle energy demand of 3 kW per day. Modelling of the system is done to predict the indoor air temperatures and humidity (IATH) considering all the internal heat sources and thermal insulation of the envelope. The analysis shows that such system is capable of reducing annual primary energy consumption from 79.58 kW h/m 2 to 13.64 kW h/m 2 in addition to reduction in the amount spent on building materials for structured roof and the labour.
Energies
Building envelopes can play a significant role in controlling energy consumption, especially in hot regions because of the wide variety of envelope materials and technologies that have been developed. Currently, because of the high rise in energy prices, especially with the high demand of fossil energy in the building sector worldwide, using curtain walls for maintaining adequate lighting in public buildings could lead to higher energy consumption because of the continuous exposure to the sun in hot regions. For this reason, studying the use of renewable or smart alternatives in the building sector to ensure a cleaner, greener environment by deploying sustainable technology in order to reduce energy demand and support economic long-term solutions would be important for solving such a problem. This paper aims at studying the use of renewable energy technologies and alternatives; represented in new building integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) technology that could be integrated within bu...
Energy Yield Generated by a Small Building Integrated Photovoltaic Installation
Ecological Chemistry and Engineering S
In the recent years photovoltaic (PV) industry has experienced a major growth, caused by the ever present annual decrease in module production prices and the expanding awareness of the general public in terms of renewable energy. There are numerous ways to implement PV modules as an additional energy source for a building, be it mounted on the rooftop, or building integrated (BIPV). An analysis of BIPV consisting of 8 modules with the power of 250 Wp each was carried out for the building of the Chemistry Faculty of Gdansk University of Technology (GUT). It included monthly irradiance and energy generation values and compared them to data obtained by the means of PV-GIS system, after inserting site specific coordinates. Additional research on the same type of a single module with the power of 270 Wp was conducted to provide more insight in this matter. A comprehensible analysis allows for defining a final conclusion for the decrease in energy yield for GUT BIPV installation. Data out...
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 2017
Residential buildings consume more than 40% of the electricity in Egypt. Limited energy resources impact critically the energy usage in buildings. Moreover, there is an increasing demand for development of sustainable buildings. Incorporating solar photovoltaic (PV) systems into buildings which are referred to as building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) systems is an attractive solution to alleviate the energy problem. It is considered a good alternative to centrally located utility and at the same time replaces conventional building elements. This paper investigates the implementation of a BIPV system for a residential villa in Egypt, highlighting the energy produced by such system and accordingly the reduction in emissions.