How to Make BIPV Commonplace?

Combining solar technology with conventional building surfaces is one ideal way that has been around a while to make renewable energy more common and cost effective.

Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

The commonly-used term Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) has evolved into two distinct product groups. In the first group, people have traditional building products combined photovoltaics at the factory and the new solar building product has the same building envelope characteristics and functions of its non-solar counterpart with the benefit of generating solar power.

Suntech’s MSK design line See-Thru solar glazing is a good example of this type of product, combining window glass with solar to have a dual functional building product that replaces conventional glass curtain wall products, a product of form and function. This is a true building integrated photovoltaic product.

Building Applied Photovoltaics (BAPV)

The second type of building integrated system is starting to be called Building Applied Photovoltaics (BAPV). BAPV is a solar module that is applied directly onto the surface of a conventional building product material. BAPV products are commonly field applied with an adhesive or other form of surface method of attachment. The solar component is adhered to newly installed host building materials or retro attached onto existing building materials. A good example is the Uni-Solar flexible PV module applied to a new or existing metal roof panels or single-ply roof membrane in the field.

Thin-film BIPV and BAPV Market

While both conventional crystalline and thin-film photovoltaic materials can be used in both BIPV and BAPV systems, a few years ago, nearly everyone thought thin-film solar and building photovoltaics would grow to dominate the solar marketplace in both cost and installation, especially with roofing.

Fast forward to 2009 and the looking glass of 2006-2007 became upside down as crystalline not only continues to dominate the marketplace with conventional frame/rack mounted systems, but is priced lower than most thin-film PV systems.

The solar market is being driven by the lowest equalized cost of electricity and the price of crystalline PV modules is continuing to fall in price due to over capacity and the economic crisis of 2008-2009. So the question remains, what is it going to take to reopen and reinvorigate the thin-film BIPV and BAPV market. To answer this question, it is necessary to look at the BIPV and BAPV marketplace over the past few years.

Disconnection between Solar and Building Industry

Part of the problem goes back to the fragmented nature of the solar industry, whose business model focused on OEM sales and had limited experience with building materials. With shortages both on crystalline and thin film in past years coupled with high demand as a number of countries instituted aggressive renewable energy programs, there was little reason to be innovative as most solar manufacturers could sell as much as they produced.

When it came to combining solar with building materials, the process seems to say, let us wait for the building product manufacturers to approach us with a need or let us just stick it to a roof surface. The problem with this idea is simple, conventional building manufacturers are conservative by nature and take time to adapt to new technologies. For years, people had a general disconnect between both industries. The solar industries did not understand the needs of the building industry and the building industry not understanding the solar industry making product integration slow and at times difficult.

(This is an abstract from a full-length article by Michael Gumm, to read more click here)