Building Integrated Photovoltaic (PV) Systems – Energy Production Modelling in Urban Environment
Abstract
Building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems can be an answer to planet urbanization and increase of energy consumption by moving buildings from passive to energy-generating constructions. However urban environment is quite complex as solar installation can face shadowing, pollution, local climate effect, higher operating temperatures, etc. It is thus important to base their design on reliable tools while, existing power generation modelling results may present significant differences with actual production. This difference is, partly, due to the imprecise inclusion of time variability or spatial heterogeneity of solar irradiation in modelling approach. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the potential of PV production on buildings’ vertical façades, taking account of the building’s surrounding environment. A comparison between numerical and experimental results will be carried out to assess the accuracy of two types of energy production models.