Impacts of Roof-top Solar Photovoltaic Modules on Building Energy Performance: Case Study of a Residence in HCM City, Vietnam

Vietnam is considered a country with high solar potential and solar irradiation is comparable to most countries in the region. However, high density solar project in areas causes overload state of transmission grid system and some plants wouldn't operate at full design capacity. Therefore, roof-top solar PV projects in provinces and cities, which have large potential of solar irradiation, are promoted to reduce pressure on power supply. Besides, rooftop solar would be also affordable for home and business owners and communities by helping households halve electricity bills and gain energy efficiency. In this paper, we investigate case study of a residential building in HCM city, Vietnam for analysing impacts of roof-top solar photovoltaic modules on energy performance. The results showed not only the potential photovoltaic power, but also the reduction of roof heat transfer. In consequence, the building cooling load and total energy consumption are significantly reduced thanks to Roof-top PV installation. On the other hand, the reduction of solar incident on the building roof keeps cooling roof surface (outer and inner) and improves thermal comfort of attic space. Our research objective is to quantify indirect benefit of Roof-top PV on energy efficiency and to provide ideas for further researches.