Overcoming technical barriers and risks in the application of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV): hardware and software strategies

Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) is a smart energy production system that incorporates solar PV panels as part of the roof, windows, facades and shading devices. BIPV products development has been ongoing for the past 30 years, but their practical applications have been slow in comparison to conventional rack-mounted solar PV. One of the main reasons is that the technical barriers, which span from design phase through to commissioning and maintenance phases, have not been understood by stakeholders. The aim of this research is to identify the technical barriers and risks associated with the application of BIPV from building design through to operation stages, together with proposing possible solutions. Where a solution could not be proposed, recommendations for future research and development are made. A four-step research approach is employed, which includes examination of previous publications and collection of feedback from the industry professionals. The research highlighted the importance to apply advanced simulation tools and energy performance monitoring platforms in practice, and encourage stakeholder collaborations in the whole supply chain. This paper contributes to the BIPV area by providing structured knowledge from systematic and longitudinal perspective in relation to the technical barriers and risks, to help professionals understand and improve their knowledge. This paper also makes a unique contribution to the research arena by providing a conceptual model of the associated barriers and risks from life-cycle perspective together with proposing five directions for future research. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.