{"id":1743,"date":"2020-01-27T20:38:44","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T20:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regalgrid.com\/?post_type=magazine&#038;p=1743"},"modified":"2024-09-25T13:01:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T13:01:47","slug":"building-integrated-photovoltaic-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-integrated-in-green-buildings","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/magazine\/building-integrated-photovoltaic-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-integrated-in-green-buildings\/","title":{"rendered":"Building-integrated photovoltaic: what is it and how is it integrated in green buildings?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Photovoltaic gets along with the future of architecture: the latest technological innovations allow PV panels to be integrated in the building itself, and if the integration is planned before the construction you may have a real\u00a0<strong>green building<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>They are called Building-integrated Photovoltaics (BiPV), a remarkable solution to\u00a0<strong>start your energy generation in an efficient way<\/strong>, also respecting all landscape restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What is a building-integrated panel?<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s start with a definition: a building-integrated panel is a panel used to replace &#8211; entirely or partially &#8211; some building materials.<\/p>\n<p>Most commonly, integration involves the roof: the plant is not mounted above the\u00a0<strong>roof shingles<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0<strong>tiles<\/strong>, but it replaces those elements. The plant is mounted on the roof insulation, starting with an airlock, made of an aluminium\u00a0<strong>corrugated sheet<\/strong>, where supports for PV modules hooks are fixed. Building-integrated PV panels don\u2019t affect the building aesthetics, since their thickness is no bigger than the rest of the roof, preserving the properties of both the panels and the roof.<\/p>\n<p>When the panel integration is planned since the design of the building, panels can even replace some structural elements of the building, not only its surface: in the majority of cases the roof itself, sometime the walls.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Total integration on the roof<\/h2>\n<p>Sometimes panels replace the whole covering of the building and they work as a proper roof, by means of\u00a0<strong>rigid panels without frame<\/strong>\u00a0or transparent or semi-transparent glasses or\u00a0<strong>flexible laminate,\u00a0<\/strong>mostly used on curved roofs. These solutions protect against an excessive solar irradiation but they let the daylight in, while accumulating energy. Most panels are made of\u00a0<strong>mono or polycrystalline silicon<\/strong>, whilst for curved roofs the\u00a0<strong>third-generation thin film<\/strong>\u00a0is used, since it can generate energy through diffusion and not only through irradiation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Solar panels integrated into tiles or shingles<\/strong>\u00a0are another innovative solution for roofs, since they do not get in contrast with specific landscape restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Fa\u00e7ades with integrated solar panels<\/h2>\n<p>When a building is designed to have PV integrated\u00a0<strong>fa\u00e7ades<\/strong>, solar panels become a \u201cmaterial\u201d to replace bricks and glasses. Panels create the so-called\u00a0<em>curtain wall<\/em>, letting the light shining in while absorbing energy, thanks to transparent or semi-transparent modules made of monocrystalline silicon or amorphous silicon.<\/p>\n<p>This approach is commonly chosen for commercial multi-floor buildings with a south-facing fa\u00e7ade.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>\u201cShadow\u201d PV plants<\/h2>\n<p>The latest technologies allow to plan different solutions in order to create relaxation areas under platform roofs, terraces, canopies or greenhouses, having a high energy efficiency. Commonly in these cases matt modules are mounted at a fixed tilt (more or less 30\u00b0). With the new trends in the photovoltaic fields also\u00a0<strong>other smaller architectural elements<\/strong>\u00a0may be eco-friendly,\u00a0<strong>such as windows, curtains and shutters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Modern architecture has space and possibilities to integrate PV design elements in the buildings of the future:\u00a0<strong>aesthetics, but most importantly high functionality<\/strong>.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":4333,"parent":0,"template":"","category-magazine":[42],"class_list":["post-1743","magazine","type-magazine","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine-smart-eco-and-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/magazine"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4335,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1743\/revisions\/4335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category-magazine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category-magazine?post=1743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}