Economic viability of building integrated photovoltaics: A review of forty-five (45) non-domestic buildings in twelve (12) western countries

Building-integrated photovoltaic technology (BIPV) is a decentralised renewable energy source with a building material function. Lack of confidence in the economic viability of BIPV has become one of the critical issues in investment decisions. Therefore, there is a need to review the real economic value of recent BIPV projects to dispel the common myth of the high cost of BIPV. This paper reviews forty-five (45) BIPV projects attached to non-domestic buildings located in twelve (12) western countries between 2009 and 2018 to understand their real economic value. Levelized cost energy, net present value and discounted payback periods are estimated to identify both direct and indirect benefits of BIPV. The economic assessment revealed that projects are economically feasible when both direct and indirect are measured. Analysis further discovered that 1) curtain wall, double-skin facades, discontinuous roofs and skylights among the building application types, 2) educational buildings among the functions of non-domestic buildings and 3) c-Si among the module technologies are economically feasible performances. BIPVs are complex and unique designs with diverse economic performances. It is important to carefully select the parameters to assess the performance levels of the application before any decision is made. The study confirms that understanding the broad values facilitates the quantification of the real contribution of BIPV. The outcome of the paper assists decision-makers and policymakers in developing strategies to decide BIPV adoption.

Automated summary

Building-integrated photovoltaic technology (BIPV) is a decentralized renewable energy source with a building material function. Economic viability of BIPV projects depends on various factors, and the study found that curtain wall, educational buildings, and c-Si module technologies show the most economically feasible performances.