In BAPV installations, PV modules do not replace the construction/envelope components, can be rack-mounted (e.g., on flat roofs) or overlapped (e.g., on pitched roofs), and are only used for power generation
Building rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays coupled with electrical storage are a demonstrated means for addressing building energy use since roof areas are often unobstructed to solar radiation and freely available for such utilization , .
A comprehensive analysis of research on solar PV roofs reveals that integrating PV components with building elements (roofs, sunshades, and louvers) is a common form in practical applications. The design challenge lies in finding a balance between the original functionality of the components and the added photovoltaic performance.
Fig. 1. New installed capacity of renewable energy technologies globally from 2011 to 2021. Building PV generation systems can be applied on roofs (Kumar et al., 2018) and/or facades (Quesada et al., 2012), and the installed PV generation system can share the grid load.
The unique properties of roofs, such as good sunlight incidence, good ventilation conditions, no redundant shielding, and flexible tilt angle for PV panels, are advantageous for solar energy harvesting. Accordingly, roofs present the highest efficiency potential for PV generation systems in buildings (Lin et al., 2014).
Photovoltaic modules can be designed as building roofs, and power generation units can be applied to buildings to meet the requirements of various building components.
Their incorporation into building roofs remains hampered by the inherent optical and thermal properties of commercial solar cells, as well as by esthetic, economic, and social constraints. This study reviews research publications on rooftop photovoltaic systems from building to city scale.
