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• Long-term operational monitoring of a Zero Emission Building (ZEB) in Beijing. • An existing building being retrofitted into a Zero Emission Building (ZEB). • Key Building Mounted Photovoltaic (BMPV) technologies are practically utilized and their effects are estimated. • The ZEB realized its own net-zero carbon emission and net energy production. • The ZEB could be a comprehensive experimental platform. Building mounted photovoltaic (BMPV) technology is a promised way to achieve carbon peak in building sector. Focused on the influence of heat from PV modules on building envelope's heat transfer and energy saving performance, and the power generation, the coupling mechanism of power generation and heat transfer of integrated photovoltaic technology on building façades has been investigated. The synergy of solar energy generation and building energy consumption have been studied in this paper. The installation method of building PV system was proposed, with which can achieve the maximum energy saving. Furthermore, the achievements have been applied in Zero Emission Building (ZEB) of China Academy of Building Research (CABR), demonstrating way to realize zero carbon building by integration of photovoltaic technology. Total of 236.1 kWp PV systems were installed in ZEB. Monitoring data shows that the annual power generation of ZEB could reach 212,382 kWh, and the power generation per building area is 73.79 kWh/m2, which could meet all the energy demands. In addition, it can supply extra power to surrounding buildings. The ZEB can provide experience and practice data supporting carbon peak in building sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, greater research attention has focused on the application of solar power generation technology in building construction to reduce building energy consumption and encourage increased sustainable development. An emerging solar power generation technology is in the use of Building-integrated Photovoltaics (BIPVs), where photovoltaic materials are used to replace conventional building materials. In order to map the development of BIPV technology over time and explore technology paths, this study retrieved a total of 4914 patents dated from 1972 to 2016 from the Derwent Innovations Index patent database. This study applies patent co-citation analysis to map the patent co-citation network in three periods based on Ucinet tool. Evolutional path and three key technology frontiers were identified using Social Network Analysis (SNA) and text clustering. The results of this study provide an informed reference for future researchers in understanding the historical development of BIPV, as an emerging and important solar power generation technology in the built environment. At the same time, big data of patents are analyzed using SNA and text clustering, which overcomes the limitation of previous methods of frontiers study that have depended on expert opinion or peer review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an integrated bottom-up approach aimed at helping those dealing with strategical analysis of installation of Building Integrated Photo Voltaic (BIPV) to estimate the electricity production potential along with the energy needs of urban buildings at the district scale. On the demand side, hourly energy profiles are generated using dynamic building simulation taking into account actual urban morphologies. On the supply side, electricity generated from the system is predicted considering both the direct and indirect components of solar radiation as well as local climate variables. Python-based Algorithm editor Grasshopper is used to interlink four types of modelling and simulation tools as 1) generation of 3-D model, 2) solar radiation analysis, 3) formatting weather files (TMY data set) and 4) dynamic energy demand. The method has been demonstrated for a cluster of 20 buildings located in the Yasar University in Izmir (Turkey), for which it is found the BIPV system could achieve an annual renewable share of 23%, in line with the Renewable Energy Directive target of 20%. Quantitatively-compared demand and supply information at hourly time step shows that only some energy needs can be met by BIPV, so there is a need for an appropriate matching strategy to better exploit the renewable energy potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International directives that regulates buildings energy efficiency and environmental sustainability establish strict parameters for the construction of a new generation of "Zero Energy Buildings" indicating transmittance limits for building envelope components and encouraging the use of renewable sources. In this sense, the PV sector aims at the definition of novel efficient solutions for the integration in the building envelope, standing out for their multifunctional features. After an overview on the main PV technologies and building integrated applications, focusing on semi-transparent envelope solutions, the paper shows the results of a research that is being carried out at the Department of Architecture of the University of Palermo, aimed to define innovative solutions for the construction of photovoltaic and energy efficient translucent building envelopes. In particular, the research focuses on the optimization of glassblock panels in terms of thermal insulation, light transmittance, energy production and mechanical resistance. New configurations of glassblock were designed in order to reduce its U value and integrate 3rd generation PV technologies for the production of green energy. Furthermore, a dry assembly system has been designed for the construction of translucent prestressed panels made of DSC integrated glassblocks that are able to guarantee high levels of resistance to horizontal actions and to build translucent, photovoltaic and efficient building envelopes even in dry, tropical and temperate areas or in unfavourable light conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The theoretical efficiency of 12% is satisfactory for simple geometries. [•] PV integration in roof and some facade systems has similar energy producing potential. [•] When predicting energy production for simple geometries simple equations are satisfactory. [•] For complicate geometries only physical models are accurate enough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules are typically installed during, not after, the construction phase, BIPVs have a profound impact compared to conventional building-applied photovoltaics on the electrical installation and construction planning of a building. As the cost of BIPV modules decreases over time, the impact of electrical system architecture and converters will become more prevalent in the overall cost of the system. This manuscript provides an overview of potential BIPV electrical architectures. System-level criteria for BIPV installations are established, thus providing a reference framework to compare electrical architectures. To achieve modularity and to minimize engineering costs, module-level DC/DC converters preinstalled in the BIPV module turned out to be the best solution. The second part of this paper establishes converter-level requirements, derived and related to the BIPV system. These include measures to increase the converter fault tolerance for extended availability and to ensure essential safety features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]